Eyes on Earnings — Week of May 11, 2025
Another Fed meeting, another dose of déjà vu. After holding rates steady this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell faulted “uncertainty” for the decision. As a result, the Fed’s benchmark rate will stay stuck at the 4.25–4.5% level for yet another meeting.
That didn’t surprise markets, which remain split on where rates will land by year-end. But with negative economic data mounting, investors will have to learn to live with the Fed’s new favorite word until the next meeting in June.
The week behind: Last week was the busiest of earnings season, yet the S&P 500 still eked out a small gain on the week as many Q1 reports met expectations — and company commentary softened in light of growing uncertainty. Top of mind in The Joe were reports from hospitality heavyweights and oil giants, which might not have much in common, but both have flagged similar concerns about the economy’s impact on their businesses; so, too, did Uber, Shopify, and Peloton. But there was plenty of good news to digest…
- Some firms like Carvana, Novo Nordisk, and Ferrari bucked the market-wide pessimism — each signaling optimism thanks to industry trends.
- And while some businesses are pulling back, DoorDash and Disney went full steam ahead on expansion — while infrastructure investor Brookfield started deploying capital to scoop up discounted assets.
- Last and certainly not least, AI bulls scored two wins from high-flying AI pick Palantir’s wow-worthy enterprise growth and AMD’s still-impressive data center revenue.
The Week Ahead
With peak earnings now in the rearview, we’ll zoom in on individual results and reflect on the bigger themes we may have missed. This week, 767 companies report — here’s a few we’re watching:
- E-commerce speaks: WalmartWMT is far and away the most significant name reporting this week — both the largest and likely the most important to watch. We’ll also keep a close eye on results from China’s JD.comJD and AlibabaBABA, which are saddling the impact of US tariffs.
- Gaming… delayed: Take-TwoTTWO pushed back GTA 6’s launch to next year, leaving a crater in the prospects for big video game firms. We’re curious to see their earnings, along with results from PlayStation parent SonySONY, Singapore’s SeaSE, and China’s NetEaseNE.
- Retail-popular stocks: For one reason or another, the retail crowd is invested (literally) in reports from Plug PowerPLUG, GoProGPRO, and Virgin GalacticSPCE. That said, all three are down over 50% in the past year — expect some turbulence.
And then there’s the rest: We’ll keep tabs on larger names like CiscoCSCO and DeereDE, plus a cropping of smaller but interesting firms that we’ve covered over the last year — including VTOL player Archer AviationACHR, fast-casual chain CavaCAVA, and AI-bruised CheggCHGG. Check back throughout the week for the latest news and commentary.