Investors can expect a number of market-moving headlines over the coming week, including President Donald Trump welcoming Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one of our long-term holdings delivering earnings, and Meta Platforms hosting a major annual conference. 1. Costco’s Earnings: The major retailer releases monthly sales numbers, so the main thing to look for in a quarterly report is not only profit, but also membership growth and retention trends. The economic backdrop of rising inflation certainly favors Costco as shoppers seek the best bang for their buck. Costco’s club memberships and high-volume sales model allow us to offer nearly unparalleled best-in-class value. TheStreet is also paying attention to the announcement of a “special dividend.” As Bank of America analysts noted in a preview of the quarter, the last special dividend will be paid in January 2024, and the company has traditionally issued special dividends every two to three years. As a result, analysts expect an announcement within the next few quarters, estimating the company could be valued at around $22 per share. When the numbers are released Thursday evening, TheStreet expects revenue of $94.8 billion and earnings of $6.53 per share. 2. Meta’s big conference: Meta Connect, the social media giant’s annual developer conference, kicks off Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg scheduled to deliver the keynote at 7 p.m. ET. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence will be central. Expect more details about the advances the company is making with its Muse Spark family of models and, more importantly, how it’s applying that innovation to its product offerings. We are very impressed with the recently released Muse agent AI application and look forward to hearing early feedback and learning about future plans. It will be interesting to see how the company strengthens its family of apps, both in terms of user engagement and the tools it provides to developers. Because this is the primary short-term path to AI investment returns. It’s also interesting to see the company’s progress on Ray-Ban’s smart glasses product line, although materials are scarce in the short term. Additionally, a preview of the new mixed reality headset is also expected. 3. President Trump and Xi summit: President Trump is scheduled to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday. We will listen carefully to changes in diplomatic posture and trade concessions. The top priority for investors is extending the tariff ceasefire, which is set to expire on November 10, under which the two leaders agreed not to impose or increase certain tariffs. Additionally, Trump expects to look for ways to reduce the trade deficit by about $91 billion by July. Buying planes from Boeing has been a recurring topic in U.S.-China trade talks, so we hope to hear some good news regarding the club’s stock. Artificial intelligence is also expected to become a hot topic as China seeks to close the gap with American companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are among the technology leaders scheduled to attend President Trump’s state dinner for President Xi. The meeting comes amid an escalating battle over AI regulation after Anthropic’s Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in frontier model development. While we support increased efforts to strengthen safety and guardrails as increasingly sophisticated AI models are trained, we believe that forced restraint by regulators is neither realistic nor desirable. President Trump and President Xi are likely to discuss the Iran war, which has had a major impact on both countries’ oil supplies. Before the blockade, almost half of China’s crude oil imports went through the Strait of Hormuz. It will also be important to monitor any discussion regarding Taiwan, an island nation that is critical to the global semiconductor supply chain and over which China claims sovereignty. One Week Ahead Monday, September 21st No events or data released. Tuesday, September 22nd Before the Bell: AutoZone (AZO), MillerKnoll (MLKN), Thor Industries (THO) After the Bell: KB Home (KBH) Wednesday, September 23rd Before the Bell: Cintas (CTAS), Paychex (PAYX), General Mills (GIS), Cracker Barrel (CBRL) After the Bell: HB Fuller (FUL) 24 Before the Bell: TD SYNNEX (SNX), Darden Restaurants (DRI) After the Bell: Costco Wholesale (COST) 8:30 a.m. ET: First Unemployment Claims 10 a.m. ET: New Home Sales Friday, September 25 No events or data released. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
