Investors can expect plenty of market-moving headlines in the week ahead as President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping , one of our long-term holdings delivers earnings, and Meta Platforms hosts its big annual conference. 1. Costco earnings: The big box retailer releases monthly sales, so the main things to focus on for its quarterly reports are profit, as well as membership growth and retention trends. The economic backdrop of higher inflation certainly favors Costco as shoppers seek the best bang for their buck. Costco’s club membership and bulk-selling model allow it to offer best-in-class value that is nearly unmatched. The Street is also on the watch for a “special dividend” announcement. As analysts at Bank of America noted in previewing the quarter, the last special dividend was paid in January 2024, and the company has historically distributed special dividends every 2 to 3 years. As a result, the analysts expect an announcement sometime over the next few quarters, estimating it could be worth roughly $22 per share. The Street is looking for earnings of $6.53 per share on sales of $94.8 billion when the numbers are out Thursday evening. 2. Meta’s big confab: The social media giant’s annual developer conference, Meta Connect, kicks off Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg set to deliver his keynote at 7 p.m. ET. Artificial Intelligence is sure to be front and center. Expect more details on the advancements the company is making with its Muse Spark family of models and, more importantly, how it is applying that innovation to product offerings. We have been very impressed with the recently launched Muse agentic AI application and look forward to hearing early feedback and to learning about future plans. How the company is strengthening its family of apps — both in user engagement and in the tools it provides to developers — will also be of interest, as this is the primary near-term path to AI investment returns. Though less material in the near term, we’re also interested in seeing the company’s progress on its line of Ray-Ban smart glasses. In addition, we expect a preview of a new mixed-reality headset. 3. Trump-Xi summit: President Trump is expected to host Chinese President Xi in Washington on Thursday. We will be listening closely for any shift in diplomatic posture or trade concessions. Priority No. 1 for investors is an extension of the tariff truce — both leaders agreed not to impose or raise certain tariffs — which is set to expire on Nov. 10. In addition, we expect Trump to look for ways to narrow the trade deficit of roughly $91 billion through July . Aircraft purchases from Boeing are a recurring topic in U.S.-China trade discussions, and we hope to hear some good news this Club stock. Artificial intelligence is also expected to be a hot topic of discussion, as China looks to close the gap with U.S. companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are among the tech leaders set to attend…
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