We all made it to the other side of the most begrudgingly celebrated holiday on the calendar: Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, I love love as much as the next gal. But whether you are single or coupled, it’s a high-pressure day that at worst leaves you disappointed and at best leads to more Scorpios in nine months. And speaking as one – the world doesn’t need more of us.
Here are five things to know this week:
Pricey discount retailer: Walmart Inc. WMT-N is set to report results Thursday morning as it trades near a record high. Its results will be a test of its sky-high valuation. Walmart trades at 43 times forward earnings, which is significantly higher than the 10-year average and higher than Amazon.com Inc.’s AMZN-Q earnings multiple. The big-box retailer typically trades at a discount to Amazon. Walmart switched from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq in December, so maybe it is a tech stock now? “We believe the most recent leg in WMT’s re-rating has been driven in part by its change in listing to NASDAQ from NYSE,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman. He believes the valuation is justified for several reasons. “We believe this is appropriate given its structural advantages in scale, price gaps, market share gains, & eCommerce leadership, along with the market’s willingness to ascribe a valuation premium to quality compounders with a defensive tilt,” Mr. Gutman wrote. Since it began trading on the Nasdaq, Walmart is up 16 per cent, far outpacing the S&P 500, which has been flat over that time.
Hudson’s Tire: In contrast to Walmart’s high valuation, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. CTC-A-T screens as one of the cheapest retailers in North America. That’s the setup ahead of its quarterly results, which are out Thursday morning. Analysts are expecting tepid 1.45-per-cent sales growth at its flagship brand. Late last year, Canadian Tire started selling its first branded Hudson’s Bay products after buying the intellectual property out of creditor protection in May for $30-million. Investors will look for colour on that, but it is unlikely to move the needle. The consumer has been “wobbly,” wrote RBC Capital analyst Irene Nattel, who has one of the few buy ratings on the stock. “In our view, if [Canadian Tire] can continue to deliver stable, solid results, there is potential for upward re-rating,” she wrote in a preview note to clients.
Rough terrain: There’s been a sell-off in Carvana Co. CVNA-N shares ahead of its quarterly report, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The online platform for selling used cars is no stranger to volatility. Its stock crashed 98 per cent from its early-pandemic high, only to soar more than 7,500 per cent from its 2023 low. So a 30-per-cent sell-off is actually pretty pedestrian. But this latest bout of weakness was brought on by short-seller Gotham City Research, which published a short report on the stock Jan. 28. The report alleged that earnings are being propped up by related party deals that haven’t been fully disclosed. It should be noted the report came out during the company’s quiet period ahead of earnings, limiting its ability to respond. This is not the first time Carvana has been targeted by shorts: Jim Chanos previously took aim at the company and Hindenburg released a report early last year. (The stock is up 72 per cent since then and Hindenburg has closed up shop.) From an operational perspective, analysts are expecting sales to increase nearly 50 per cent and profit to double from last year.
Deere.AI: If you looked at a chart of Deere & Co. DE-N, you might think it’s an AI stock that’s gone parabolic instead of a tractor and heavy equipment maker. The company is set to report Thursday morning. With less than two months of 2026 under our belt, the stock is already up 30 per cent and trading at near records. You could argue that part of the rally is related to artificial intelligence. Investors are nervous about things that can be disrupted by the technology (read: software) and rotating into AI-proof sectors. However, Deere is also getting in on the AI fun, investing in a humanoid robot company alongside Google and Mercedes-Benz. Investors are also betting the worst is over for farmers, which will lead to increased farm equipment purchases and help Deere clear inventory. Indeed, soy prices are up 10 per cent in 2026 so far. “We think conditions are now better than they were a year ago,” wrote Steven Fisher, an analyst with UBS Group. “Perhaps more importantly, last year during the machinery early order period, sales of soybeans to China declined to nearly zero, and have now resumed.”
MEGnificent: Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-T reports results Thursday morning and is expected to show the full scale of its acquisition of MEG Energy. This may help to offset lower crude prices over the quarter. You wouldn’t know crude has struggled by looking at Cenovus shares. The stock is trading around its highest level since April, 2024 – although looking at the past four years, it has struggled to break out past $30 a share.
In the Money with Amber Kanwar is Canada’s top investing podcast. New episodes out Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe now at www.inthemoneypod.com