Equities weekly forecast; Walmart, Burberry & Alibaba

Walmart Q1 earnings preview

Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers by sales, will report Q1 earnings on Thursday, May 15th providing insight into the health of the US consumer.

Wall Street is expecting EPS of $0.58, down 4% compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, revenue is expected to rise 2.7% annually to $165.8 billion. Looking ahead, Q2 revenue is expected to rise 3.5% to $175.1 billion in Q2, with earnings rising 5% to 0.70 a share.

Walmart is one of the first major retailers to report following Trump’s trade tariff announcements. Attention will be focused on the potential impact on this consumer-facing stock, as consumer confidence has fallen sharply. Given its price point and scale, Walmart typically performs well in periods of uncertainty, often emerging on the other side with a greater market share and a stronger business. The huge market share allows it to absorb some of the pain from tariffs and close the price gap with its competitors.

Walmart is also undergoing a technological transformation that could drive high single-digit to low double-digit percentage annualised operating profit growth.

How to trade WMT earnings?

After falling from 105, the 2025 high, Walmart’s share price fall to a low of 80.00. The price recovered rising above its 50, 100 & 200 SMA to just below 100, the March high. Buyers will need to retake this level to extend gains to 105 the 2025 high.

However, the RSI suggests that momentum is faltering. A rejection at 100 could see the price ease back towards the 100 SMA at 93.00 and below here, 90.00.

Burberry  FY results preview

Burberry will release preliminary full-year numbers on Wednesday, May 14. These come as the share price trades over 20% lower year to date. While Q3 sales weren’t as bad as feared, investors are worried about the outlook given worries over consumer spending in China as trade tariffs hit.

While the financial year has finished before President Trump’s Liberation Day, the US-China trade war will likely knock confidence further. Meanwhile, the US market is also likely to become more difficult as universal tariffs increase costs for US customers and raise the likelihood of a recession. The US has been a brighter spot for Burberry, with like-for-like revenue rising 4% for the last quarter. Burberry is mid-market in terms of its luxury tag, meaning that it won’t escape tariff fallout.

However, the share price did jump after Q3 results, which were stronger than expected. H2 results are expected to offset the H1 operating loss of $41 million.

Early signs suggests that new CEO Joshua Schulman's turnaround is helping to revive overall sales and interest in the brand. If this trend continues, it could help offset some of the weakness from the jump in trade tariffs.

How to trade BRBY results?

Burberry's share price fell from 1250, the 2025 high, to a low of 597 on Liberation Day. From here, the price recovered to around 780 horizontal and trend line resistance. Buyers would need to rise above this key resistance to expose the 200 SMA at 840.

Sellers could be encouraged by the 50 SMA crossing below the 200 SMA in a death cross signal. Should the price face rejection at 780, the price could move back towards the 600 support.

 

Alibaba Q4 earnings previews

Alibaba is due to release Q4 earnings before the market opens on May 15th. Earnings come as the share price of the e-commerce giant has been on a roller coaster, rallying 80% in the first few months of the year before dropping sharply on Trump's trade tariffs. The price has since recovered half of those losses, rallying 30% from its 2025 lows on optimism surrounding US-China trade talks.

Alibaba earnings will serve as a proxy for the health of the Chinese consumer as they face deflation and headwinds from US-imposed tariffs. Trade restrictions could also hinder Alibaba's cloud computing segment. The cloud intelligence group saw revenue growth of 13% in the previous quarter, thanks to AI product growth, which is expected to continue to accelerate.

Expectations are for EPS of $1.73, up from $1.40 in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue is expected to rise to $32.9 billion, up from $30.7 billion a year earlier.

How to trade Alibaba earnings?

On the weekly chart, BABA has fallen back from its 2024 high of 148, falling to 95, before recovering to its current level of 125. The 50 SMA is crossing over the 100 SMA in a bullish gold cross signal, which, combined with the RSI above 50, keeps buyers hopeful of further gains.

Support can be seen at 100 and the 200 SMA. A break below here and 95 could keep see sellers gain momentum.