Blackberry's sales remain sluggish despite a new Gen Z-led movement on TikTok to bring back “nostalgia tech."Andrew Ryan/The Canadian Press
We are in the home stretch of the school year. The kids are already bringing home all their work from the past 10 months. Portfolio books with spelling, math and many, many pages of art. On the one hand, I’m bursting with pride for all they did this year. On the other, I’m wondering at what point I’m allowed to throw out the painted toilet-paper roll with one pipe cleaner glued to it.
Here are five things to watch this week:
Canadian CPI and GDP: We will get key insights into how the economy is weathering the tariff storm this week with inflation and GDP data.
Retail sales from last week showed the consumer is slowing with the May estimate indicating the biggest drop in spending in a year. Inflation data for the month of May will be released on Tuesday. Economists expect that headline inflation held steady at 1.7 per cent, while core inflation decelerated somewhat to around 3 per cent.
On Friday, we will get a read of GDP and economists expect that the first month of the second quarter got off to a slower start, with April GDP slowing to 1.3 per cent from 1.7 per cent.
The Bank of Canada will be watching this closely – especially inflation – as the meeting minutes from its June 4 decision showed the bank’s concern about the “recent firmness” in underlying inflation.
“We’ll get two more CPI reports before the July decision,” wrote BMO Capital Markets senior economist Robert Kavcic in a note to clients, “and [the Bank of Canada leadership] probably need to see two good ones to consider a rate cut.” As of right now, the market is currently pricing in 25 basis points of easing by the end of the year.
Couche-Tard convenience: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ATD-T will deliver quarterly results Wednesday after the close.
The Quebec-based convenience store and gas station operator could see some weakness coming from higher competition and weak consumer spending in Canada and the U.S. No doubt it will be asked for a status update on the pursuit of Seven & I Holdings SVNDY.
On June 11, Couche-Tard said it was confident it had a clear path to doing the deal, according to an update posted on its website. “We have received multiple indicative proposals from highly experienced and credible buyers,” it said. Couche-Tard has committed to divesting 2,000 stores in the U.S. to win regulatory approval.
Couche-Tard’s stock has been under pressure since news of the company’s interest in Seven & I broke last August, as investors worry about the potential for equity dilution. Yet most analysts rate the stock a buy.
“Regardless of whether the Seven & I deal gets done, [Couche-Tard] has multiple forms of potential capital deployment in this fragmented industry,” wrote Scotiabank equity research analyst John Zamparo in a client note from March.
Couche-Tard looking at other global acquisition opportunities as pursuit of Seven & i inches forward
A BlackBerry beat? Gone are the days it was a core holding for any money manager, but I still cover BlackBerry Ltd. BB-T mostly out of nostalgia.
Apparently, there is a movement on TikTok to bring back “nostalgia tech” such as BlackBerry. On posts with millions of views, Gen Z users can be seen begging BlackBerry to make devices again.
Who knows where this will go, but the Waterloo, Ont.-based company stopped making its own devices in 2016. Since then, the stock is worth half of what it was back then. Still, money can be made in long-forgotten stocks.
Indeed, BlackBerry more than doubled from November to its peak in February. It then lost half its value in the next three months. But since the April low, it is up nearly 50 per cent.
The business remains sluggish with total sales projected to fall 22 per cent when it reports results Tuesday after the close. Most analysts don’t recommend buying the stock because its cybersecurity business is struggling and there are worries that its once-hot auto business has stalled, owing to tariffs weighing on the industry. But sometimes beating low expectations can be enough.
Tariffs, DOGE cuts weigh on BlackBerry as stock drops on uncertain outlook
Run, Nike: Nike Inc. NKE-N is one of five Dow Jones Industrial components that is down more than 20 per cent so far in 2025. In fact, shares of Nike are languishing around an eight-year low.
A combination of brand struggles and tariffs have been weighing on the stock. Most analysts don’t see either meaningfully inflecting this quarter. Both Citi and Morgan Stanley wrote that their channel checks don’t indicate that Nike as a brand has picked up any heat.
However, Morgan Stanley equity research managing director Alex Straton acknowledges that “seemingly bearish sentiment may mean any bright spots are rewarded,” in a preview note to clients. Nike reports Thursday after the close.
FedEx’s future: It is hard to see FedEx Corporation FDX-N doing terribly well as a business given slower global growth and major trade disruptions in the quarter stemming from tariffs.
FedEx has cut its profit outlook every quarter in fiscal 2025, and its last outlook was in March – before the Trump administration’s so-called “Liberation Day.”
Ariel Rosa, senior analyst of equity research for Citi, warns there is a chance of another cut to the outlook. Analysts predict sales fell more than 1 per cent, while profit dropped nearly 15 per cent in the quarter on an earnings-per-share basis. FedEx reports on Tuesday.
In the Money with Amber Kanwar brings you actionable insights from top portfolio managers to help you make profitable investing decisions. New shows out Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Subscribe at www.inthemoneypod.com or on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.