Evaluating Home Depot, Target, Macy's & Retail Stocks Ahead Of Earnings

Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains breaks down what is going on in the retail world after Walmart (NYSE:WMT) impressed Wall Street once again last week. We then dive into what investors need to know about Home Depot, Target, and Macy’s ahead of their quarterly earnings releases amid a busy stretch for retailers.

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq have all continued to reach new highs in November on the back of stronger-than-projected earnings results, the Fed’s third interest rate cut, and some U.S.-China trade war progress. Along with trade, U.S. jobs data came in higher-than-expected last month and U.S. consumers appear to be in a solid place for the holiday shopping season.

With all this in mind, the earnings season is almost over for the S&P 500, except for retailers. Late last week, Walmart posted strong results once again that pointed to its successful e-commerce and delivery expansion in the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) age.

Wall Street has rewarded Walmart recently. But rival Target (NYSE:TGT) is on an even better run, with its stock up over 70% in 2019. Target reports its quarterly results before the opening bell on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Home Depot (NYSE:HD) , which is set to report Tuesday, has seen its shares surge nearly 40% in 2019.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) is one of the last big retailers to report its results later this week. All eyes will be on the department store giant as its struggles to adapt to the changing retail environment mount. Macy’s and fellow department store firms such as Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) and JCPenney (NYSE:JCP) have seemingly been unable to grow as everyone from Nike (NYSE:NKE) to Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) focus on direct-to-consumer expansion.

Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) , Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) , L Brands (NYSE:LB) , Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) , TJX (NYSE:TJX) , and a ton of other big retailers also report their quarterly results this week.

Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation

Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.

A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.

See 8 breakthrough stocks now>>