Retail heavyweights Walmart and Home Depot report, OpenAI vs. Google, and EV tariff drama (2024)

Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch - a breakdown of some of next week's actionable events that stand out. Check out Seeking Alpha's earnings calendar for a full list of companies due to report.

Monday - May 13

• Volatility watch - Options trading volume is elevated on Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) and AMC Entertainment (AMC). Short interest moved even higher over the last week on TG Therapeutics (TGTX) and EOS Energy Enterprises (EOSE). The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include Vital Farms (VITL), Power Nickel (OTCQB:PNPNF), and Primo Water (PRMW). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Sprout Social (SPT), Titan International (TWI), and CVS (CVS). In the EV sector, investors will be watching to see how Zeekr (ZK) performs in its first full week of trading, and the threat of dueling U.S.-China tariffs could impact stocks such as Tesla (TSLA), NIO (NIO), Li Auto (LI), XPeng (XPEV), and BYD Company (OTCPK:BYDDF).
• Earnings watch - Notable companies due to report include Petrobras (PBR), Tencent Music (TME), and Agilysys (AGYS). Options trading implies sizable share price swings for Terawulf (WULF) and Hyzon Motors (HYZN) after their reports are released.
• All day - Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI is expected to announce an AI search tool that could rival Google (GOOG) (GOOGL).
• All day - The two-day JMP Life Sciences Conference will begin. Some of the companies that will present include Elevation Oncology (ELEV), Rallybio (RLYB), Terns Pharmaceutical (TERN), and Vigil Neuroscience (VIGL). In the past, the conference has led to some share price moves from healthcare companies that participated.
• All day - The three-day Needham Technology, Media, & Consumer Conference will begin. Presenting companies include Clearfield (CLFD), ADTRAN (ADTN), Planet Labs (PL), and Harmonic (HLIT).
• All day - The two-day RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Conference will begin. The agenda for the conference covers topics such as biomedical innovation, M&A, regulation, and the election.
• 9:00 a.m. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will participate in a discussion before a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Tuesday - May 14

• Earnings watch - Notable companies due to report include Home Depot (HD), Alibaba (BABA), Sony (SONY), Tencent Holdings (OTCPK:TCEHY), and Flutter Entertainment (FLUT). Options trading implies double-digit share price swings for Rumble (RUM) and Jack in the Box (JACK) after their reports are released.
• All day - Shareholders with Chord Energy (CHRD) will vote on the merger deal with Enerplus (ERF).
• All day - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot will speak at a special event organized by the Netherlands' Foreign Bankers' Association.
• All day - OPEC will release its monthly oil market report. Traders expect the report could lead to some extra volatility for oil prices (CL1:COM) (CO1:COM).
• All day - Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) will hold its annual I/O Developer Conference. The tech giant is expected to showcase its latest AI tools and AI-linked enhancements to products. There could also be hardware updates on the Android 15, Pixel 8a, Pixel Fold 2, and Pixel Tablet 2.
• All day - The three-day Bank of America Transportation, Airlines, & Industrials Conference will begin. The large conference features 89 companies across transports, airlines, and industrials. Some of the more interesting presentations to watch include those from United Parcel Service (UPS), Herc Holdings (HRI), Vulcan Materials (VMC), and XPO (XPO). As part of the conference, FedEx (FDX) CFO John Dietrich is expected to discuss the company's $4B Drive initiative and cost savings progress.
• All day - Shareholders of Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST) will vote on the proposed merger with Restaurant Brands International (QSR).
• All day - MSCI Inc. (MSCI) will announce the results of the May 2024 Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indexes - including the MSCI Global Standard, MSCI Global Small Cap and MSCI Micro Cap Indexes, the MSCI Global Value and Growth Indexes, the MSCI Frontier Markets and MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes, the MSCI Global Islamic and MSCI Global Islamic Small Cap Indexes, the MSCI US Equity Index, the MSCI US REIT Index, the MSCI China A Onshore Index, and the MSCI China All Shares Index.
• 8:30 a.m. The April Producer Price Index report will be released.
• 2:45 p.m. Space tech startups will pitch at the Space Tech Expo USA.

Wednesday - May 15

• Earnings watch - Notable companies due to report include Cisco Systems (CSCO), Grab (GRAB), and Monday.com (MNDY). Options trading implies double-digit share price swings for Spire Global (SPIR) and Hut 8 (HUT) after their reports.
• All day - Hedge funds are required to file their quarterly report on holdings by the end of the day.
• All day - Marathon Digital (MARA) CEO Fred Thiel will be one of the featured speakers at the DC Blockchain Summit.
• All day - The two-day BMO Global Farm to Market Conference will feature presentations from a long list of food-related companies, including Kroger (KR) and Tyson Foods (TSN).
• 8:30 a.m. The consumer price index report for April will be released. Economists forecast a 0.3% month-over-month and 3.6% year-over-year increase in the core inflation rate.
• 8:30 a.m. The retail sales report for April will be released.
• 9:00 a.m. GoodRx Holdings (GDRX) will hold its first Investor Day. The event will feature presentations by top management and an overview of the company’s strategy for long-term growth.
• 11:00 a.m. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will participate in a fireside chat on the economy.
• Postmarket - Burning Rock Biotech (BNR) will start trading on a split-adjusted basis following the 1-for-10 reverse stock split.

Thursday - May 16

• Earnings watch - Notable companies due to report include Walmart (WMT), Applied Materials (AMAT), Deere (DE), JD.com (JD), Baidu (BIDU), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), and Under Armour (UAA).
• All day - Cummins (CMI) will hold its Analyst Day event. The company plans to update on its long-term strategy to profitably grow the business.
• All day - A busy day of Federal Reserve speakers includes talks from Patrick Harker, Raphael Bostic, and Loretta Mester.
• All day - AMC Entertainment (AMC) will begin two days of listening parties for Billie Eilish's new album Hit Me Hard and Soft in Dolby Cinema auditoriums at 127 of the company's multiplexes.
• 4:30 p.m. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) will hold a business update call covering its strategic transformation plan.

Friday - May 17

• All day - The four-day National Restaurant Association Show will begin in Chicago, Illinois. The event features the latest innovations in the food service industry.
• All day - The go-shop period ends on the deal for Prysmian (OTCPK:PRYMY) to acquire Encore Wire (WIRE). Encore Wire traded about 3.2% below the deal price at the time of publication.
• All day - The window opens for the next attempt for a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch Boeing's (BA) CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.
• 12:45 p.m. Workers at a Mercedes-Benz Group AG (OTCPK:MBGAF) plant in Alabama will end four days of open voting on whether to join the United Auto Workers union.

Seeking Alpha Editor Josh Fineman contributed to this story.