Nike, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, Darden, and Other Stocks for Investors to Watch This Week

A handful of notable companies will release their latest results toward the end of this week. Nike, FedEx, and Darden Restaurants will report on Thursday, followed by CarMax and Paychex on Friday. Wednesday will also feature analyst days and investor events from Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Equinix.

Economic data out this week include IHS’ Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ Indexes for June on Wednesday. Both are expected to hold near their record highs. The Census Bureau will release the durable-goods report for May on Thursday. Orders—often seen as a decent proxy for business investment—are expected to rise 3.3% month over month.

And on Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will report personal income and consumption for May. Spending is forecast to continue rising despite a drop off in income as stimulus checks finished being sent out in April.

Monday 6/21

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago releases its National Activity index, a gauge of overall economic activity, for May. Expectations are for a 0.50 reading, higher than April’s 0.24 figure. A positive reading indicates economic growth that is above historical trends.

Tuesday 6/22

The National Association of Realtors reports existing-home sales for May. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.7 million homes sold, about 150,000 fewer than the April data. Existing-home sales have fallen for three consecutive months, as supply hasn’t been able to keep up with demand.

Wednesday 6/23

Equinix hosts its 2021 analyst day, when the company will update its long-term financial outlook.

GlaxoSmithKline hosts a conference call, featuring its CEO, Emma Walmsley, to update investors on the company’s strategy for growth and shareholder value creation.

Johnson & Johnson hosts a webcast to discuss its ESG strategy.

The Census Bureau reports new residential construction data for May. Consensus estimate is for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 875,000 new single-family homes sold, slightly higher than April’s 863,000. Similar to existing-home sales, new-home sales have fallen from their recent peak of 993,000 in January of this year.

IHS Markit reports both its Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ indexes for June. Expectations are for a 61.5 reading for the Manufacturing PMI, and a 69.8 figure for the Services PMI. Both projections are comparable to the May data as well as being near record highs for their respective indexes.

Thursday 6/24

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports the third and final estimate of first-quarter gross-domestic-product growth. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 6.4%.

Accenture, Darden Restaurants, FedEx, and Nike hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.

The Bank of England announces its monetary-policy decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep its key interest rate at 0.1%.

The Census Bureau releases the durable-goods report for May. The consensus call is for new orders of manufactured goods to rise 2.8% month over month to $253 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders are projected at 1%, matching the April data.

Friday 6/25

CarMax and Paychex report earnings.

The BEA reports personal income and consumption for May. Income is expected to fall 3% month over month, after plummeting 13.1% in April. This reflects a dropoff in stimulus checks that first were sent out in March. Spending is seen rising 0.5%, comparable to the April data.

source:barrons.com