Wednesday, January 28, 2015

What to Watch on Wall Street This Week

AP, Rockstar GamesGrand Theft Auto V has been a big winner for Take-Two Interactive. When it releases its earnings this week, we'll find out just how big. You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From earnings reports out of Apple to a deal on burritos on Halloween, here are some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- An Apple a Day: Last Tuesday Apple (AAPL) had the ear of consumers as it introduced new iPads, iMacs, and an updated operating system. Monday afternoon it will be time to sway investors with its fiscal fourth quarter report. Apple is still the top dog in consumer electronics, but iPad, iPod, and Mac sales have been slipping lately. Apple's iPhone is the only product category growing, and the end result is that analysts see flat revenue growth at Apple on declining profitability. Apple's quarter ended with the welcome news that it had sold 9 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c devices in their initial weekend of availability. Now it's time to see if it was enough to save Apple's quarter. Tuesday -- Game On: After years of sluggish sales the video game console industry showed signs of life last month. Take-Two Interactive's (TTWO) Grand Theft Auto V was a smashing success, helping push the industry to a rare monthly gain. Things will get even more interesting next month when the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 hit the market. The market will get a good read on the state of the industry on Tuesday as Take-Two Interactive and the larger Electronic Arts (EA) report fresh earnings. It may be too early for either company to have reliable projections on how the new consoles will fare, but any insight would be incremental at this point. Wednesday -- Face to Facebook: One of last year's most prolific IPOs was Facebook (FB). The leading social networking website operator went public at $38, but a few months later the stock was -- like the site's original core audience -- trading in the teens. Facebook has clawed its way back. It's no longer a broken IPO, and Facebook's success in busting through that $38 IPO ceiling this summer probably played a major part in Twitter's decision to go through with an offering of its own. Facebook reports on Wednesday, letting the market know how it's doing in monetizing mobile. More and more users are interacting with the site through smartphones and tablets, and while that was at first interpreted as a detriment, we've seen Facebook come up with new ways to make mobile usage pay off. Thursday -- Scaring Up Some Grub: It's Halloween, and while kids and kids at heart will tell you that it's all about the free candy, there's at least one way to score a pretty healthy discount on dinner after a night of collecting Hershey bars and candy corn. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is once again hosting what it calls Boorito. From 4 p.m. to close on Thursday, anyone walking into a Chipotle in a costume will be able to order a burrito, bowl, salad, or taco order for just $3. That's nearly half off the going rate for the "food with integrity" chain that now has more than 1,500 locations worldwide. All proceeds -- up $1 million -- benefit the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation. The treat is no trick. Friday -- Bringing a Steak Knife to a Gunfight: Restaurants have been struggling lately, but upscale steakhouses have actually held up fairly well. Well-to-do consumers hungry for a good steak and wedge salad have been heading out to fancy chophouses lately. We'll get a decent snapshot of the upscale market when Ruth's Hospitality (RUTH) reports. This is the parent company of the Ruth's Chris chain of high-end steakhouses. The stock has nearly doubled over the past year, and it's going to need to keep serving up "well done" reports to keep it that way.

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