Retail Spotlight: Costco Reports Today 05/03/2026

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday, powered by strength in big tech and semiconductor names. The Dow rose about 238 points, or 0.5%, snapping a three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3%. Chipmakers led. NVIDIA added more than 1%, while Broadcom, Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, and Intel also advanced. Consumer staples, energy, and materials were the only S&P 500 sectors to close lower. “Things are changing around the edges. We have a geopolitical shock, obviously, and we’re still parsing that in terms of how it could impact the risk premium for equities,” said Savita Subramanian, Bank of America Securities’ head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy, on CNBC’s Closing Bell: Overtime. “Beyond that, I think what we’re seeing is the tide slowly going out for some of the beneficiaries of a very low interest-rate environment,” she added.
• Oil prices stabilized after this week’s surge, with U.S. WTI settling up 0.13% and Brent ending little changed. Fears of supply disruption eased after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is preparing risk insurance and escorts for ships transiting the Persian Gulf to keep traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz, though the White House offered no timeline. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump’s recently announced 15% global tariff will likely take effect this week. Investors are awaiting earnings Thursday from Kroger, Burlington and BJ’s Wholesale, with Costco and Marvell Technology due after the close. Weekly jobless claims are also scheduled for Thursday.

Retail Dip-Buying, Options Expiry Seen Lifting Stocks

• Citadel strategist Scott Rubner says U.S. stocks could bounce into mid-month as volatility cools and a major options expiration clears the deck. In online commentary, Rubner argued that March 20’s quarterly “triple witching”, when index, single-stock and ETF options, plus index futures, expire together, could be a turning point. About 35% of outstanding U.S. options exposure is set to roll off, and Citadel estimates roughly $5 trillion in notional value is tied to contracts expiring that day. As dealers adjust hedges after expiry, he sees scope for the S&P 500 to regain traction after a choppy stretch. Rubner also points to retail dip-buying as a stabilizing force. Data from Vanda Research show individual investors have continued stepping in on down days, with net notional activity on his platform running far higher on market declines than on advances.
• Other potential tailwinds include stronger March–April seasonality, unusually large tax refunds that may flow into risk assets, and extreme demand for downside protection in the options market, positioning that can sometimes unwind, adding upward pressure if headlines improve. Meanwhile, volatility across assets is rising, including in bonds, which could set the stage for systematic funds to re-risk once volatility appears to peak. The backdrop remains tense, with investors watching whether the Iran conflict triggers another leg of turbulence. Even so, Rubner’s base case is that the near-term equity hit may be largely past, with April offering a more durable window for re-risking.

Stocks on the move:

• Okta (OKTA): Shares rose about 2% after the identity-security firm topped Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates. Okta posted adjusted earnings of 90 cents a share on $761 million in revenue, ahead of analysts’ forecasts for 85 cents and $749 million, according to LSEG.
• Broadcom (AVGO): The chipmaker’s shares swung between gains and losses in late trading after it reported a strong fiscal first quarter. Revenue rose 29% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $2.05 and revenue of $19.31 billion beat expectations for $2.03 and $19.18 billion, per LSEG. Guidance for the current quarter also came in above estimates.
• StubHub (STUB): Shares slid 6% after the ticket resale marketplace posted fourth-quarter revenue of $449 million, missing the $484 million consensus estimate, according to LSEG. Adjusted EBITDA was $62.7 million, roughly in line with expectations.
• Veeva Systems (VEEV): Shares jumped 9% in after-hours trading after the cloud software company delivered a fourth-quarter beat. Veeva reported adjusted earnings of $2.06 a share on $836 million in revenue, topping estimates for $1.93 and $811 million, according to LSEG.
• Rigetti Computing (RGTI): The quantum computing stock fell about 3% after results missed on revenue. Adjusted losses of 3 cents a share matched FactSet expectations, while revenue of $1.9 million trailed the $2.3 million consensus.

Watchlist: AVGO, OKTA, JD, CIEN, KR, COIN, RGTI, NVDA, AAPL

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

08:30 am: USD Unemployment Claims
08:30 am: USD Import Prices
01:00 pm: USD FOMC Member Bowman Speaks
07:00 pm: USD FOMC Member Goolsbee Speaks



Earnings

BMO (Before Market Open): Ciena Corp. (CIEN), Kroger Company (KR), JD.com (JD),
AMC (After Market Close): Costco (COST), Marvell (MRVL)

The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!