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24 Feb Week Ahead: Major Earnings, German Elections, PCE & More
The week of 24 February has arrived, bringing with it a slew of important economic and financial data releases. These key updates are expected to offer traders and investors valuable insights into the current state of the economy as we approach the start of a new month.
Here’s a preview of the week ahead:
German Elections
The week began with the highly anticipated results of the German elections, in which the opposition conservatives, led by Friedrich Merz, emerged victorious on Sunday, 23 February.
Projections revealed that the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), saw a surge in support, marking its strongest performance since World War II. Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged his center-left Social Democrats’ defeat, calling it “a bitter election result.”
According to ARD and ZDF public television projections, his party finished in third place, recording its worst result in a national parliamentary election since the end of World War II. Moreover, Merz expressed hopes of forming a coalition government by Easter, although some believe this may prove difficult.
The election campaign was largely shaped by concerns over the stagnation of Europe’s largest economy and growing calls for stricter immigration policies. This point created tension after Merz advocated for a tougher stance in recent weeks. The backdrop of the election also featured rising uncertainty surrounding the future of Ukraine and the future of Europe’s alliance with the United States.
It will be interesting to observe how these results will impact Germany’s economy and political landscape in the years to come. (Source: Time.com)
Tech Earnings
Tech earnings are set to be released this week, with main reports coming from tech giants like Nvidia (NVDA), HP (HPQ), and Dell (DELL).
Nvidia
AI-darling Nvidia’s upcoming earnings on Wednesday, 26 February, are arguably one of this month’s most anticipated releases. It may be in light of the artificial intelligence (AI) hype and the emergence of the AI Chinese chatbot, DeepSeek, which generated market jitters and intensified the competition over AI supremacy.
While the actual results are yet to be determined, Nvidia (NVDA) is expected to report as follows:
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be $0.84 (+63% higher than the prior year).
Revenue is expected to be $38.26 billion (+73% higher than in the same quarter last year).
According to Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya, “The stock could be volatile post results, but we expect the positive momentum to resume as investors look forward to Nvidia's leading new product pipeline (GB300, Rubin) and total addressable market expansion into robotics and quantum technologies at upcoming GTC conference (March 17).”
HP
HP (HPQ) is set to release its earnings on Thursday, 27 February, with analysts expecting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74 and revenue of $13.35 billion. The company, like many other PC makers, benefitted from a surge in demand for laptops and personal computers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the post-pandemic period has seen a slowdown in PC sales as the market returned to pre-pandemic conditions. In response, HP has shifted its focus towards innovation and cost reduction, rolling out AI-powered products such as the OmniBook. This pivot may play a key role in shaping HP’s financial performance moving forward. As traders look ahead to earnings, assessing whether these strategic efforts have effectively countered the slowdown in PC demand and driven stronger results will be interesting.
Dell
Dell (DELL) will report earnings on Thursday and is projected to report an EPS of $2.51 on revenue of $24.59B.
Moreover, some analysts believe that the company can enjoy the AI boom in spite of its latest underwhelming quarterly update. Interestingly, Dell shares climbed two weeks ago due to talks of a potential $5 billion AI server deal with Elon Musk’s xAI.
It will be worth seeing how these latest developments have shaped the company’s financial performance.
More Earnings
Other reports for this week include the following:
Tuesday, 25 February:
Wednesday, 26 February:
Thursday, 27 February:
Friday, 28 February:
Only time will tell how these companies have actually fared.
US PCE
US personal consumption expenditure (PCE), the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, will be reported this week on Friday, 28 February.
The report, which will reflect January inflation figures, will be closely watched by market participants and policymakers alike.
Economists project the following:
Annual Core PCE to come in at 2.6% (below December’s 2.7%).
Monthly Core PCE to come in at 0.3% (over the prior month’s 0.2%).
All in all, “The data is expected to show a more muted pace of price increase for the month of January than the consumer price index (CPI).”
Other Key Events & Reports
Besides the above, traders may want to keep track of the following events for the week:
Tuesday, 25 February
US Consumer Confidence (February)
Remarks from Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan
Wednesday, 26 February
US New Home Sales (January)
Remarks from Atalanta Fed President Raphael Bostic
Thursday, 27 February
Japan Tokyo CPI (YOY)
US Initial Jobless Claims (week ending 22 February)
US Pending Home Sales (January)
Remarks from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack
Friday, 28 February
Germany Retail Sales (January)
US Advance Trade Balance (January)
US Advance Wholesale Inventories (January)
US Advance Retail Inventories (January)
Remarks from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee.
Conclusion
As the week of February 24 unfolds, key events like the German election results, tech earnings from major companies like Nvidia, HP, and Dell, and the release of the US PCE data will offer valuable insights for traders and investors.
With anticipation surrounding inflation reports and tech companies' growth prospects amid the AI boom, these updates could influence the economic landscape.
*Past performance does not reflect future results.
