Retail earnings take center stage this week, with a run of Dow components and consumer bellwethers reporting back-to-back. $HD kicks things off Tuesday morning, $LOW and $TJX follow Wednesday, and $WMT headlines a packed Thursday alongside $BABA and $DE. If you're tracking earnings-driven moves, options flow, or insider activity ahead of these prints, here's what's on deck — and why each one matters.
Key numbers to watch
Consensus, prior-quarter or whisper context, and why each line matters.
| Metric | Consensus | Prior / whisper | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Depot (Tue, BMO) | EPS $4.73 · Rev $47.2B | +1% / +4.2% YoY | Oppenheimer models $4.66 — below consensus. |
| Walmart (Thu, BMO) | EPS $0.74 · Rev $186.9B | +8.8% / +6.3% YoY | Jefferies expects an in-line FQ2 2027. |
| Fabrinet (Mon, AMC) | EPS $3.81 | — | Quiet start to the week. |
| Retail cluster | HD, LOW, WMT, TJX, ROST | 3 trading days | Closest thing to a retail pulse check outside Q4. |
Consensus figures are Street estimates as of publish date and shift as analyst revisions land. Live consensus and implied move are on the stock page.
Monday, August 17 — a quiet start
The week opens light. Fabrinet (Fabrinet) reports after the close, with the Street looking for $3.81 per share. With optical component demand tied closely to hyperscaler build-outs, the guide matters more than the print for anyone using Fabrinet as an AI-infrastructure read-through.
Tuesday, August 18 — Home Depot kicks off retail earnings
Home Depot (Home Depot) headlines the week, reporting second-quarter results before Tuesday's open. Analysts expect earnings of $4.73 per share, up 1% year over year, on revenue of $47.2 billion, up 4.2% year over year.
Not everyone is convinced the quarter will impress. Oppenheimer's Brian Nagel is modeling below-consensus earnings of $4.66 per share, arguing that despite Home Depot and Lowe's managing the environment well, high mortgage rates and a weak housing market make a meaningful recovery in home-improvement demand unlikely this quarter. That said, he does see room for management's guidance on stronger sales in the back half of 2026 to land on the optimistic side.
**Also reporting Tuesday:** Baidu (Baidu) and Amer Sports (Amer Sports) before the open; Toll Brothers (Toll Brothers), Keysight (Keysight), Jack Henry (Jack Henry) and ZTO Express (ZTO Express) after the close.
**Why it matters for traders:** Home Depot often sets the tone for how the market reads the rest of retail week. A guidance beat or miss here can move sentiment into Walmart, TJX and Ross Stores later in the week — worth watching for cross-sector options flow.
Wednesday, August 19 — a loaded pre-market session
Wednesday is the busiest morning of the week, with Lowe's (Lowe's), TJX (TJX Companies), Analog Devices (Analog Devices), Estee Lauder (Estee Lauder) and Viking Holdings (Viking Holdings) all reporting before the bell. Lowe's will draw the most direct comparison to Home Depot's results from a day earlier, while Analog Devices offers a read on semiconductor demand heading into the fall.
After the close: Bill.com (Bill.com), Nordson (Nordson) and Coty (Coty).
Thursday, August 20 — Walmart headlines a packed day
Walmart (Walmart) is the marquee name of the week, reporting fiscal 2027 second-quarter results before Thursday's open. Wall Street is calling for earnings of 74 cents per share, up 8.8% year over year, on revenue of $186.9 billion, up 6.3% year over year.
Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe expects an in-line quarter, pointing to Walmart's resilience across different macro environments and ongoing margin benefits from e-commerce and advertising revenue reshaping the profit-and-loss picture. Tarlowe also believes the market is underestimating the earnings power available from future tariff refunds, which management has suggested would be reinvested into pricing to widen Walmart's price gap over competitors and drive additional traffic and share gains. He doesn't expect an immediate margin lift from that reinvestment, but sees it strengthening Walmart's value proposition and same-store sales momentum heading into the holiday season.
**Also reporting Thursday:** Alibaba (Alibaba), Deere (Deere), NetEase (NetEase) and Autohome (Autohome) before the open; Ross Stores (Ross Stores), OSI Systems (OSI Systems) and Flowers Foods (Flowers Foods) after the close.
**Why it matters for traders:** With Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, TJX and Ross Stores all reporting within three days, this is the closest the market gets to a "retail earnings pulse check" outside of Q4. Divergence between big-box (Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart) and off-price (TJX, Ross Stores) results is often where the more interesting trades show up — off-price retail tends to benefit when consumers trade down.
Friday, August 21 — a lighter close
BJ's Wholesale (BJ's Wholesale) and Buckle (Buckle) report before the open to close out the week — a useful final data point on the value end of the consumer after three days of big-box and off-price results.
How to trade this week
**Guidance over headline beats.** In a week this dense with retail names, the market tends to reward or punish forward commentary on consumer spending more than the quarter that already happened.
**Cross-stock reactions.** Watch how Home Depot moves Lowe's, and how Walmart moves Target and consumer-discretionary ETFs. Correlated moves ahead of a company's own report are often the tell.
**Options flow into the print.** Unusual pre-earnings activity in names like Analog Devices or Baidu can flag positioning ahead of the number — something to track rather than chase.
Sources and caveats
Earnings estimates and the reporting schedule are sourced from Kiplinger's weekly earnings calendar, based on data from Briefing.com, Refinitiv/LSEG via Yahoo Finance, and S&P Global Market Intelligence. Dates are tentative and subject to change — always confirm against the live calendar before positioning.
Use this on Earnings Compass
- See the full August 17–21 earnings calendar →Every confirmed report time, sortable by day, sector and market cap.
- Home Depot (HD) earnings page →Report date, consensus and post-print reaction history.
- Walmart (WMT) earnings page →FQ2 2027 consensus, surprise history and price reaction.
- Catalyst Radar →Track unusual options activity and pre-earnings positioning.
Frequently asked questions
- Which major companies report earnings the week of August 17, 2026?
- Home Depot (Tue Aug 18, before open), Lowe's, TJX, Analog Devices and Estee Lauder (Wed Aug 19, before open), and Walmart, Alibaba and Deere (Thu Aug 20, before open). Ross Stores reports Thursday after the close, with BJ's Wholesale and Buckle on Friday morning.
- What is Home Depot expected to earn in Q2 2026?
- Consensus is $4.73 per share, up about 1% year over year, on revenue of $47.2 billion, up 4.2% year over year. Oppenheimer sits below the Street at $4.66, citing high mortgage rates and a weak housing market.
- What is Walmart expected to report for fiscal Q2 2027?
- Wall Street expects 74 cents per share, up 8.8% year over year, on revenue of $186.9 billion, up 6.3% year over year. Jefferies expects an in-line quarter with continued margin support from e-commerce and advertising.
- Why does retail earnings week matter so much?
- Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, TJX and Ross Stores all report inside three days, giving the clearest read on consumer spending outside the Q4 holiday quarter. Divergence between big-box and off-price results often signals whether consumers are trading down.