The latest developments around tariffs remain in focus for investors as more major companies release earnings.
Investors will be keeping an eye on the outcome of trade talks between the US and China this weekend, with hopes of a de-escalation in tensions between the two countries.
While most of Alibaba's (BABA, 9988.HK) sales come from China, helping limit the impact of US tariffs, ongoing uncertainty will still be on investors' minds when the e-commerce and tech giant reports full-year results in the coming week.
In the US, investors will be looking at Walmart's (WMT) latest results, to shed some light on the health of the US consumer.
Back on the London market, Burberry's (BRBY.L) full-year results will be in the spotlight, as tariff uncertainty has clouded the outlook for the luxury sector.
Another big name in the UK due to report is tobacco giant Imperial Brands (IMB.L), with investors focused on the company's plans to boost shareholder returns.
Meanwhile, investors will want to see if German travel operator Tui (TUI1.DE) can continue to deliver strong growth in its latest quarterly results.
Here's more on what to look out for:
Alibaba (BABA, 9988.HK) – Releases full year results on Thursday 15 May
The tie-up enables merchants to embed product links from Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall stores into content posts on Xiaohongshu, which is what RedNote is known as in China.
Liu Bo, vice president of Alibaba Group and president of Tmall, said that the move helps "brands reach consumers more effectively and drive incremental growth."
Revenue from Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group grew by 5% in the third quarter to $18.6bn (£14bn), with the company's total consolidated revenue up 8% at $38.4bn.
In addition to its moves in e-commerce, Alibaba has increasingly focused on its advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), with the company recently releasing its latest large language model, Qwen3.
In its third quarter results, the company said its AI-related product revenue maintained triple-digit year-on-year growth for for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that Alibaba has "made notable progress in expanding its emerging AI and cloud infrastructure division last quarter, which has become central to its growth strategy."
He said that for the company as a whole analysts were forecasting revenue growth of 6.2% year-on-year for 2025.
"While the focus on AI and cloud is making the headlines, most revenue still comes from e-commerce, making Chinese consumer demand crucial," he said. "Despite trade tensions raising concerns about Alibaba’s international businesses, such as AliExpress, direct exposure to US tariffs is limited, as most sales are concentrated in China."
"Ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties in China will remain important factors shaping investor confidence in the year ahead," Nathan added. "The main question now is whether momentum can be sustained both in the next quarter and over the coming year."
Walmart (WMT) – Releases first quarter earnings on Thursday 15 May
As one of the world's largest retailers by sales, Walmart's (WMT) results are closely watched on Wall Street, for offering insights into US shopper sentiment.
In a press release published a week after Trump announced sweeping tariffs on 2 April, Walmart said that the "range of outcomes for Q1 operating income growth has widened due to less favorable category mix, higher casualty claims expense and the desire to maintain flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are implemented."
However, the retailer said it expected first quarter sales growth to be in line with its 3% to 4% outlook, and that annual sales and operating income growth guidance remained unchanged.
Walmart shares fell after the company released its fourth quarter and fiscal 2025 results in February, its guidance for this year disappointed against expectations.
Both the retailer's top and bottom lines came in ahead of Wall Street estimates, with fourth quarter revenue up 5.3% year-on-year to $182.6bn and total revenue for the year grew by 5.6% to $684.2bn. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.66 were up 10% year-on-year.
Same-store sales for Walmart US rose by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, while e-commerce sales jumped 20% year-on-year.
"We have momentum driven by our low prices, a growing assortment, and an e-commerce business driven by faster delivery times," said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. "We’re gaining market share, our top line is healthy, and we’re in great shape with inventory."
For its fiscal year 2026, the company put forth conservative guidance, which it has done for the last two years, projecting an increase net sales of between 3% to 4%.
In an earnings call, Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said this "outlook assumes a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, but acknowledges that there are still uncertainties related to consumer behavior and global economic and geopolitical conditions."
Burberry (BRBY.L) – Releases preliminary full year results on Wednesday 14 May
Shares in iconic British luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) jumped in January following a trading update that indicated its turnaround efforts were starting to show results. However, the stock has since slumped and is down 21% year-to-date, amid uncertainty over tariffs.
"It’s been a torrid year for Burberry and, although third quarter sales didn’t fall by as much as feared, investors are likely to be bracing for warnings of more difficult times to come," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
In the third quarter, Burberry said that comparable store sales dipped 4%, which was well below analyst expectations of a 12.8% drop.
"The financial year for the fashion house ended before president Trump unleashed his Liberation Day plan onto the world, and the China/US trade war ramped up," said Streeter. "Given that China has been the powerhouse for luxury brands, another knock to confidence in the vast country is likely to hurt Burberry, which had shown signs of turning around its sales performance in the Asia Pacific region."
Actress Jodie Turner-Smith wears Burberry at the 2025 Met Gala. ·Jamie McCarthy via Getty Images
"The American market is also likely to be more difficult, with blanket tariffs set to increase costs for US consumers," she added.
"This had been a brighter spot for Burberry, with like-for-like revenue rising 4% at the last count, so a knock in confidence will be a set-back. Although the ultra-wealthy will be more insulated, Burberry is more in the mid-market in terms of its luxury tag, so won’t escape the fall out."
In terms of the company's outlook, Burberry said that in light of its third quarter performance, it was more likely that its second-half results would broadly offset its first-half adjusted operating loss of £41m.
Streeter said that there "signs that the refreshed strategy under CEO, Joshua Shulman, had been helping to revive overall sales and fashionistas interest in the brand. If this strategy shift continues in the right direction, with a refocus on its famous raincoats and outerwear, it could help Burberry weather the tariff storm more easily."
Imperial Brands (IMB.L) – Releases half year results on Wednesday 14 May
Shares in Imperial Brands (IMB.L) recently surged to a seven-year high, after the tobacco giant said it was starting its second £625m buyback tranche.
In March, Imperial Brands outlined the company's strategy to build on its first five year plan. The plan, spanning from 2026 to 2030, targets high single digit percentage earnings per share growth on an annual basis, as well as free cash flow of £2bn ($2.65bn) to £3bn a year. In addition, the company said it planned to undertake an annual "evergreen" share buyback for the five year up to 2030.
"The company continues to overcome a gradual decline in cigarette volumes by means of higher prices, market share gains in its five target markets and cost efficiencies, as well as improved returns from its Next Generation Products (NGPs)," said AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth.
"Key tobacco brands include JPS, Davidoff, Gauloises and Winston, while Imperial Brands’ leading NGPs are blu for vapour and Pulze for heated tobacco, while skruf and zone are its leading oral nicotine products."
In the company's first-half results, which mark the end of its initial five year plan, they said that the focus would be on Imperial's cigarette performance in the US, as well as in its other target markets.
"Over the next five-year plan, growth here and in NGPs underpin a target of compound annual sales growth on a constant currency basis of 3% to 5% a year across the group as a whole," they said.
AJ Bell's investment experts said that investors would also be looking for sales growth in the company's NGP business and progress on reducing losses in this unit. "For the 2026-2030 plan, the goal is to grow NGP revenues on a compound basis at a double-digit percentage annual rate," they said.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on commentary around full-year financial guidance, with the company having previously said it expects to generate low single-digit percentage revenue growth. Imperial guided to mid single-digit percentage operating profit growth and high single-digit percentage growth in earnings per share.
According to AJ Bell's investment experts, analysts expect 5% in underlying earnings per share at 125.3p for the first half.
"As for dividends, 2020’s one-third reduction is now in the rear-view mirror and Imperial is building a new dividend growth streak that is already four years long and about to become five," said Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth. "Thanks to improved profits, free cash flow cover for the dividend is back to nearly two times."
"The company has moved to four equal, quarterly dividend payments, and they are running at 40.08p apiece, while a £1.25bn share buyback continues," they said. "Add those together and Imperial is set to return £2.5bn to its shareholders, or some 10% of its current stock market capitalisation."
Tui (TUI1.DE) – Releases first half results on Wednesday 14 May
German travel operator Tui (TUI1.DE) reported strong first quarter performance in February, posting a 13% increase in revenue to €4.9bn (£4.2bn).
Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) jumped by €44.9m to €50.9m in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year.
Tui also reiterated its guidance for the 2025 fiscal year, saying it expected revenue to grow by 5% to 10%, with this figure having coming in at €23.2bn in 2024. Underlying EBIT is expected to increase by 7% to 10%, up from €1.3bn in 2024.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "TUI had a blockbuster first quarter, with revenue rising at double-digit rates and profits landing well ahead of market expectations at the time. The Holiday Experiences division drove the improvements, with particularly strong performances across its Hotels & Resorts and Cruises."
"Operating in a sector which is at the mercy of consumer sentiment and spending power is difficult," he added. "The current challenging economic backdrop means it's hard to map the demand picture accurately."
As a result of concerns around weaker bookings, Chiekrie said that this had led markets to expect revenue growth to roughly halve quarter-on-quarter to 6.4%.
"But falling oil prices have the potential to keep profits moving higher, given they’re such a significant chunk of airlines’ costs," he said. "And analysts expect to hear that full-year underlying operating profit guidance of 7-10% growth remains on track when second-quarter results are announced next week."
