Last week was a reminder that markets don’t go straight up. Treasury yields spiked mid-week, the S&P 500 fell three straight sessions, and it felt like the wheels might come off the rally. Then Friday happened. Stocks recovered, the S&P closed at 7,473, and the major averages finished the week largely intact.
This week is shortened. Markets are closed Monday for Memorial Day, which means Tuesday is the first trading day. Less time, but still plenty of action — AutoZone reports Tuesday morning before the open, and the week picks up from there. Here are three names worth watching.
Costco Wholesale (COST)
Costco doesn’t report earnings this week — that’s coming in June. But the stock has been getting attention from analysts anyway, and it’s the kind of attention that tends to stick. Bernstein raised their price target to $1,192 this week. Oppenheimer has an Outperform rating with a $1,160 target.
The reason analysts keep coming back to Costco is simple. When consumers feel squeezed, they don’t stop spending — they spend smarter. Costco is where that money goes. Membership renewals run above 90%. The warehouse model keeps prices low. The company doesn’t have to discount its way through a tough economy because the membership itself is the product. Analysts peg the consensus target around $1,052. The two fresh upgrades this week suggest that number has room to move higher.
Broadcom (AVGO)
No earnings this week, which is actually part of the appeal. Broadcom is one of the cleaner ways to own the AI infrastructure buildout without the binary event risk of an upcoming report. The company makes the custom AI chips and networking gear that hyperscalers — Google, Meta, Apple — use to build their AI systems. That business doesn’t get talked about as much as Nvidia, but the customers are the same.
The stock has had a strong run this year on the back of expanding AI chip contracts. There’s no near-term catalyst to create noise, just a structural tailwind that isn’t going away. For investors who want AI exposure without watching a ticker obsessively on earnings night, Broadcom is worth a closer look.
AutoZone (AZO)
AutoZone reports Tuesday morning before the open — the first big earnings release of this shortened week. Wall Street is looking for $36.13 per share from 22 analysts covering the stock. Last quarter came in ahead of expectations.
The thesis here is straightforward. When money is tight, people hold onto their cars longer. A vehicle that might have been traded in during a stronger economy suddenly needs new brakes, a battery, a set of tires. AutoZone sells all of it. The company operates over 7,100 stores in the U.S. and has been steadily expanding into Mexico and Brazil. It’s not a flashy story, but it’s a resilient one. Tuesday’s number will tell us whether that resilience is showing up in the current quarter.
