Costco ( NYSE: COST) enters its upcoming Q1 earnings release on the back of strong Q4 FY25 execution, highlighted by robust traffic gains, solid membership growth, and broad-based core-margin improvement. Management struck a confident tone last quarter, noting continued momentum across fresh foods, sundries, nonfoods and digitally enabled channels, as well as accelerating executive membership upgrades. This print matters because Costco is navigating a fluid tariff backdrop, structural wage inflation, and shifting category mix while attempting to preserve its price leadership and margin stability.
Nike reported $0.49 per share in its August quarter against expectations of $0.27, delivering an 81% earnings surprise on revenue of $11.72 billion. The company has exceeded estimates in seven of its last eight quarters, averaging roughly 35% surprises. However, net income dropped to $727 million from over $1 billion a year earlier, and operating margin compressed to 7.9%. Gross margin held at 42.2%, but operating expenses ate into profitability as the company invested in digital infrastructure and premium product lines.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big moneymakers for brands, and companies are feeling extra pressure to squeeze the most they can out of every sale in today's economic environment. For months, brands have grappled with higher costs of goods, changes to their supply chains and low consumer confidence. Retail executives know that shoppers expect promotions for Cyber Week, but they also want to ensure their balance sheets are strong going into 2026.
Symbotic ( Nasdaq:SYM) reports Q4 FY2025 results after the close, with Wall Street looking for steadier execution following a reset in deployment timing. Management has already signaled that Q4 growth will be less pronounced as customers shift project schedules to incorporate Symbotic's newly launched storage-structure architecture, which offers higher density and materially faster installation. This call matters because it should clarify the cadence of deployments into early FY2026, how quickly the new structure scales, and whether margin progress holds amid elevated investment and prototype development.
The company's adjusted EBIT of $2.6 billion and operating cash flow of $7.4 billion demonstrate operational cash generation, but adjusted free cash flow of $4.3 billion signals capital intensity. More troubling: Ford Pro, the company's high-margin commercial segment, generated $2 billion in EBIT on $17.4 billion revenue-a strong 11.5% margin-but it's being offset by Ford Model e's $1.4 billion EBIT loss as the company invests heavily in EV transition.
Dell ( NYSE: DELL) reports fiscal Q2 2026 earnings after the close. The PC and server giant has become a key player in the AI infrastructure buildout, booking more than $12 billion in AI server orders in Q1 alone. However, profitability pressures in PCs and traditional servers weighed on results, with EPS missing by 8% despite record revenue. The key question tonight is whether Dell can turn that $14B+ backlog into profitable growth. Here are the figures Wall Street is expecting.
