US Earnings to Watch: Salesforce, Peloton, Zoom, Nvidia, Gap

Better-than-expected US retail sales data and upbeat outlooks from Walmart and Target this week demonstrated the resilience of the American consumer amid hyperinflation and rising rates. Yet evolving shopping behaviors across the income spectrum, along with price markdowns from excess inventory, are contributing to the highest proportion of earnings misses for the consumer discretionary sector than elsewhere in the S&P 500 this season. Reports next week will give investors further insight into the second-half for retailers, chipmakers and software providers as the peak earnings period draws to a close.

Monday: Zoom Video (ZM US) will report after-market. The video conferencing provider is likely to see y/y revenue growth drop into the single digits for the first time since it went public, based on the company’s own forecast and consensus estimates, as a weakening economy and broader return-to-office trends cut into sales. Efforts to drive further gains in the post-Covid era, such as boosting enterprise sales and new offerings like Phone and WhiteBoard, may not be enough to sustain growth due to rising competition from Microsoft Teams and slowing IT budgets at smaller business clients, according to Citi analysts who downgraded its shares to sell this week.