Kiplinger's Weekly Earnings Calendar (9/21-9/25): COST, DRI, NKE

Below is a weekly earnings calendar of the most important upcoming quarterly reports schedule to be released by publicly traded companies. There are also earnings previews for select companies. Please check back often. This earnings calendar is updated weekly.

• Monday (9/21)
• Tuesday (9/22)
• Wednesday (9/23)
• Thursday (9/24)
• Friday (9/25)

(Editor's Note: Many earnings dates are tentative but may be moved due to coronavirus-related concerns. However, companies featured in "Earnings Spotlights" have officially announced their earnings dates.)

Earnings Calendar Highlights

MONDAY

Noteworthy Earnings Reports

No noteworthy reports.

TUESDAY

Earnings Spotlight: Nike

Nike (NKE, $116.36) has been far from immune from COVID-19 this year, absorbing a surprise loss last quarter on a 38% year-over-year revenue decline. But investors have confidently driven NKE shares back to pre-pandemic levels and then some, with the stock boasting a 15.1% year-to-date gain.

Nike's fiscal first quarter, which we'll hear about after the Sept. 22 market close, is expected to be less disastrous, but it's clear the pandemic isn't done weighing on results. Wall Street is collectively looking for a 15.7% decline in revenues to $8.98 billion, and profits likely will be cut in half to 43 cents per share.

UBS, for one, doesn't believe Nike will deliver too much more than that Tuesday.

"First, we think Nike will deliver 1Q EPS ahead of consensus, but only by 2c. The key is Nike proactively canceled pre-COVID-19 factory purchase orders for the fall and holiday seasons by roughly 30% on a unit basis," writes UBS analyst Jay Sole, who rates NKE at Buy with a $127-per-share 12-month price target. "Our checks suggest this has made it hard for Nike to drive high near-term sales growth, despite strong demand. We believe this limits 1Q21 EPS upside.

"Second, we doubt Nike significantly revises its guidance. Over Nike's last five 1Q reports, the average outcome has been Nike beats the 1Q consensus EPS estimate by 7c, but the Street's FY EPS outlook doesn't move. Given high macro and COVID-19 uncertainty, we think this trend continues."

BTIG's Camilo Lyon (Buy, $140 PT) notes that Nike has become a more "digitally agile business" that should improve margins over the next half-decade. "That said, there are nearterm hurdles to be mindful of in NA, namely a shortage of inventory, that could cap the sales recovery domestically for the next two quarters as the company scrambles to fill depleted shelves."

Other Noteworthy Reports

WEDNESDAY

Noteworthy Earnings Reports

THURSDAY

Earnings Spotlight: Darden Restaurants

The good news? Darden Restaurants' (DRI, $91.62) Olive Garden, LongHorn, Cheddar's and other locations are back up and running, so the company's fiscal first quarter, which will be reported ahead of the Sept. 24 market open, shouldn't be as bad as its Q1, which included a 43% plunge in revenues and a deep $1.24-per-share loss.

The bad news is, Q1 expectations are still pretty dour. Analysts are looking for a 27.1% year-over-year decline in revenues to $1.56 billion, and a 97.1% evaporation of profits to a mere 4 cents per share.

Guidance could be light, too. Stifel analysts note in a recent restaurant traffic check that "The standout performers in (the full-service restaurant) segment are Chili's and Texas Roadhouse, which have sustained traffic improvement ahead of the industry. Although LongHorn also fits into this category, many of Darden's other brands are not outpacing the industry average, and all three of its largest brands recently saw two consecutive weeks of softer traffic performance, per mobile location data."

Darden is staring at a protracted recovery, but one that a few analysts see potential in.

"We increase our PT to $100 to reflect an expanded multiple given increased confidence in a CD recovery and greater visibility into FY22 EPS, which should support shares," writes UBS analyst Dennis Geiger (Buy, $100 PT). "We expect DRI is positioned to increase mkt share over time, capitalize on post-COVID opportunities (real estate, acquisitions), & benefit from scale."

As for the quarter to be reported: "Our F1Q expectations are for limited (Olive Garden same-store sales) improvement following -31%" for the first three weeks of the fiscal quarter, "making F1Q targets for down 30% DRI sales y/y not so conservative."

Earnings Spotlight: Costco

Investors can expect Costco (COST, $338.88) to be a bundle of positivity during its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, due out after Thursday's market close. The warehouse retailer has reported double-digit year-over-year comparable-store sales growth for several months now, and that has Wall Street expecting good things in Q4.

"COST reported very strong August sales," writes Deutsche Bank's Paul Trussell (Buy), "with core (same-store sales) up 14.5% vs. (estimates of) 12.4% and compared to 15.8% in July as the sequential improvement in hardlines (increased an eye-popping high-20s led by major appliances, electronics, garden, and sporting goods), softlines, and ancillary more than offset a deceleration in food categories.

Stifel's Mark Astrachan and Christopher Armes agree, adding, "Overall we view the August comp beat as suggestive of continued outperformance and share gains as at-home consumption across many categories remains strongly elevated relative historical levels."

Indeed, they raised their EPS targets for fiscal 2020 through fiscal 2022 and upped their 12-month price target to $375 per share.

"We believe Costco remains a best-in-class retailer, with continued reinvestment appropriate to sustain outperformance of peers," they write. "We anticipate the company will continue to invest in price and e-commerce to reinforce its value proposition, which we view as key to sustaining favorable comp and traffic trends and continued outperformance of peers."

Overall, the pros project revenue growth of 9.5% to $51.99 billion, and a 4.1% improvement in profits to $2.80 per share.

Other Noteworthy Reports

FRIDAY

Noteworthy Earnings Reports

No noteworthy reports.

Reporting schedules provided by Briefing.com and company websites. Earnings estimate data provided by Thomson Reuters via Yahoo! Finance, and FactSet via MarketWatch.