Hello friends and Fortune readers.
The week ahead promises to start off with bang Monday when Apple (AAPL) reveals more details about its upcoming smartwatch at what will likely be a splashy event in San Francisco. There’s also a number of earnings reports from fast-food companies including Krispy Kreme, Shake Shack and El Pollo Loco along with a few retailers like Barnes & Noble and Urban Outfitters. You should also be on the lookout for several key economic surveys that will provide an update on the state of the U.S. economy.
Here’s what you need to know for the week ahead.
1. The Apple Watch event
All eyes will be on Apple on Monday when the company provides more details about Watch, its foray into the much-hyped category of wearable computers. So far, smartwatches, which let people check their email, make calls and track fitness, haven’t exactly been flying off the shelves. Don’t be surprised if Apple also updates the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air, which is expected to start shipping before the end of June. In its invitation to reporters for the event, Apple dubbed the event “Spring Forward” (a reference to daylight savings, which started early Sunday – Hope you didn’t forget!). We’ll have a contingent of Fortune reporters covering the event, so check back Monday for much, much more! Apple’s event starts at 1 pm EST.
2. Food earnings galore
It’s another full plate of food earnings in the week ahead. Things start off Wednesday afternoon with Shake Shack (SHAK) and Krispy Kreme (KKD). For Shake Shack, which recently held its initial public offering, this will be its first financial report as a public company. On Thursday, El Pollo Loco (LOCO), the Mexican broiled chicken chain that held its IPO last year, reports in the afternoon. In July, we wrote about how the restaurant laid a “golden egg” on IPO day, when its shares gained 60%.
3. A slew of surveys
There’s important data on small business, jobs and retail spending in the week ahead. The National Federation of Independent Businesses puts out its small business survey Tuesday at 9 a.m. That’s followed an hour later by surveys about job openings and labor turnover from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both of which will show the health of the U.S. job market. On Friday, a consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan will be released at 10 a.m.
4. South by Southwest
The South by Southwest conference in Austin is an extravaganza of music, film and interactive industries. The event starts Friday and runs for 10 days of seminars, concerts and tech chatter. Fortune will have a reporter on the scene for part of the festival, so be sure to check back for more. Here’s some of what Fortune reported last year about the conference.
5. Box, Barnes & Noble and more
In other earnings, look out for Urban Outfitters (URBN) Monday and Barnes & Noble ( BKS) Tuesday morning. Online file storage company Box (BOX) will report Wednesday afternoon. Fortune spoke with CEO Aaron Levie during Friday’s Fortune Live segment, which you can watch here in case you missed it.
