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Investors have a busy slate for the first full week of September to mark the traditional end to the summer slowdown in trading volume. The economic calendar will feature the August CPI report, August PPI report, and the University of Michigan consumer survey as the Federal Reserve meeting on September 19 gets even closer on the calendar. Of course, the key question of the week may be if the Federal Reserve is lining up for a rate cut of 50 points, instead of the initial expectation for a 25 point cut. “The August jobs report was clearly to the soft side, giving the Fed further ammo to begin slashing interest rates this month,” noted Mike Zaccardi on Seeking Alpha. “The odds of a 50-basis-point cut are higher than ever,” he highlighted.
The earnings calendar for the week ahead is very light, but still includes key reports from Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Kroger (NYSE:KR) (analysis), and Adobe (ADBE). GameStop (NYSE:GME) will also report earnings, with some investors questioning what the plan is for the retailer’s formidable cash position. In the tech sector, Apple (AAPL) will hold its annual iPhone event and the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Technology Conference will include presentations from a long list of heavyweights, including Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and AT&T (T). The week will also see the beginning of the Department of Justice adtech antitrust lawsuit against Google (GOOG) (GOOGL). Late in the week, the beginning of the five-day European Society for Medical Oncology Meeting will attract attention in the healthcare sector.
Earnings spotlight: Monday, September 9 – Oracle (ORCL) and Rubrik (RBRK). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, September 10 – GameStop (GME), Academy Sports and Outoors (ASO), and Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, September 11 – Manchester United (MANU), Oxford Industries (OXM), and Designer Brands (DBI). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, September 12 – Adobe (ADBE), Kroger (KR), RH (RH), and Signet Jewelers (SIG). See the full earnings calendar.
Volatility watch: Options trading volume is elevated on GameStop (GME) ahead of the retailer’s earnings report. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include Philip Morris (PM), G1 Therapeutics (GTHX), and Procter & Gamble (PG). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Dollar General (DG) after their recent crushing guidance updates. Short interest has moved higher on Arbor Realty (ABR) and VinFast Auto (VFS).
IPO watch: Impact BioMedical (MPCT) is expected to price its IPO and begin to trade next week. The Texas-based company said in an SEC filing that it was looking to offer 2M shares priced between $3 and $5, which would raise around $8M if priced at the midpoint. Impact Biomedical discovers, confirms and patents unique sciences and technologies in the healthcare space that can be developed with external partners. Kairos Pharma (KAPA) is also expected to start trading after a long delay.
CPI preview: The August CPI report will be released on September 11. Economists expect the core inflation rate to be up 0.2% month-over-month and 3.2% year-over-year. Bank of America said it expects the August CPI report to continue the good news on the inflation front. “Beyond August, we think that upside risks to inflation have diminished, owing largely to the cooling labor market. The data should strengthen the case for a September cut,” noted the BofA economic team. Looking ahead, the firm expects that activity and labor market data will be more important determinants of the pace and depth of the cutting cycle than inflation. While a rate reduction at the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting on September 18 appears to be a lock, the CPI report could tip the scales between a 25-point cut and a 50-point cut.
Investor events: The four-day Goldman Sachs Communacopia Technology Conference will turn heads in the media, communications, tech, and consumer sectors during the week. The potpourri of companies presenting includes Nvidia (NVDA), AT&T (T), DoorDash (DASH), Lyft (LYFT), AMD (AMD), Hasbro (HAS), and Coinbase Global (COIN). Southwest Airlines (LUV) is scheduled to meet with representatives of Elliot Management as the airline company looks to work with its activist investor. Microsoft (MSFT) will hold a cybersecurity conference at its Redmond, Washington campus. The Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit will bring together leading security firms to address vulnerabilities that surfaced after a problematic software update from CrowdStrike (CRWD) caused widespread system failures in July. Rocket Companies (RKT) will host its first Investor Day event. Bank of America thinks the company will take the opportunity to highlight its AI capabilities, in addition to discussing how the company is positioned to drive higher profitability as mortgage volume increases. At the end of the week, the beginning of the five-day European Society for Medical Oncology Meeting will attract attention in the healthcare sector. Merck (MRK), AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Incyte (INCY), and 23andMe (ME) are some of the notable companies due to present data or abstracts.
Apple event: Apple (AAPL) is expected to announce at least four new iPhones and possibly new color options at the “It’s Glowtime” event scheduled for September 9. Morgan Stanley expects the event will feature the launch of the iPhone 16 family, new Apple Watch models (Series X and Ultra 3), and potentially new AirPods. Analyst Erik Woodring thinks the iPhone 16 family of devices will include a new 3nm chipset (A18), 8GB of DRAM (up from 6GB in the iPhone 15/15 Plus), and the addition of an Action Button. Pre-orders for the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, and 16 Pro/Pro Max are expected to start on September 13th, with in-store availability/shipping to start on September 20. For investors, historically, the iPhone launch event has been a sell-the-news event, with Apple slightly underperforming the market the day of the iPhone launch. However, the AI angle for Apple (AAPL) could make this year different. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives and his team expect developers over the next 6 to 12 months will build hundreds of generative AI-driven apps as part of a technology stack that creates the core building blocks of the consumer AI tidal wave we see coming starting with iPhone 16.
Box office preview Warner Bros. Discovery’s (NASDAQ:WBD) Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to take over the box-office lead from Deadpool & Wolverine (DIS), and is tracking toward the second-best September opening of all time. Warner Bros. is trying to manage expectations around $80M for the film, but whispers have it garnering at least $100M — better in September than the $91M from 2019’s It: Chapter 2, and perhaps even pushing the best September opener, 2017’s It, with $123M. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a follow-up to 1988’s Beetlejuice, the Tim Burton-directed tale of a “bio-exorcist” enlisted to help a recently deceased couple haunt the new residents of their house. The new film returns a few key stars from the original, including Michael Keaton in the title role, along with Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. It’s opening wide in a hefty total of nearly 4,600 screens. The U.S. box office is down 15% year-over-year from last year’s level through September 6 and is 27% lower than the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019.
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