Developments around US trade relations and economic concerns continue to occupy much of investors' attention, but earnings from chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA), among others, will also be in the spotlight in the coming week.
There will be a quieter start to the week with US markets closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. UK markets will also be closed on Monday for the late May bank holiday.
After traders return from the long weekend, the major focus will be on Nvidia (NVDA), which is due to release first quarter earnings on the Wednesday, as the last of the Magnificent 7 tech behemoths to report this earnings season.
Salesforce (CRM), which provides customer relationship management (CRM) software, is another key tech name reporting on Wednesday.
Computer maker Dell (DELL) is then set to report on Thursday, on the back of it unveiling new AI servers powered by Nvidia (NVDA) chips this week.
In the retail sector, investors will be looking at wholesale retailer Costco's (COST) latest results, to help gauge US consumer sentiment amid economic uncertainty.
On the London market, investors will be hoping that B&Q-owner Kingfisher (KGF.L) has benefitted from the UK's rise in retail sales, thanks to warmer weather in April.
Here's more on what to look out for:
Expectations have become increasingly high around Nvidia (NVDA) earnings, which was demonstrated in the market reaction to its full-year results in February.
Shares fell after the release of the results, despite the chipmaker beating estimates on the top and bottom line. Revenue of $39.3bn (£29.1bn) beat estimates of £38.2bn and earnings per share of $0.89 were also ahead of forecasts of $0.84. In addition, the company said it expected to generate revenue of $43bn for the first quarter, better than the $42.3bn expected.
However, Nvidia (NVDA) guided to gross profit margins of 70.6% to 71% in the first quarter, which would be down on the 73% it reported in the fourth quarter.
Ahead of its latest earnings, Nvidia (NVDA) made a flurry of announcements around new technologies at the start of this week, with CEO Jensen Huang revealing more details at the Computex tech expo in Taipei, Taiwan.
This included showcasing Nvidia's (NVDA) Isaac GR00T-Dreams, which the company described as a blueprint that helps generate large amounts of synthetic motion data that physical artificial intelligence (AI) developers can use to teach robots new behaviours.
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In addition to its robotics capabilities, Nvidia (NVDA) unveiled its new NVLink Fusion offering, which allows customers to build custom servers using Nvidia’s (NVDA) Grace CPU and a third-party AI chip paired with Nvidia’s (NVDA) various server infrastructure offerings.
At the event on Wednesday, Huang also called on Jensen Huang called on the Trump administration to ease Biden-era curbs on AI chip exports to China.
Attention will now turn to Nvidia's (NVDA) first quarter results, which are due out on Wednesday, 28 May.
AJ Bell's investment experts, Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said that Nvidia (NVDA) "has had the happy knack of beating estimates, which on this occasion will be benchmarked against the guidance given by chief executive Jensen Huang alongside the full-year results back in February. Just as important will be any steer or forecasts for the second quarter, which runs from May through to July."
"Note that Nvidia (NVDA) has already signalled it may take a $5.5 billion one-off charge against its first-quarter results, relating to US bans on shipment of silicon chips to China," they said. "These costs relate to the H20 chipset and cover materials and penalties, although the company is likely to present this cost as extraordinary and strip it out of the published figures."
In terms of guidance for the second quarter, they said that analyst consensus had a forecast of $45.4bn in sales and $1 for earnings per share.
In addition to Nvidia's announcements, Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet-owned Google (GOOG, GOOGL) have also unveiled new tech features this week, including developments around AI agents.
AI agents, which has emerged as one of biggest trends in tech, are semi- or fully autonomous pieces of AI software that can perform certain tasks for users.
Salesforce (CRM) is another player in this space, so investors will be keen to understand the take-up of its technology, when it reports first quarter earnings on Wednesday. Its platform Agentforce allows companies to build and customise AI agents to help automate certain functions for customer service.
In its full-year results in February, Salesforce (CRM) guided to total revenue of $9.71bn to $9.76bn for the first quarter, which would represent 6% to 7% growth year-on-year. Diluted earnings per share are expected to come in at between $1.49 and $1.51 for the quarter.
For the year, Salesforce (CRM) has guided to revenue of $40.5bn to $40.9bn, which would be up 7% to 9% on its 2025 fiscal year. Diluted earnings per share for the 2026 fiscal year are expected to be in the range of $6.95 and $7.03.
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Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said this latest set of results follow a year of "modest revenue growth".
"Having spent the past year or two rightsizing the business, costs are in a much better place, and both profits and cash flows are feeling the benefits," he said. "While this was a necessary step, the focus now shifts back to driving top-line growth."
Chiekrie said that revenue growth guidance for the first quarter was "softer than markets were hoping for at the time."
"This reflects a tricky macroenvironment where businesses are still being selective of their software spending," he said. "Missing this target range next week would likely weigh heavily on investor sentiment."
"Investors were excited to hear Salesforce’s (CRM) AI platform, Agentforce, gained early momentum late last year with over 3,000 paid AI deals," Chiekrie added. "But with around 150,000 customers, these deals aren’t dial movers just yet. Some analysts think it’s just a matter of time, and markets are keen to hear whether the positive momentum has continued into the new year."
Computer maker Dell (DELL) also hosted its own tech event this past week, which came with it sharing details of its collaboration with Nvidia. On Monday, Dell unveiled new AI servers, powered by Nvidia's (NVDA) Blackwell Ultra chips.
At the Dell Technologies (DELL) World 2025 event, the company's CEO Michael Dell and Nvidia's (NVDA) Huang talked about a range of new offerings as part of its Dell AI Factory ecosystem, which together with the chipmaker, is aimed at making AI accessible to business of all sizes.
Dell (DELL) said he envisioned a future where AI becomes "as essential as electricity" and that it could unlock an estimated $15tn in global economic value by 2030.
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In terms of company performance, Dell (DELL) reported mixed fourth quarter results in February. Revenue of $23.93bn fell short of estimates of $24.65bn, but adjusted earnings per share of $2.68 beat analyst forecasts of $2.53.
For the first quarter, Dell (DELL) also issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance, forecasting sales forecasting sales between $22.5bn and $23.5bn, slightly missing the Street's expectations of $23.55bn.
Shares in Dell (DELL) declined following the release of the results and have since recovered but the stock is still trading nearly 3% in the red year-to-date.
Earnings from major US retailers are being closely watched, to help understand consumer behaviour, as concerns about the economy persist amid uncertainty about US president Donald Trump's tariffs.
Shares in Walmart (WMT) slid after it released a set of mixed quarterly results earlier in May, beating earnings per share estimates but missing revenue expectations.
In addition, the retailer also signalled price hikes would be in store due to Trump's tariffs. Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon said: "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins."
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He added on an earnings call that tariffs had already led to price increases in April and May.
McMillon said the "reset of costs" will continue throughout the year, adding for an "imported item, you pay the tariff at the time it comes through customs ... even if the tariff rate comes down later, the cost has been elevated."
Investors will be looking at Costco's (COST) to see if the wholesale retailer offers any commentary on tariffs. Shares in Costco tumbled after the release of its second quarter earnings in March. The stock has since rebounded but is up just 11% year-to-date.
Adjusted earnings per share of $4.02 were below Bloomberg consensus estimates of $4.11, though revenue of $63.72bn came in slightly ahead of expectations of $63.01bn.
In its most recent sales figures, released earlier in May, the retailer reported net sales of $21.18bn for the month of April, which was up 7% on the same period last year.
Data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail sales were estimated to have risen by 1.2% last month, which was the sunniest April on record.
"With the unusually warm spring weather sending homeowners into a craze of refreshing homes and gardens, it bodes better, in the short term, for B&Q owner Kingfisher (KGF.L)," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. "In April, DIY sales saw a significant increase, with consumer spending boosted for outdoor related products, in particular."
"Also, a surge in property completions due to the end of the stamp duty holiday is likely to have led to higher sales of products used in renovations," she added.
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However, she said that "problem is that the expected uplift could just be a flash in the pan for Kingfisher (KGF.L), rather than the start of a more sustained increase in sales."
Streeter pointed out that the last financial year had proved "highly difficult" for Kingfisher (KGF.L), with it posting a 35% drop in pre-tax profit to £307m ($414m). Sales were also slightly lower for the year, dipping 1.5% to £12.8bn.
"Although there is more strength in its digital operations and trade business in the UK, other markets are problematic," she said. "In France, consumer confidence has fallen to a three-month low, which won’t help efforts to turn around its struggling Castorama chain."
In its full-year results in March, Kingfisher (KGF.L) guided to adjusted pre-tax profit of £480m to £540m.
"With some fears about the economic outlook lifting, investors will be hoping Kingfisher (KGF.L) might be able to unveil an improved outlook for the rest of the year for the group, but the signs right now are not super-positive," said Streeter.
Monday 26 May
Meituan (3690.HK)
Tuesday 27 May
Xiaomi (1810.HK)
Soitec (SOI.PA)
Auto Zone (AZO)
Wednesday 28 May
C & C (CCR.L)
S4 Capital (SFOR.L)
Agilent (A)
HP Inc (HPQ)
Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS)
Elf Beauty (ELF)
Nordstrom (JWN)
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)
Macy's (M)
Guess? Inc. (GES)
Thursday 29 May
Auto Trader (AUTO.L)
Helios Underwriting (HUW.L)
Braemar (BMS.L)
Hollywood Bowl (BOWL.L)
Dell Technologies (DELL)
Grab Holdings (GRAB)
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Gap Inc (GAP)
Bath & Body Works (BBWI)
Foot Locker (FL)
Kohls Corp (KSS)
Marvell (MRVL)
Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
Cooper (COO)
Hormel Foods (HRL)
American Eagle (AEO)
Friday 30 May
Frontline (FRO)
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