Wall Street Breakfast: The Week Ahead

Inflation trends will again be the key focus of investors next week, with the U.S. PCE inflation reading and flash CPI reports from Europe due to be released. Other economic reports of interest include updates on durable goods, consumer confidence, new home sales, and the advanced goods trade balance. Analysts think the overall balance of data releases could confirm a cooling economy. Core PCE inflation, also known informally as the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is forecast to be up 0.2% month-over-month to push the year-over-year rate down to 3.8%.

Earnings reports in the week ahead include releases from Micron Technology (MU) (analysis), Costco (COST), Nike (NKE) (preview), and Jefferies Financial Group (JEF). In the tech sector, Meta Platforms (META) will host its highly-anticipated Meta Connect and Huawei will hold a key product event. Energy investors will be watching the TotalEnergies (TTE) Investor Day event amid a recent rally in oil prices.

Earnings spotlight: Monday, September 25 - THOR Industries (THO).

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, September 26 - Costco (COST), Cintas (CTAS), and United Natural Foods (UNFI).

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, September 27 - Micron Technology (MU), Paychex (PAYX), and Jefferies Financial Group (JEF).

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, September 28 - Accenture (ACN), Nike (NKE), CarMax (KMX), and Jabil (JBL).

Earnings spotlight: Friday, September 29 - Carnival (CCL).

IPO and spinoff watch: The IPO market will take a little breather in the week ahead, with no new pricing anticipated. The analyst quiet period ends on Inspire Veterinary Partners (NASDAQ:IVP), while the IPO lockup period expires on blocks of shares of Hongli Group (HLP), Jin Medical (NASDAQ:ZJYL), YanGuFang International Group (YGF), Vesta (NYSE:VTMX), Alliance Entertainment Holding (AENT), Himalaya Shipping (HSHP), and Hitek Global (HKIT). Of that group, Jin Medical has seen the biggest share price gain since the IPO launch dates. Instacart/Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) will begin its second week of trading.

Key events: Huawei will hold a product event for the media on September 25. Analysts will be looking for details on the latest Mate 60 Pro 5G smartphone and the chip used. The last Huawei phone introduced used a chip made by China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International (OTCQX:SIUIF), which caused concern in the U.S. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said recently that the U.S. needed to get more information on the precise character and composition of the chip powering Mate 60 Pro. Workday's (NASDAQ:WDAY) four-day Workday Rising conference will begin on September 26. The two-day Code Conference hosted by Vox Media will run on September 26-27. Notable speakers include X CEO Linda Yaccarino, AMD (AMD) CEO Lisa Su, Roblox (RBLX) CEO David Baszucki, Warner Music (WMG) CEO Robert Kyncl, and General Motors (GM) CEO Mary Barra. Check out Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch for a more detailed listing of upcoming events.

Conference schedule: The conference schedule includes the TD Paper & Forest Products Conference, the Emerging Growth in A.I. Conference, the Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference, the William Blair's What's Next for Industrials Virtual Conference, the RBC Capital Markets Global Communications Infrastructure Conference, and the Jefferies 2023 Virtual Pet Care & Wellness Conference.