The next earnings season is starting to ramp up again in the coming week, with a number of major companies due to report.
As developments around US president Donald Trump's tariffs continue to rock markets, with tensions escalating between the US and China, investors will be watching earnings releases closely for any commentary on the potential impact of a trade war.
Following on from the release of results by a number of major US investment banks on Friday, which is considered the traditional starting gun for a new earnings season, Goldman Sachs (GS) is due to report on Monday.
The semiconductor sector will also be in focus, as chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) and chip equipment producer ASML (ASML.AS) are slated to release results.
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Investors will hoping for another bumper set of results from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX), when it reports on Thursday, with the success of releases such as crime drama Adolescence having drawn in strong viewer numbers in the first quarter.
In the world of luxury fashion, LVMH (MC.PA) is due to report first quarter revenues, as tariffs dampen the outlook for the sector.
On the UK market, investors will be keeping an eye on the latest results from supermarket Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), after rival Tesco (TSCO.L) warned of intensifying competition in the space.
Here's more on what to look out for:
The unpredictability of tariff announcements isn't just causing big swings in markets, as economists at Goldman Sachs (GS) rescinded their forecast for the risk of a US recession shortly after Trump announced a 90-day pause on most levies on Wednesday.
The economists had raised their call on the risk of a US recession in the next 12 months to 65% but then but cut it back to 45% following Trump's announcement.
“Earlier today, before president Trump’s announcement, we had shifted to a recession baseline in response to the additional country-specific tariffs that went into effect this morning,” said the Goldman Sachs (GS) team in a note, according to Bloomberg. "We are now reverting to our previous non-recession baseline forecast."
Investors will now be keen to see what Goldman Sachs (GS) has to say around tariffs, in terms of the outlook for the investment bank for the rest of the year, when it releases its first quarter earnings.
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Goldman Sachs (GS) shares rose after the investment bank posted its biggest quarterly profit in more than three years in January, beating estimates for its fourth quarter earnings.
Profits were up 105% in the fourth quarter at $4.1bn (£3.1bn), compared to around $2bn for the same period in 2023. For the year, profits were up 68% at $14.2bn.
A 16% rise in total revenue to $53bn for the year were led by the $34.9bn Goldman Sachs (GS) generated from its global banking and markets business, with by revenues from equities hitting $13.4bn.
David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS), said that the investment bank had "met or exceeded almost all of the targets we set in our strategy to grow the firm five years ago, and as a result, have both grown our revenues by nearly 50% and enhanced the durability of our franchise."
Despite strong results, however, Goldman Sachs (GS) shares are down more than 14% year-to-date amid broader market volatility.
NYSE - Delayed Quote • USD At close: April 14 at 4:00:02 PM EDT
Shares in TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) surged after the chipmaker released its first quarter revenue figures on Thursday, giving investors a glimpse into what to expect from its full first quarter results on 17 April.
TSMC posted a 42% increase in revenues for first three months of the year, at TWD839.25bn (£19.8bn). In US dollar terms that equated to nearly $25.5bn, according to currency exchange rates on Thursday morning, which was slightly towards the higher end of guidance of between $25bn and $25.8bn.
In its monthly release, TSMC said revenue for March was up 10% on the previous month, at 285.96 billion new Taiwan dollars (£6.7bn).
TSMC had warned in its January revenue report that it that it had been impacted by severe earthquakes in Taiwan, estimating related losses of around TWD5.3bn. As a result of the earthquake damage, TSMC said it expected its revenue for the first quarter to be closer to the lower end of the guidance range.
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Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "No structural damage was caused to the group’s production sites, so despite the near-term challenges, TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) remains positive about its full-year outlook. Growth in AI chip demand continues to drive TSMC’s (2330.TW, TSM) performance. Nvidia’s (NVDA) orders for its new Blackwell GPUs play a key role, and the overall AI-related revenues are expected to double in 2025."
TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) recently announced it was expanding its investment in the US by $100bn, in addition to its ongoing $65bn investment in its US operations.
"Markets are keen to know more about the timelines of these projects and whether their production efficiency is comparable to Taiwan’s," said Nathan. "While semiconductor exports remain exempt from recent tariffs, concerns about rising manufacturing costs and supply chain disruptions could weigh on performance."
Another company in the semiconductor industry reporting in the coming week is ASML (ASML.AS, ASML), which manufactures lithography machines that are key to making chips and so is used to help gauge sector demand.
In the fourth quarter, ASML posted net sales of €9.3bn (£8.07bn), up from €7.5bn in the third quarter. This meant sales for the year came in at €28.3bn, compared to €27.6bn in 2023.
Net profits for the fourth quarter rose to €2.7bn, from €2.07bn in the previous quarter, though the total for the year of €7.5bn was down slightly from the €7.8bn the company reported for 2023.
In terms of guidance, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said the company expected net sales to come in at between €7.5bn and €8bn, forecasting this figure for the year to be between €30bn and €35bn.
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"Growth’s being driven by increasing demand for its chip-making systems, as major customers like TSMC (2330.TW, TSM), Samsung (005930.KS), and Intel (INTC) rush to meet the rising need for high-performance semiconductors used in AI and other applications," said Hargreaves Lansdown's Nathan.
"However, recent geopolitical developments could pose challenges for ASML," he said. "The group already had to navigate restrictions on the sale of its technology to China, which was a key sales region last year."
"With political relations seemingly souring, there could be more restrictions on exports ahead, which would likely weigh on performance," he added. "The impressive €36bn order backlog offers some reassurance in terms of revenue visibility in the near term, and we’ll be keeping an eye out to see if there’s been any growth in the backlog next week."
Nervousness around the impact of tariffs on the chip sector has hurt stocks, with Amsterdam-listed shares of ASML down 14% year-to-date.
While many big-name stocks are in the red year-to-date, Netflix (NFLX) shares have managed to eke out a 3% gain, helped by them hitting a record high in February.
Investors cheered the streaming giant's fourth quarter results in January, in which it reported another 18.9 million paid memberships has been added — the biggest quarterly net adds in its history.
Revenue for the quarter hit $10.2bn, up 16% from $8.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2023. Net profits hit $1.8bn, working out to diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.27, up from net income of $938m in the fourth quarter of 2023 and diluted EPS of $2.11.
Netflix said that its fourth quarter slate of releases, including the second series of Squid Games, outperformed expectations.
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Big releases in the first quarter included crime drama Adolescence, which Netflix said amassed 66.3 million views in its first two weeks.
For the first quarter, Netflix guided to revenue of $10.4bn and net profits of $2.4bn, with diluted EPS of $5.58.
In its fourth quarter results, Netflix said it was in a "leadership position in terms of engagement (approximately two hours per paid membership per day), revenue ($39bn) and profit ($10bn in operating income) in a market that is continuing to expand."
"We estimate there are now 750M+ broadband households (excluding China and Russia) and $650B+ of entertainment revenue in the 4 markets we operate in, of which we only captured ~6% in 2024," Netflix (NFLX) said. "Similarly, we believe we account for less than 10% of TV viewing in every country in which we operate, all of which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world."
At the same time, the company noted that its sector remained "intensely competitive" but said it was "fortunate that we don’t have distractions like managing declining linear networks".
NasdaqGS - Delayed Quote • USD At close: April 14 at 4:00:00 PM EDT
Hopes of a recovery in the luxury sector have been clouded by Trump's tariffs, with fears that companies will face renewed headwinds from the uncertainty this year.
In a note on 9 April, Deutsche Bank (DBK.DE) analysts said that it is "no longer clear that 3Q24 was the nadir for luxury demand. The luxury recovery in 4Q now looks likely to be the anomaly and not the trend."
They said that "weaker global stock markets and the broader economic uncertainty will weigh on confidence and we see this further postponing a recovery in luxury demand."
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As a result, the analysts downgraded their ratings on Richemont (CFR.SW) and Kering (KER.PA) from "buy" to "hold". They maintained their "hold" rating on LVMH (MC.PA), but lowered their target price on the stock from €695 to €580 per share.
For LVMH's first quarter revenues, the Deutsche Bank (DBK.DE) analysts forecast group sales of €21.24bn, up 2% year-on-year.
They said that for "for the first time in a number of years LVMH appears to be facing a number of headwinds across its main divisions." In the fourth quarter, they said that fashion and leather goods sales showed the "low end of sequential improvement across the sector and there is expected to be limited further improvement in 1Q."
LVMH (MC.PA), whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, reported a 1% increase in sales in the fourth quarter to €23.9bn, which was ahead of estimates.
UK supermarket Tesco (TSCO.L) warned that it expected to generate lower profits as competition over prices heats up.
In its preliminary full-year results, released on Thursday, Tesco (TSCO.L) said it had seen a "further increase in the competitive intensity of the UK market" over the past few months.
As a result, Tesco (TSCO.L) said it was issuing financial guidance for the year ahead that gives it the "flexibility and firepower to be able to respond to current market conditions".
With that in that in mind, investors will be keen to know if rival Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) is also feeling the pressure from competition.
In a third quarter trading statement in January, Sainsbury's said that it expected to deliver full-year retail retail operating profit in line with consensus and in the midpoint of its £1.01bn ($1.32bn) to £1.06bn guidance range, which would represent growth of around 7%.
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"Despite an encouraging Christmas trading update in January, shares in Sainsbury sit at their lowest mark since January 2023 and, as a result, are no higher now than they were in spring 1987," said AJ Bell (AJB.L) investment director Russ Mould and investment analyst Dan Coatsworth.
"This is probably the best comeback to anyone who accuses the big grocers of price gouging and profiteering, something that will be hard to achieve for a firm that is locked in a dogfight for share with Tesco (TSCO.L), Morrisons, Asda and the discounters, Aldi and Lidl. An operating margin of barely 3.5% also hardly suggests a company having its wicked way with its customers."
"Sainsbury’s has at least been more than holding its own in the grocery market here and it has kept its share above 15%, to stay second ranked behind only Tesco (TSCO.L), according to consultants Kantar," they added.
"However, Asda’s revival of its rollback scheme is stoking fears of a price war and Tesco’s (TSCO.L) cut to its profit guidance for the coming year suggests it is gearing up for one, so chief executive Simon Roberts will no doubt be expected to give his views on this, and his firm’s strategy to confront any such developments."
Monday 14 April
Ashmore Group (ASHM.L)
M&T Bank (MTB)
Page Group (PAGE.L)
Tuesday 15 April
B&M European Value Retail (BME.L)
IntegraFin Holdings (IHP.L)
S & U (SUS.L)
Everyman Media (EMAN.L)
Accesso Technology (ACSO.L)
LVMH (MC.PA)
Rio Tinto (RIO.L)
LM Ericsson (ERIC)
Bank of America (BAC)
United Airlines (UAL)
Citigroup (C)
Newcore Gold (NCAUF)
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Albertsons (ACI)
Wednesday 16 April
Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L)
DiscoverIE Group (DSCV.L)
Hays (HAS.L)
Antofagasta (ANTO.L)
Heineken (HEIA.AS)
Hunting (HTG.L)
WH Smith (SMWH.L)
EQT (EQT)
Sandvik (SAND.ST)
Moncler (MONC.MI)
Brunello Cucinelli (BC.MI)
US Bancorp (USB)
Travelers (TRV)
CSX (CSX)
Las Vegas Sands (LVS)
Citizens Financial (CZFS)
Alcoa (AA)
Bank OZK (OZK)
Autoliv (ALV)
Thursday 17 April
Deliveroo (ROO.L)
Dunelm Group (DNLM.L)
Ninety One (N91.L)
Rentokil Initial (RTO.L)
American Express (AXP)
Charles Schwab (SCHW)
BHP (BHP.L)
China Mobile (0941.HK)
China Unicom (0762.HK)
Hermès (RMS.PA)
L’Oréal (OR.PA)
UBS (UBSG.SW)
Pernod Ricard (RI.PA)
Bankinter (BKT.MC)
Blackstone (BX)
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)
Friday 18 April
Great Wall Motor (2333.HK)
Cleveland Cliffs (CLF)
You can read Yahoo Finance's full calendar here.
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