The week ahead is looking slightly quieter on the company earnings front, with the focus on interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve, but there are still plenty of key business updates to keep an eye on.
Software giant Salesforce (CRM) is set to host its annual Dreamforce conference this week, showcasing its latest products and updates, with it having just unveiled its artificial intelligence (AI) Agentforce platform.
In the world of clothing retail, investors will be looking to see if Next (NXT.L) has continued its run of strong sales growth, as well as any updates on the integration of brands Reiss and FatFace.
Investors will also be looking for some positive news from Ocado (OCDO.L), given the business has held onto its title as the UK's fastest growing grocer, though its shares have seen pretty dismal performance year-to-date.
B&Q-owner Kingfisher (KGF.L) is set up to report first-half results, with hopes that it will be able to stick to previously stated guidance and continue its progress since warning on profits twice last autumn.
Back in the US, investors will also be looking to see if delivery giant FedEx (FDX) is staying on course to meet its earnings targets for the year and how it progressing with cost saving targets.
Here's what to look out for:
Salesforce (CRM) — Dreamforce conference from Tuesday 17 September to Thursday 19 September
Salesforce, which provides customer relationship management software, is set to take over San Francisco once again with its annual Dreamforce event.
The conference for its customers and partners acts as a showcase for products and updates, with Salesforce having unveiled its AI Agentforce platform on Thursday. The product offers a suite of AI agents that can handle tasks in service, sales, marketing and commerce.
The three-day conference is set to include speeches from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The event also boasts a celebrity speaker line-up with actors Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. In fact, Elton John was previously set to perform at the Dreamfest event during the conference but has dropped out, with popstar P!nk and band Imagine Dragons scheduled to perform instead.
In terms of company performance, Salesforce recently posted second-quarter results that beat estimates, with revenues up 8% to $9.3bn (￡7bn) for the period.
It also raised operating cash flow growth guidance for its 2025 fiscal year to between 23% and 25%.
Despite these numbers, shares are down 3% year-to-date but have performed much more strongly over the long-term, up 65% over five years.
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Next (NXT.L) — Reports first-half results on Thursday 19 September
Shares in clothing retailer Next hit an all-time high of ￡103.85 this week, with the stock up 28% year-to-date.
"At its core, retail is about selling the right product at the right price point in the right format for the target customer base," said AJ Bell investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth.
"Next seems to have the knack of getting this right and in this respect its key performance indicator of growth in full-price sales is particularly helpful."
This will be the first figure that analysts look at when Next releases its first-half results on 19 September, they said, particularly after the company reported better-than-expected growth in full-price sales of 3.2% when it updated on trading in August.
The update offered a preview into the actual half-year figures, with those initial figures showing full-price sales up 4.4% for those first six months of the company's fiscal year, ahead of expectations of 2.5% growth.
"That better-than-expected sales showing in the first half, plus lower-than-expected costs, prompted [CEO] Lord Wolfson to upgrade full-year pre-tax profit forecasts by ￡20m, or 2%, to ￡980m, compared to last year’s outturn of ￡908m," said Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth.
They said that analysts will also be looking for an update on its deal with Reiss, after increase its stake to a majority shareholding last year, as well as its integration of FatFace and Joules, along with any other merger and acquisition activity.
Any developments on the Next Total Platform, which allows third-party brands to use its online services for their own e-commerce operations, will also be of interest.
In terms of dividends, AJ Bell's investment experts said analysts were looking for a 9% increase in the full-year payments, which is worth keeping in mind when looking at its interim dividend.
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Ocado (OCDO.L) — Reports third-quarter results on Thursday 19 September
UK online grocery retailer Ocado is also set to report on Thursday, though its shares have slid since the beginning of the year, with the stock down 57% year-to-date.
“Ocado’s valuation’s been under pressure lately, but its last set of results delivered some positive news to investors’ doors," said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The company reported revenue grew nearly 13% to ￡1.5bn in the first-half, with an uplift across all of its business units.
The number of active customers also increased by 8% to almost 1.04 million, which Chiekrie said was "the biggest driver of growth as price increases contributed a smaller amount".
Ocado's guidance for full-year revenue growth implied a slowdown in its retail and technology solutions businesses in the second half of the year, he said.
"As a result, investors are keen to see if there’s scope for a more positive outlook when the group announces third-quarter results next week," said Chiekrie.
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Kingfisher (KGF.L) — Reports half-year results on Tuesday 17 September
Shares in the B&Q and Screwfix-owner Kingfisher are up by more than a fifth over the past year, though they still remain lower than in the height of pandemic lockdowns when people spent more time on DIY projects at home.
"This rally may reflect improved consumer confidence as unemployment remains relatively low, wage growth continues to outpace inflation, oil prices remain depressed, and the Bank of England starts to cut interest rates," said AJ Bell's Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth.
They said that while Kingfisher's first-quarter update in May didn't offer any standout performance news, it was an improvement on last autumn, when the company issued profit warnings in September and then November.
"DIY peers such as Wickes have since hinted at improved trading momentum, even if the macroeconomic outlook remains far from certain," they said.
In May's update, Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier stuck to his forecast for adjusted pre-tax profits for the year to January 2025 of between ￡490m and ￡550m. He also guided to free cash flow of between ￡350m and ￡410m.
"Analysts and shareholders will look to the outlook statement to see if those are still achievable targets for the year and reassure themselves that a streak of two consecutive decreases in earnings is indeed ending (though Kingfisher will take great pains to point out that sales are well above pre-pandemic levels)," said Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth.
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FedEx (FDX) — Reports first-quarter earnings on Thursday 19 September
Shares in delivery giant FedEx rallied in June, after it offered strong profit forecasts for 2025 and outlined cost reductions for the year ahead.
In its 2024 full-year results, FedEx said it was expecting earnings per diluted share of between $20 (￡15) and $22 for the coming year.
The delivery company also said it expected to deliver permanent cost savings of $2.2bn from its programme to transform the business.
FedEx said it also further optimising operations in its freight business, with planned closures of seven of facilities. The company also said that management were assessing what value FedEx Freight contributed to the overall business.
In terms of its 2024 performance, FedEx reported an operating income of $1.56bn, up from $1.5bn in the previous year.
“We made significant progress in fiscal 2024 and ended the year strong, delivering four consecutive quarters of expanding operating income and margin in a challenging revenue environment,” said Raj Subramaniam, president and CEO of FedEx Corp.
Year-to-date the stock is up 11% and has performed even better over five years, up 62%.
