Last week, retailers Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc. provided broad strokes on how rising prices for essentials have reshaped consumer habits. <\/p>\n
Now come the finer points, with a whole lot of other retailers \u2014 including Dollar Tree Inc. Those results will offer more context on low-income and middle-income shoppers, who have struggled more under the weight of food-price increases, and the broader hunt for discounts. They\u2019ll also color the gaps on demand for clothing, which has suffered as those food prices have risen, and electronics, which have seen a similar exodus after customer maxed out during the pandemic. Health and beauty products, meanwhile, have held up, as people get back out into the world.<\/p>\n The retail earnings dump for the quarter begins on Tuesday, with Lowe\u2019s Cos. Burlington Stores Inc. Retailers\u2019 fortunes over the past year have largely hinged on groceries, as higher prices have boosted sales. But as stores keep those prices high, and raise questions about whether those higher prices are profit-driven at this point, consumers have struggled to keep up. Demand for clothing, electronics and home goods and other purchases \u2014 which can deliver greater margins, but aren\u2019t things people have to buy every week \u2014 have also suffered in the process. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss: Walmart CEO on higher costs for basics \u2014 \u2018We all need those\u00a0prices\u00a0to come down\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Executives at Walmart \u201cThe persistently high rates of inflation in these categories lasting for such a long period of time are weighing on some of the families we serve,\u201d Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis stubborn inflation in dry grocery and consumables is one of the key factors creating uncertainty for us in the back half of the year because of the cumulative impact on discretionary spending in other categories, specifically, general merchandise,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n That problem is even bigger for Target In-depth: Retailers say theft cost nearly $100 billion last year. But are stores using crime stats to cover up other problems? <\/strong><\/p>\n Still, as with signs of easing anxiety over inflation, a FactSet analysis of first-quarter earnings calls found that the word \u201crecession\u201d came up less frequently, and that the number of S&P 500 companies talking about one has fallen for the third straight quarter. <\/p>\n Thirteen S&P 500 Nvidia and the AI fervor:<\/strong> Last year, a dimmer sales outlook and China sales restrictions weighed on Nvidia Corp.
\n DLTR,
\n
\n Costco Wholesale Corp.
\n COST,
\n
\n Best Buy Co. Inc.
\n BBY,
\n
\n Gap Inc.
\n GPS,
\n
\n and Ulta Beauty Inc.
\n ULTA,
\n
\n \u2014 reporting results this week.<\/p>\n
\n LOW,
\n
\n BJ\u2019s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc.
\n BJ,
\n
\n AutoZone Inc.
\n AZO,
\n
\n Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods Inc.
\n DKS,
\n
\n Urban Outfitters Inc.
\n URBN,
\n
\n and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
\n WSM,
\n
\n reporting results. Results from Express Inc.
\n EXPR,
\n
\n Kohl\u2019s Corp.
\n KSS,
\n
\n Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
\n ANF,
\n
\n and American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
\n AEO,
\n
\n arrive Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\n BURL,
\n
\n Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc.
\n BBW,
\n
\n Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Ulta, Costco and Gap are expected to report Thursday. Big Lots Inc.
\n BIG,
\n
\n rounds out the week on Friday. <\/p>\n
\n WMT,
\n
\n which sells a bunch of groceries and a bit of everything else, said last week that more wealthy shoppers, seeking cheaper purchases, were trickling in to their stores. But they said rising prices for some groceries and other essentials had become a more trenchant problem for customers living paycheck to paycheck, who are in year No. 3 of trying to find ways to make ends meet amid stubborn inflation. <\/p>\n
\n TGT,
\n
\n and other retailers that depend on sales of more discretionary goods, such as furniture, clothes and electronics. Target executives are dealing with an unstable margin profile that could be an issue for many other retail executives, with Target\u2019s leaders deciding to point their fingers at organized theft.<\/p>\nThis week in earnings<\/h2>\n
\n SPX,
\n
\n companies are set to report earnings this week, according to FactSet. Retailers aside, cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc.
\n PANW,
\n
\n reports during the week. So do workplace-management software provider Workday Inc.
\n WDAY,
\n
\n and Splunk Inc.
\n SPLK,
\n
\n Toronto-Dominion Bank
\n TD,
\n
\n also reports. <\/p>\nThe call to put on your calendar<\/h2>\n
\n NVDA,
\n
\n But shares of the chip maker, which reports Wednesday, reached their highest price since 2021 last week, as it prepares to roll out new, cheaper gaming cards and its big-tech counterparts prepare for an AI-investing onslaught. For Nvidia, some analysts say, that spending on AI will be a windfall. \u201cChatGPT has sparked a sense of urgency some are calling \u2018AI\u2019s iPhone moment.\u2019 AI models continue to grow and proliferate. NVDA\u2019s full stack hardware\/software platform remains the cornerstone to an expanding AI ecosystem,\u201d Oppenheimer analysts said in a research note last week. The call could put more specifics behind the upbeat speculation. <\/p>\nThe number to watch:<\/strong><\/h2>\n