TSMC, Shell, Levi Strauss, Imperial Brands and Hays

A number of major companies are due to report in the coming week, across sectors ranging from tech to energy and retail.

TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) is due to release its September sales data, and as the world's largest contract chipmaker, the figures offer some insight into wider semiconductor demand.

On the London market, Shell (SHEL.L) is set to provide an update on third quarter performance, with shares trading in the green year-to-date, despite a continued fall in oil prices amid concerns about oversupply and waning demand.

In the US, Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI) will release its third-quarter earnings, with analysts expecting the denim maker to report another strong sales beat.

Back in the UK, tobacco company Imperial Brands (IMB.L) is slated to publish its full-year trading statement, just days after Lukas Paravicini took over as CEO.

On the FTSE 250 (^FTMC), first quarter results from recruitment company Hays (HAS.L) will be in focus, particularly given signs of weakness in certain jobs markets.

Here's more detail on what to look out for:

Shares in TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) rose this week, amid reports of updates on tariff talks between Taiwan and the US.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Taiwan is considering forming a high-tech strategic partnership with the US, based on comment's made by the island's top tariff negotiator vice premier Cheng Li-chiun.

However, she reportedly said that Taiwan would not agree to a US proposal for half of its chip production to take place in America and that this had not been brought up in the latest talks. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of China (Taiwan) had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.

In March, TSMC announced plans to expand its total investment in the US to $165bn (£122bn), including three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, as well as a major research and development team center.

TSMC's Taiwan-listed shares are up more than 30% year-to-date, trading at all-time highs, as the company has continued to report strong demand for its chips.

In August, TSMC reported net revenue of 335 billion Taiwan new dollars (£4.03bn), up 33.8% year-on-year. September's monthly sales figures, due out on Thursday, will cap off its third quarter and give investors some idea what to expect from its Q3 earnings, due out on 16 October.

For the third quarter, TSMC has guided to net revenue of $31.8bn to $33bn and an operating margin of 45.5% to 47.5%. In the second quarter, TSMC topped its own guidance, delivering net revenue of more than $30bn and an operating margin of 49.6%.

Oil prices have tumbled over the past week, sending Brent crude futures (BZ=F) to their lowest level since the start of June.

Analysts expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to keep increasing oil output which has pushed down energy prices in the last few days. The group are set to meet on Sunday to decide on output for November, and could hike output further despite concerns that the oil market is already oversupplied.

Despite declining oil prices, Shell (SHEL.L) shares are up nearly 9% year-to-date, with the company due to update on third quarter performance on Tuesday, before releasing its full Q3 results on 30 October.

In the second quarter, the Anglo-Dutch oil major reported a 32% fall in adjusted earnings year-on-year to $4.3bn. However, this topped expectations of $3.74bn, according to consensus estimates provided by Vara Research.

Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio

The company also launched another $3.5bn of share buybacks, representing its fifteenth consecutive quarter of at least $3bn in repurchases.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said that Shell's dividend yield of 4% remains attractive to income-seeking investors.

“Despite heightened geopolitical tensions and a current glut of supply overhanging the sector, Shell is now undergoing more conservative capital expenditure, thus underpinning shareholder returns,” he said.

Hunter explained that the company's range of operations across oil, gas, chemicals and retailing “allows one area of strength to counter another of weakness”.

“Management’s previous estimate that the dividend could be sustained even with the oil price as low as $40 per barrel – currently $66 – is noteworthy, while a focus on reducing costs continues,” he said.

Shares in Levi Strauss (LEVI) are up nearly 41% year-to-date, with the stock popping following the company reporting a second quarter earnings beat and raising guidance in July.

The denim company reported adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share in the second quarter, which was ahead of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $0.13. Revenue of $1.45bn also topped estimates of $1.37bn.

Off the back of strong performance in the first half, Levi Strauss raised its guidance for the year, saying it now expected to report organic net revenue growth of 4.5% to 5.4%, up from a range of 3.5% to 4.5%. The company also raised its adjusted earnings per share guidance to between $1.25 and $1.30, up from $1.20 to $1.25. It said that the raised outlook included the impact of US tariffs.

For the third quarter, analysts at Bank of America (BAC) said in a note on 1 October that they expected Levi Strauss to post “another strong sales beat” ahead of management's guidance of 4% to 5% organic growth.

They raised their forecast for third quarter earnings per share by $0.02 to $0.32 to reflect stronger margins and reiterated a “buy” rating on the stock.

“Since Levi's July earnings call, denim continues to be a ‘hot' category across brands and retailers; this coupled with a strong retail back-to-school season bodes well for 3Q results and 4Q guidance,” the analysts said.

FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) company Imperial Brands said in May that chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini would be taking over as CEO on 1 October, as Stefan Bomhard retired from the role.

The first test for Paravicini in his new role will be Imperial's trading statement, due out on Tuesday, which will give investors an idea of what to expect from the company's full-year performance ahead of its results announcement on 18 November.

In first half results, released alongside the announcement of Paravicini's appointment, Imperial reported revenue of £14.6bn ($19.7bn), which was down 3% on the same period last year. Adjusted operating profit grew by 1.8% to £1.65bn and the company said it was still on track to deliver full-year results in line with guidance.

Read more: Stocks that are trending today

Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Strong pricing in the first half more than offset the decline in tobacco volumes.”

“And despite charging smokers more to satisfy their cravings, the group’s been making solid market share gains,” he said. “How long that continues remains to be seen, but analysts think there’s a strong foundation for achieving full-year growth in the low single-digit range.”

However, Nathan added that expectations of underlying operating profit growth in the mid-single digits are “more demanding”.

He said that growth of just 1.8% in the first half “means there’s some heavy lifting to be done in the period about to end”.

Shares in Imperial Brands are currently trading nearly 20% in the green year-to-date.

Shares in recruitment firm Hays (HAS.L) are down 28%, amid concerns of a slowdown in certain labour markets.

In the UK, the jobs market has continued to show signs of cooling this year, with data released in September by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that the unemployment rate came in at 4.7% for May to July. The ONS said this was up on the latest quarter and above estimates from a year ago.

In addition, the number of employees on the payroll in the three months to July fell by 125,000 from a year earlier, while annual wage growth excluding bonuses slowed to 4.8% from 5% in the previous three months.

In preliminary full-year results in August, Hays CEO Dirk Hahn said that the company had been impacted by headwinds, such as economic and political uncertainty weighing on confidence.

Hays posted an 11% fall in net fees on a like-for-like basis to £972.4m for the year and a 89% drop in profit before tax to £1.5m.

AJ Bell's investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said: “If the last financial year offered any glimmer of light it came in the shape of lesser rates of decline in net fee income from temporary posts. If employers start to feel less gloomy, they may turn to temporary hires first before any blossoming of confidence leads to more permanent hires.”

“The good news is the balance sheet is strong,” they said. “Hays had a net cash position of £37m excluding leases at the end of the last financial year, although lease liabilities left the recruiter with a net debt position of £144m. That was still modest compared to an equity base of £467m and net tangible assets of £239m.

Monday 6 October

Ferrexpo (FXPO.L)

Constellation Brands (STZ)

Tuesday 7 October

CVS Group (CVSG.L)

Angling Direct (ANG.L)

UMC (UMC)

McCormick (MCK)

Wednesday 8 October

Vertu Motors (VTU.L)

Thursday 9 October

Volution (FAN.L)