Morning Preview: May 20, 2026

Early Look

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

U.S. futures are bouncing across the board, led by a rally in tech (Nasdaq futures outperform) as optimism is high heading into this evenings earnings results from semiconductor chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) which is expected to help bounce the sector after pulling back from skyrocket record highs reached just late last week. US equities closed lower Tuesday as traders faded optimism around a near-term US/Iran agreement after reports suggested negotiations remain stuck. Higher Treasury yields amid rising inflation fears has also dented investor sentiment the last three days, though the 10-year yield slips 3 bps to 4.63% this morning while oil prices also ease. The S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) both recorded its first three day decline since the end of March (3/26-3/30) as Treasury yields ended higher again, with the 10-yr finishing at 4.661% (up 70 bps since the start of the Iran war), the 2-year yield at 4.11% and the 30-yr yield at 5.177%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index tumbled-746 points to 59,804, the Shanghai Index slipped -7 points to 4,162, and the Hang Seng Index dropped -146 points to 25,651. In Europe, the German DAX is up 150 points to 24,550, while the FTSE 100 is up 13 points to 10,343. Solid earnings/guidance this morning from retailers, Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), Hasbro (HAS) and VF Corp. (VFC) and last night from CAVA and RRGB in the restaurant sector. Its all about Nvidia today as options traders are pricing an implied move of 5.5% for shares in either direction following the results. Rising memory price costs are also a factor this morning as an impending strike at Samsung could add to concerns around supply, boosting shares of MU, SNDK early.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -322.24 points, or 0.65%, to 49,363.88
• The Nasdaq Composite dropped -220.02 points, or 0.84%, to 25,870.71
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -28.03 points, or 1.01% to 2,747.07

• 10:30 AM ET                Weekly DOE Inventory Data
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $13B in 20-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: BORR ELF ENS INTU NDSN NVDA SBLK STEP URBN

• Cantor Oncology Day 5/20, in New York
• Deutsche Bank Global Auto industry Conference, 5/19-5/20, in New York
• JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, 5/18-5/20, in Boston, MA
• RBC Capital Global Healthcare Conference 5/19/5/20, in New York
• RBC Capital Canadian Industrials Conference 5/19-5/21, in Toronto
• Truist 27th Annual Truist Securities Financial Services Conference, 5/19-5/20 in New York

• Target Corp. (TGT) Q1 adj EPS $1.71 vs. consensus $1.46 and sales $25.44B vs. est. $24.64B; Q1 comp sales +5.6% topping consensus of +2.5%; raised its net sales to grow around 4% this fiscal year from a year ago, double its prior target of 2% growth; Q1 Digital sales surged 8.9%, well above the 1.9% growth last quarter. Target posted a rise in sales in all six of its core merchandising categories, compared with declines in five categories a year ago.
• Lowe’s (LOW) Q1 adj EPS $3.03 vs. consensus $2.97 and revs $23.08B vs. consensus $22.88B; Q1 comp store sales rose +0.6%; backs FY26 adjusted EPS view $12.25-$12.75 (est. $12.59), FY26 revenue view $92B-$94B (est. $93.07B) and backs FY26 comparable sales view flat to up 2%
• Hasbro (HAS) Q1 adj EPS $1.47 tops consensus $1.13 on revs $1.0B vs. est $964.4M and vs prelim guidance of $970M-$985M; said it recorded $8.3M in U.S. import tariff costs; Quarterly revenue in its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment rose about 26%. It had risen 46% in the year-ago quarter.
• Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) Q1 adj EPS $0.13 vs. est. $0.00; Q1 revs $378.3M above consensus $362.14M; reaffirms FY26 adjusted EBITDA view $70M-$73M and sees FY26 Comparable restaurant revenue growth, excluding deferred loyalty revenue 0.5%-1.5%.
• Toll Brothers (TOL) Q2 EPS $2.72 vs est $2.58, on home sales revenue $2.51B vs est $2.415B; Q2 adj home sales gross margin 26.2%; sees Q3 deliveries 2,600–2,700 units, sees FY26 deliveries 10,400–10,700 units.
• VF Corporation (VFC) returns to revenue growth for the full year in FY’26 with expanded margins and reduced debt; reinstates annual guidance effective FY’27: expects another year of growth and about 8% adjusted operating margin; says remain on track to achieve our medium-term targets.
• Zillow (ZG) asked a court to stop real estate Brokerage Compass (COMP) from working with a Chicago-area multiple listing service to block access to home listings after Zillow established new rules around private listings on its site

• Golar LNG (GLNG) Q1 operating revs $137.554M and adj EBITDA $105.57M vs. EST $90.2M; said is ramping up activities to order 4th FLNG within 2026 & to secure attractive long term FLNG projects
• ZTO Express (ZTO) Q1 adjusted EPS RM2.95, vs. consensus RMB3.07 and reports Q1 revenue RMB13.282B, vs. consensus RMB12.8B; Reiterates 2026 parcel volume expected to increase by 10% to 13%, representing parcel volume of 42.37B to 43.52B.

• Cigna (CI) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, while upgraded Humana (HUM) to Buy from Hold, Centene (CNC) to Buy from Hold and Elevance (ELV) to Buy from Hold in managed care.
• Pfizer (PFE) announced data from its Phase 2 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a four-dose series of its investigational 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate PF-07872412 in infants compared to four doses of PREVNAR 20 at months 2, 4, 6 and 12-15.
• Relay Therapeutics (RLAY) announces underwritten public offering of $175M of common stock.

• Alibaba Group (BABA) unveiled a new AI chip, the Zhenwu M890, developed by Alibaba’s semiconductor design subsidiary ‌T-Head, delivers three times the performance of its predecessor, Zhenwu 810E.
• Google (GOOG, GOOGL) debuted an updated version of its all-important Search product, rolling out improved AI capabilities that let you ask more detailed questions, create search-based AI agents, and better visualize topics via AI-generated interface tools.
• Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Q2 adj EPS $2.87 vs. consensus $2.32 and Q2 revs $1.71B vs. est. $1.70B; Q2 adj net income $497M vs. est. $401.3M; recorded $100M receivable in Q2 over IEEPA claim; guided Q3 revenue $1.73–$1.75B above consensus est. $1.65B.
• Roblox (RBLX) announces inaugural share repurchase program; authorizes share repurchase program up to $3B.
• Rubrik (RBRK) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer with an $85 price target, citing strong checks from value-added resellers and said they believe Rubrik is benefiting from a sharp recovery in backup and recovery/cyber-resilience sector demand.
• Samsung (SSNLF) union set to strike on Thursday, as approximately 48,000 workers are scheduled to begin an 18-day strike over bonus payments, posing a potential risk to South Korea’s economy and global chip supply, although renewed negotiations have kept open the possibility of a last-minute agreement – Reuters.
• Viavi (VIAV) 11.11M share Spot Secondary priced at $45.0