Stocks opened lower and stayed in the red throughout early morning trading Friday after reports emerged suggesting that President Trump is doubling down on tariffs and has ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to consider new charges on an additional $100 million in Chinese imports.
The move is an extension of trade disputes between the U.S. and China that stretch back to early March, when the Trump administration announced tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Concerns that this issue would snowball into a full-blown, tit-for-tat trade war escalated this week as both nations released their own lists of products to target.
All of these tariffs are part of ongoing negotiations, and it is unclear exactly how things will unfold just yet. Nevertheless, trade anxiety is high and could control the direction of stocks until earnings season gets cranking over the next few weeks.
The upcoming week is not packed with reports, but it does mark the unofficial start of earnings season with the big financials announcing next Friday. With that said, investors can always use the Zacks Earnings Calendar to plan out their schedules for earnings, dividend announcements, and other important financial releases. This handy tool is your perfect one-stop-shop to properly prepare for the market events that will have an impact on your own portfolio.
In this piece, we will be taking a look at three of the most-important reports to anticipate before the big financials announce on Friday. Make sure to keep an eye on these companies as they prepare to report during the week of April 9.
1. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY)
Bed Bath & Beyond is a retailer offering a wide selection of domestics merchandise and home furnishings. The company is slated to announce its latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell on April 11. Shares of BBBY have slumped nearly 4% in the month ahead of its report date.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.41 per share, which would represent a drop of more than 23% from the year-ago period. Our consensus estimate for revenue is calling for net sales of $3.67 billion, which would represent growth of nearly 4%. The stock is sporting a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) ahead of the report.
