Next week on the stock market

NVIDIA’s expected to build on the blistering growth experienced in the final quarter of last year. Company guidance points to first quarter revenue of around $24bn, more than three times the levels seen at the same point in 2023. Analyst forecasts expect sales to come in slightly higher. NVIDIA’s at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence based supercomputing. Beyond the obvious large Data Center customers, it’s working closely with sovereign states and academic institutions. In certain cases, the technology rollout has accelerated from a period of years to just months.

But there are potential headwinds for other segments. Some semiconductor companies have noted weak demand from the automotive industry and in gaming the lack of next generation console releases could keep a lid on sales. However, these are much smaller than the Data Center division, here we’ll be keeping a close eye on manufacturing partners’ ability to keep up with NVIDIA’s momentum.

So far trading this year has given Marks and Spencer shareholders plenty to be happy about. Growing market share and margins whilst embarking on a significant cost-cutting programme is a tough balancing act, but the group’s nailed it so far. Along with Lidl and the retail arm of Ocado, which it owns a 50% share of, M&S ranked as Britain’s fastest-growing grocer over the last quarter.

But the retail sector is a notoriously tricky operating environment and wage inflation and business rates have provided an unwanted challenge to its cost cutting programme. Despite this, next week’s full-year results are still expected to land in line with analyst estimates. This includes revenue growth of 8.9% over the year to £13bn and operating profit growth of 28.5% to £805mn.

National Grid is attempting to plant itself at the centre of the electric revolution. It’s selling off some of its gas assets to really focus its attention on electricity. Progress in driving the energy transition forward looks set to be supercharged by substantial levels of investment. These are expected to be in excess of £8bn when full-year results are reported next week.

In return for investing billions to maintain and upgrade its network, the regulator allows National Grid to earn a reasonable profit. Markets are expecting operating profits to rise around 11% to £4.8bn, which helps fund the group’s 5.4% forward dividend yield. Although, shareholder returns can vary and aren’t guaranteed. But given the shift in the interest rate narrative in early 2024, with rates now expected to remain higher for longer, we're eager to understand the longer-term impact this has on funding these investments.