Filed under: Retail, Internet, Stocks, Mobile Technology, Investing
March 5: We will get a glimpse into the state of the supermarket industry Thursday morning when Kroger (KR) reports quarterly results. Kroger is a major player here. Its empire consists of 2,631 grocery stores under several different banners, 783 convenience stores, 325 fine jewelry stores, and 1,293 fuel centers.
Analysts see Kroger's revenue climbing 8 percent over the prior year's holiday quarter with profitability growing even faster.
March 9: Apple (AAPL) will be hosting a media event next Monday. The "spring forward" invitation finds watchers of the tech giant holding out for the debut of the highly anticipated Apple Watch.
Apple has been slow to throw its hat into the wearable computing ring, so naturally it will be trying to make up for lost time with its smart watch. There were concerns last year about pricing and battery life, so it will be interesting to see where the Apple Watch stands on both fronts.
March 10: It's been four years since Borders was forced by creditors to liquidate, closing down all of its stores in the process. That corporate-crushing event was initially a godsend for Barnes & Noble (BKS), but even the country's last remaining major book retailer is struggling these days.
Barnes & Noble was originally expecting to spin off its Nook and college bookstore businesses, but it announced last week that it would be keeping its e-book business after all. The chain reports next week, and Wall Street sees improving profitability on declining sales for the seasonally potent holiday quarter.
March 13: The South by Southwest -- or SXSW -- festival kicks off in Austin later this month. Most people see the annual festival as a the launch pad for music and film projects, but there's also an interactive element where budding upstarts and established titans of tech show off their latest innovations.
Twitter (TWTR) and Foursquare used SXSW to introduce the world to their social media platforms, and investors may want to keep tabs on the five-day festival to see which upstarts turn heads.
March 27: BlackBerry (BBRY) was once such an iconic brand in smartphones that industry pioneers affectionately referred to the company as CrackBerry given its addictive nature. It's a different landscape in 2015, when Android and Apple's iPhone dominate the market.
BlackBerry is still around, hoping that its email-centric and secure platform appeal to corporate customers. It hasn't been enough. Owners continue to kick the habit, shifting to Android, iOS, and even Windows Phone. BlackBerry reports later this month, and the market's holding out for a small quarterly loss on another double-digit decline in revenue.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Twitter. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Barnes & Noble and Twitter. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Check out our free report on our favorite high-yielding dividend stocks.