Stocks rose last week, helping both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.12%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.58%) set new all-time records. The S&P is now up over 25% so far this year, and the Dow has gained 19%.
Earnings season continues with several major earnings reports over the next few trading days. Let's take a closer look at a few highly anticipated announcements from this list, by Disney (DIS -0.83%), TripAdvisor (TRIP 0.75%), and Tattooed Chef (TTCF).
Image source: Getty Images.
Disney's average streaming spending
Investors have some big questions heading into the fourth quarter earnings report from Disney, set for after market close on Wednesday. The entertainment giant's stock hasn't participated in the 2021 rally, thanks to slowing growth in the Disney+ service and continued pandemic pressure on its theme parks and cruise ships. It hasn't helped that the company paused its dividend payout, either.
This week's report might contain some better news on a few of these fronts. Disney is expected to show more guest traffic improvements this week compared to a year earlier. Its streaming service might have seen firming expansion trends, too, given the strong growth that rival Netflix noted in October.
Wall Street will be watching for signs that Disney can continue lifting its average monthly prices in the streaming service even as it pushes into lower cost markets. Premium content streaming options might support that move, but the bigger factor will be a steady stream of popular content being released over the peak TV watching season ahead.
TripAdvisor's traffic trends
TripAdvisor's management team has been talking about a significant pent-up demand release that will power the business forward, but investors aren't expecting to see that surge just yet. The travel booking giant's Monday earnings report should show sales continuing to sit at roughly 40% below the comparable period in 2019, before the pandemic depressed demand for hotels and restaurants.
CEO Stephen Kaufer and his team said back in early August that traffic to TripAdvisor's platform improved steadily from March through June, reaching about 80% of normal levels. We'll find out on Monday afternoon just how big of an impact the delta variant's rise had on that critical growth metric .
Meanwhile, look for the management team to highlight continued progress cutting costs. Success on this score should lay the groundwork for record profitability perhaps as early as 2022 -- if the travel industry fully recovers over the next few quarters.
Tattooed Chef's growth rate
Wall Street has some concerns heading into Tattooed Chef's Wednesday afternoon report. There was mostly good news in the plant-based food specialist's last announcement, as sales jumped 46%. But the company is still a relatively tiny player in a market that's attracting a flood of competition from established packaged food giants. Short-term earnings will be pinched by soaring costs, too.
Look for Tattooed Chef to mostly shrug off those concerns as it focuses on building its sales base by entering new grocery store chains like Publix, and by making acquisitions like its recent purchase of nutrition bar specialist, Belmont Confections.
The big question heading into this week's report is whether Tattooed Chef can use these initiatives to build a sustainable national footing in the plant-based food industry over the next few quarters – without sacrificing too much in the way of profitability. That's why investors will be watching sales growth and gross profit margins in its announcement this week.
