On the heels of lawmakers moving closer to passing the stimulus bill, inflation concerns gripped the market after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell at a meeting said the reopening would put pressure on prices.
After starting the week on a positive note, benchmark indexes S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average withdrew and slipped to a one-month low before ending the last session. They were down 1.34% and 1.11% respectively early Friday. Earlier, sentiment had improved after jobless claims came in below economists’ forecast.
After a relatively quiet period, consolidations seem to be making a comeback. Continuing its acquisition spree, Accenture clinched at least four deals this week, with the buyout of UK-based talent consultancy Cirrus Logic topping the list.
The professional services firm also agreed to buy Brazil-based robotics solutions provider Pollux and Australian logistics consultancy GRA. The other business that joined the Accenture fold is technology solutions provider REPL Group.
Agilent Technologies agreed to acquire Resolution Bioscience for $695 million, while Taco Bell owner Yum! Brands bought artificial intelligence provider Kvantum. The other key deals include Digital Turbine’s purchase of Israel-based mobile advertising company Triapodi Ltd, and the $1.45-billion acquisition of UK-based Capco by Indian software giant Wipro.
Once again, retailers dominated the earnings scene, with department store operators Kohl’s and Target Corp. publishing their latest statistics on Tuesday, followed by discount chain Dollar Tree on Wednesday. The next day, Kroger Company and warehouse giant Costco Corp. delivered mixed results for their most recent quarters amid tough-year-over comparison.
Chipmaker Broadcom’s first-quarter report was the other major announcement of the week. As Wall Street approaches the fag end of the earnings season, Oracle’s third-quarter financial report is probably the most-awaited announcement next week — scheduled for March 10.
Prior to that, H&R Block and Dick’s Sporting Goods are expected to report on March 9. As the week progresses, Ulta Beauty will be unveiling fourth-quarter numbers on March 11.
Key Earnings to Watch
Monday: Niu Technologies, Del Taco Restaurants, Avid Bioservices, and Stitch Fix
Tuesday: Children’s Place, Casey’s General Stores, Barnes & Noble Education, Vertex Energy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Avid Technology, and MongoDB
Wednesday: Campbell Soup Company, Tupperware Brands, LendingClub Corp, Cloudera, and Oracle Corp.
Thursday: JD.com, 22nd Century Group, Goodrich Petroleum, DocuSign, Tilly’s, AutoWeb, Ulta Beauty, and Vail Resorts
Friday: Kirkland’s, Information Services Group, Buckle, and Saga Communications
Key Corporate Conferences to Watch
Key Investor Days/AGMs to Watch
Key US Economic Events
Notable Transcripts
The following are notable companies which have reported their earnings last week. In case if you have missed catching up on their performance, click the respective links to skim through the transcripts to glean more insights.
Zoom Video Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
Novavax Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
NIO Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
Kohl’s Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
Autozone Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Box Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
Target Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
HP Enterprise Q1 2021 Earnings Transcript
Dollar Tree Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
Snowflake Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
Broadcom Q1 2021 Earnings Transcript
Costco Wholesale Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Gap Q4 2020 Earnings Transcript
If you want to listen to how management responds to analyst questions and the tone they use, you can head over to our YouTube channel to listen to conference calls on the go.
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