This Week's Stars Are Zoom, Target And Costco

Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM will open the week on Monday after market close whereas big-box retailers highlight the week's other big releases, led by Target Corporation TGT on Tuesday and Costco Wholesale Corporation COST on Thursday.

Zoom Video Communications

According to Financial Times, researchers at Stanford University have confirmed what millions of remote workers already knew, that "Zoom fatigue" causes greater stress than meeting in real life because of the "non-verbal overload" of endless video calls. Not to mention that users are seeing reflections of themselves at a frequency and duration that hasn't been seen before in the history of media and the history of people. Although some problems could be solved with trivial changes to its user interface, such as automatically hiding the "selfie" window. 

The bigger problem with Zoom is that behavior that is ordinarily reserved for close relationships, such as faces seen close up, has suddenly become the way we interact with casual acquaintances and even strangers. This new way of communication takes a toll on our minds and that could eventually hamper Zoom's success with the stocking already having lost its luster due to vaccine developments.

Novavax, Inc. NVAX is preparing to launch its COVID-19 vaccine after 33 years of failed attempts and facing delisting from the Nasdaq as it couldn't deliver a single approved shot. We will get a new chapter in a fairytale-like story of a little company that was on the verge of potentially closing getting the chance to play with the big boys in the race for the Covid vaccine. As soon as its vaccine gets approved, it is ready to produce 150m doses a month.

Nio Inc NIO will pop the hood after the market close. Earlier, it stated that Q4 deliveries were at a record of 17,353 vehicles which is an increase of 111% YoY and over the upward end of its guidance. But, when it comes to EVs, profitability has frequently taken a back seat and despite the encouraging deliveries, the company has been in the red.

Tuesday

Kohl's Corporation KSS and Target are due to report before the market open. Last week, a group of activist investors pressured the department store to address stagnant sales and operating margins, so it will be interesting to see how the story continues as critics find the company isn't moving fast enough to turn itself around. On the other end, Wall Street expects Target to post a profit of $2.54 per share on $27.4 billion in revenue which would be an impressive 50% profit increase.

Some of its biggest peers have already reported fourth-quarter earnings but investors have big expectations for its holiday quarter. We already know Target had a good season as it revealed that sales grew 17% during the holidays which on its own is enough to outpace Walmart Inc WMT, which just reported a 9% holiday quarter boost. However, this is a slight slowdown from its third quarter's 21% growth, so we'll learn whether Target continued to win market share in each of its core selling categories. Nordstrom, Inc. JWN and Box Inc BOX will board the reporting train after market close.

Wednesday

Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR will report before the market open with Okta Inc OKTA, Snowflake Inc SNOW known for its ‘too hot to handle IPO', Vroom Inc VRM, Splunk Inc SPLK will reveal their earnings after market close.

Thursday

Kroger Co KR will report before market open with Opendoor Technologies Inc OPEN, Broadcom Inc AVGO, SmileDirectClub Inc SDC, Costco, and Gap Inc GPS closing the earnings week after market close.

This week will be full of retail that was dramatically changed by the pandemic. We will also get a better idea if Zoom can maintain its success beyond the pandemic as, despite its many benefits, digital communication didn't measure up to in-person socializing.

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