Next week on the stock market

Aston Martin has been struggling to crank up its engine, and at the end of September, the group issued a profit warning. Supply chain disruptions have put a spanner in the works of its delivery guidance, and sales in China have been poor as the region continues to wrestle with its own economic woes. All of this means underlying cash profits (EBITDA) look set to shift into reverse and come in below last year’s level.

When Aston Martin reports results next week, we’re keen to hear if China’s recent blitz of stimulus measures has shifted its outlook for the region. High debt levels are also a real issue for the group, so we’d like to hear what management has in mind to tackle the rising problem before it gets too out of hand.

GSK's settlement of the majority of cases related to alleged cancer links with its heartburn drug Zantac has shifted the focus back to next week's third-quarter trading update.

The company’s already upgraded guidance twice this year despite headwinds for two key products, Arexvy and Shingrix, in the important US market. How that situation has unfolded since will play a key part in determining which way guidance moves next.

With a new approval in place for Arexvy in Europe, we’ll be looking to see how early patient uptake has been, as well as the commercial impact of clinical trial readouts and approvals for other products seen since the second quarter results. We’ll also find out how momentum is building for HIV and cancer treatments launched earlier this year.

Next has had a great start to the year, and that’s been reflected by around a 25% uplift in its market value year-to-date. Consumers appear to be holding up well too, helping retail sales beat forecasts for the third month in a row. Given its desirable clothing proposition and recent track record, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Next capture its fair share of this spending. That could fuel yet another upgrade to full-year profit expectations in next week’s trading announcement.

Looking further ahead, we continue to see its online channel as the main growth driver, despite already accounting for more than half of group sales. Overseas expansion is still in its early stages too. With European shoppers just a stone's throw away, we think there’s a big opportunity here if Next can execute its expansion plans well.

A director of Hargreaves Lansdown plc is a Non-Executive Director of Next plc.