A fresh wave of optimism swept through markets towards the end of the week after the latest employment data showed the economy added nearly one million new jobs last month and the jobless rate dropped to a new low.
Leading stock indexes extended last week’s rally and set new records. The S&P 500 index added around 20 points during the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average stayed above the 35,000-mark.
Earlier, professional services provider Accenture expanded its portfolio further by adding IT consulting firm LEXTA to its fold. Meanwhile, the bidding war for Veoneer reached the next level after chipmaker Qualcomm offered a whopping $4.6 billion for the Swedish auto parts company, outbidding closest contender Magna International.
Foot Locker expanded its foothold in the Asia-Pacific and North America with the acquisition of Atmos brand owner Text Trading Company and footwear retailer Eurostar, respectively. In another deal involving leading apparel brands, Levi Strauss agreed to acquire the active-wear brand Beyond Yoga.
Thriving on the sharp increase in online content consumption, thanks to the virus-induced shutdown, Take-Two Interactive, Activision Blizzard, and Electronic Arts reported robust second-quarter numbers early in the week – the first two game publishers on Monday and Tuesday respectively and the third one on Wednesday.
As usual, Chinese eCommerce giant Alibaba made an impressive show, posting stronger-than-expected results on Tuesday. It was joined by sportswear maker Under Armour in the pre-market.
The main events that elicited investor interest on Wednesday were the quarterly releases of CVS Health, General Motors, and streaming platform Roku. Dropbox, Virgin Galactic, and Beyond Meat unveiled their second-quarter data on Thursday.
The second-quarter earnings release of AMC Entertainment, which created a buzz recently after the stock price shot up in a social media-driven buying spree, is due on August 9. The financial reports of Tyson Foods and software firm Trade Desk are on tap before the opening bell. The next day, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and cybersecurity firm McAfee will be reporting after the market’s close.
Vacation rental company Airbnb and Chinese tech firm Baidu are probably the only other major companies to report earnings in the relatively quiet week.
Key Earnings to Watch
Monday: Scientific Games Corp., Village Farms International, Air Products & Chemicals, Power Corporation of Canada, Tegna, Tyson Foods, Barrick Gold, Planet Fitness, comScore, Everbridge, and Avaya Holdings
Tuesday: ChipMOS Technologies, Coinbase Global, InterContinental Hotels, Cabot Corporation, JUMIA TECHNOLOGIES, Aramark, Canopy Growth Corp, Paysign, Pixelworks, and McAfee Corp
Wednesday: Thyssenkrupp AG, Wixcom, First Solar, Wendys, Chesapeake Energy, ABN AMRO Bank, Bumble, Rackspace Technology, eBay, Coursera, and Nio
Thursday: Aegon, iQIYI, Canadian Solar, Baidu, Cineplex, AutoCanada, The Walt Disney Company, Acutus Medical, and DoorDash
Friday: CareMax, Flowers Foods, Credicorp Ltd, Crown Capital Partners, and Superior Drilling Products
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.
ON Semiconductor Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Loews Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Take-Two Q1 2022 Earnings Transcript
Eli Lilly Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
LYFT Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Activision Blizzard Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
General Motors Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Electronic Arts Q1 2022 Earnings Transcript
Uber Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
MetLife Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Moderna Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
Beyond Meat Q2 2021 Earnings Transcript
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