All about earnings: Snap, Blue Apron, Disney and more

1. Snap earnings: Snapchat parent company Snap (SNAP) will report its second-quarter finances on Thursday, but Wall Street isn’t holding its breath for anything positive.

The “camera company,” as Snap calls itself, wishes its bad news could just disappear. Shares soared following its highly anticipated March IPO, but Snap has lost much of its market value since then. Earlier this week, some insiders sold their shares after the expiration of the company’s “lockup” period, which bars employees and early investors from ditching their stock. If investors keep selling off shares, the company could be in trouble.
Those investors would have reason to move on. In May, Snap revealed a whopping $ 2.2 billion loss in the first quarter. It also announced that it had added just 8 million daily active users during that time, bringing its total to 166 million — a meager figure compared to Facebook’s average of 1.3 billion daily active users in June. Snap recently unveiled a slew of new features, but it may not be enough to keep users — and investors — on board.

2. Blue Apron earnings: Blue Apron (APRN) will also share its second quarter financial report on Thursday.

The company’s June IPO was supposed to whet Wall Street’s appetite for meal delivery services, but investors hardly took a bite. Its first day of trading was a bust.

It got worse. On Friday, Blue Apron’s stock dipped by more than 6% following news that it is shutting down its operation in Jersey City and will move more than 1,200 employees to a new plant. The company’s shares also fell earlier this month when it was reported that Amazon filed a trademark for its own meal-kit delivery service. Burgeoning competition from the likes of Hello Fresh, Plated, Purple Carrot, Sun Basket and other similar startups has always been a concern for Blue Apron. With Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) — and, once Amazon’s deal goes through, Whole Foods (WFM) — in the mix, the landscape will only get tougher for the company.

3. Retail earnings: Macy’s (M), Nordstrom (JWN) and Kohl’s (KSS) are all reporting second quarter earnings on Thursday. Both Macy’s and Kohl’s reported lousy earnings in the first quarter — yet another signal to investors that retailers are fighting for their lives.

Amazon and other online retailers like the Walmart (WMT)-owned Jet.com are posing the biggest threats to traditional brick and mortar stores, and Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said the company plans to “aggressively grow our digital and mobile business.”

But Kohl’s was a rare bright spot for retail in the first quarter. It beat Wall Street forecasts, and Kohl’s CEO Kevin Mansell said he was “encouraged by the significant improvement in sales and traffic.”

Target(TGT) recently raised its profit forecast and JCPenney (JCP) announced a plan to increase foot traffic by installing specialty toy shops in its stores, raising investors’ hopes for a less-disappointing quarter.

4. Disney earnings: The House of Mouse will report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, and Wall Street will be especially interested in ESPN. The struggling sports network has been dragging Disney down, despite the company’s many wins in the box office over the past few years.

In 2016, Disney (DIS) shares remained flat, thanks in large part to ESPN’s falling subscribers and lower ad revenue — all of which led to some high-profile layoffs. In 2017, its stock has continued to struggle.

5. Coming this week:

Monday — Marriott (MAR) earnings

Tuesday — Disney earnings; CVS (CVS) earnings

Wednesday — Mylan (MYL) earnings; 21st Century Fox (FOX)