Retail earnings kick off next week with Home Depot Inc., Target Corp., and Walmart Inc. set to report their quarterly results.
Home Depot HD reports first quarter results before market open on May 16, with Target TGT set to report its results on the following day. Walmart WMT reports first-quarter results before market open on May 18. The following week, Lowe’s Cos. LOW and BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. BJ report their respective first-quarter results before market open on May 23, and Costco Wholesale Corp. COST reports fiscal third-quarter results after market close on May 25.
“We’re raising estimates as the company continues to gain share and grow operating income,” wrote Tarlowe. “We believe WMT’s initiatives are helping to build an attractive and growing flywheel, and we are becoming more positive on WMT’s growth and profitability prospects ahead.” Target’s margins also remain pressured, according to Tarlowe, who notes that stock nonetheless offers attractive risk-reward. “We believe that TGT is undervalued with upside ahead as fundamentals improve,” he wrote.Analytics company Placer.ai has been tracking foot traffic to U.S. retailers. Visits to major retail chains are down year-over-year almost across the board, according to Placer.ai. In January Target visits were up almost 4% year-over-year, but were down 6.