We have a few presentations, rollouts, and even earnings reports to watch in the weeks ahead. Let's look at some of the dates that investors will want to be watching in May.
May 2
Microsoft (MSFT -2.45%) is hosting a media event in New York City on Tuesday. Initial buzz about a Surface phone or an updated line of Surface tablets seems to have faded away.
The event is being promoted with a #MicrosoftEDU hashtag, suggesting that it will be a media powwow to announce new initiatives in education. Some of the scuttlebutt suggests that Microsoft may be ready to roll out a new Chrome-like operating system to capture the educational market that the cheap, fast, and secure Chrome platform has been feasting on lately. There's always the dream of virtual reality news for the classroom via Microsoft's HoloLens.
Microsoft stock hit yet another new high on Friday. Momentum is clearly in its pocket these days, and it can't afford to squander that with an uninspiring media event that fails to generate headlines.
May 10
Snapchat parent Snap, Inc. (SNAP 2.89%) hit the market nearly two months ago with a flurry of hype, and now in a few days it will deliver its first quarterly report as a public company. Snap stock has been volatile, and that's not going to change when it announces fresh financials for the first quarter. Snap reports on May 10 after the market close.
Analysts see revenue soaring 186% since the prior year's first quarter, though skeptics will point out that Snap it expected to post another quarterly deficit. The concern at Snap is decelerating user growth, so the market will want to see how usage is trending.
Image source: Disney.
May 27
Memorial Day weekend is going to be a busy time for Disney (DIS -1.01%) theme parks on both coasts. It's debuting Pandora -- The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando and Guardians of the Galaxy -- Mission BREAKOUT! at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim on the same day.
There's a lot riding on both well-publicized additions to its theme park attraction arsenal, and Pandora is Disney's most ambitious domestic theme park expansion in years. Disney suffered from attendance dips at Disneyland and Disney World through most of last year, and the hope here is that new rides will woo guests back at higher price points.
