Morning Preview: May 22, 2026

Early Look

Friday, May 22, 2026

Global markets are higher heading into Friday, as the S&P 500 remains on track for its 8^th straight winning week as markets waited an update on US-Iran peace talks a day after stocks rebounded after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iranian media signaled progress on negotiations between the US and Iran for a peace deal. On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose by 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% following earnings from Nvidia and an S-1 filing for the upcoming IPO of SpaceX on Wednesday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 0.6% advance to close at a new all-time highs. The Russell 2000 Smallcaps outperformed, rising +0.9%. Hopes that the end of the war could be on the horizon emerged after Iranian media said a finalized deal that would guarantee passage through the Strait of Hormuz and implement a ceasefire would be announced imminently. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index surged 1,654 points or 2.68% to 63,339, the Shanghai Index advanced 35 points to 4,112, and the Hang Seng Index climbed 219 points to 25,606. In Europe, the German DAX is jumping 205 points to 24,811, while the FTSE 100 is up 48 points to 10,492. Despite the reports late yesterday, no agreement has been reached to this point. Markets started the week on a down note, with concerns of persistent inflation stoking worries about Federal Reserve rate hikes. The week has been led by more than 2% gains in defensive sectors Utilities (XLU), REITs (XLRE) and Healthcare (XLV).

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 276.31 points, or 0.55%, to 50,285.66
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 22.74 points, or 0.09%, to 26,293.10
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 26.09 points, or 0.93% to 2,843.45

• 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations
• 10:00 AM ET                Leading Index Change M/M for April
• 1:00 PM ET                   Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• @lisaabramowicz1 noted on X, “Kevin Warsh is facing the highest yields on 10-year Treasuries on his swearing-in date of any Fed chair going back to Alan Greenspan in August 1987.”
• @Bluekurtic noted on X, “Since the March bottom, mega caps have led the rally. Over the past 6 weeks, market weighted $SPX has outperformed equal weighted by 8.5%. This is the highest margin in the data going back to 2003.”

• Deckers Outdoors (DECK) Q4 EPS $0.96 vs est $0.83 on sales $1.12B vs est $1.09B, with gross margin 57.6%, sees FY sales $5.86B–$5.91B vs est $5.82B with gross margin 56.5% and EPS $7.30–$7.45 vs est $7.35, increases share repurchase authorization to about $5B, and from 2028 to 2030 targets high‑single‑digit annual growth in net Consolidated sales and low‑double‑digit EPS growth when combined with the ongoing buyback.
• Estee Lauder (EL) shares jumped after the company and Puig (PUGBY) confirmed they were in discussions regarding a potential business combination, but unless and until an agreement was signed, there could be no assurances regarding the deal or its terms. Following the termination of negotiations, Estée Lauder reaffirmed its focus on its “Beauty Reimagined” strategy, emphasizing continued execution as an independent company.
• Flowers Foods (FLO) Q1 Net Sales rose 1.1% y/y to $1.57B and adj EPS was $0.29 vs. est. $0.26; Q1 adj Ebitda fell -1.8% y/y to $159M and net income fell -20.6% y/y to $42.1M; sees FY26 adjusted EPS $0.80-$0.90 vs. est. $0.83 on revs $5.16B-$5.26B vs. est. $5.19B and FY26 adjusted EBITDA $465M-$495M.
• IMAX (IMAX) shares rise after reports the company has approached other entertainment companies as potential buyers and the sale process is still in the early stages, The Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The sale talks come as premium theater experiences are growing faster than the overall box office https://tinyurl.com/5n6pat6y
• Ross Stores (ROST) Q1 EPS $2.02 vs est about $1.72 on sales $6.01B vs est about $5.64B, with operating Income $804M (operating margin 13.4%) and pretax profit $837.5M on net Income about $650M, raises FY2026 EPS guidance to $7.50–$7.74 (up about 13%–17%) and sees FY2026 same‑store sales growth about 6%–7% on top of a 5% gain in 2025, while guiding Q2 EPS about $1.85–$1.93 vs est $1.79 with comp‑store sales up about 6%–7%.

• Matador Resources Company (MTDR) announces a $1.1B expansion of its premier Delaware Basin asset base in Southeast New Mexico through the recent BLM Lease Sale. The company acquired 5,154 net undeveloped acres, all of which are in the ‘core-of-the-core’ of the Delaware Basin, strategic to Matador’s current acreage position.
• Perpetua Resources (PPTA) secures $2.9 billion us loan for Idaho Gold, Antimony project – CNBC reported.

• LPL Financial (LPLA) April end of month total client assets were $2.48T, an increase of $141.4B, or 6.1%, compared to the end of March. Advisory assets as a percentage of total assets increased to 59.8%, up from 54.7% a year ago. Total organic net new assets for April were $3.1B, translating to a 1.6% annualized growth rate.
• Webull (BULL) Q1 EPS reported at $0.03, in-line with consensus and revs rose 36% y/y to $159.9M tops consensus $157.67M; Q1 Trading-related revenue increased 36% y/y; total operating expenses increased 68% y/y, primarily driven by higher marketing and branding expenses, brokerage and transaction costs; DARTs increased to 1.3M, representing 42% y/y growth; Customer assets totaled $24 billion, representing 90% y/y growth.

• Take-Two (TTWO) Q4 EPS -$0.32 vs est about -$0.57 on revenue $1.68B vs est about $1.57B, with net Income -$59.5M and net bookings $1.58B, sees Q1 EPS about -$0.23 to -$0.15 on revenue about $1.45B–$1.50B vs est about $1.51B and net bookings about $1.32B–$1.37B, and guides FY EPS about $0.55–$0.75 with revenue about $7.9B–$8.1B vs est about $9.10B, FY net bookings about $8.0B–$8.2B and CAPEX about $200M.
• Workday Inc. (WDAY) Q1 adj EPS $2.66 tops consensus $2.51 and Q1 revs $2.54B above consensus $2.52B; reiterating FY27 subscription revenue outlook of $9.92B-$9.95B while increasing FY27 non-GAAP operating margin guidance to 30.5%; Q2 Subscription revenue +14.3% y/y and subscription backlog $27.3B, up 10.9%
• Zoom Communications (ZM) Q1 EPS $1.55 tops consensus $1.42 and revs rose 5.5% y/y to $1.24B vs. est. $1.22B; Q1 online average monthly churn of 3.0%; said AI Companion paid users growing 184% y/y, and My Notes reaching 1.5 million licensed users within just four months of launch; sees Q2 EPS $1.45-$1.47 vs. consensus $1.47 and sees Q2 revenue $1.265B-$1.27B, vs. consensus $1.27B; increase buyback by $1B in shares.