Wall Street This Week: Jawbone UP3, Apple Watch Are Out

Updated
<b class="credit">AOL</b>Jawbone starts shipping its UP3 fitness tracker on Monday.
AOLJawbone starts shipping its UP3 fitness tracker on Monday.

From the country's darling burrito roller offering up what should be another strong quarter of growth to the world's largest software company trying to breathe new life into its stagnant operating system stronghold, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street.

Monday -- Tracking Fitness Trackers

The new trading week kicks off with Jawbone finally shipping the UP3 fitness-monitoring bracelet. It's probably not a coincidence that Jawbone's device is hitting the market just days ahead of the Apple Watch arrival. Jawbone began taking pre-orders for its latest fitness tracker late last year, but production delays as it beefed up its sensors and capabilities pushed the release out until this week.

It probably didn't want to hit the market after the Apple Watch, and that means that it had to forgo improving its water resistance as Jawbone had initially promised. The $179 device tracks movement as well as sleep patterns and biometric data.

Tuesday -- Let's Eat

Thriving eateries will be serving up fresh financials on Tuesday. Chili's parent Brinker International (EAT) reports in the morning. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) follows in the afternoon.

Chili's has been bucking the uninspiring trend at many of its casual dining peers that have been suffering a slowdown in patrons. Chili's has been able to keep its concept fresh, and the addition last year of table-top tablets to expedite drink refills and bill payments have helped speed up the experience.

Chipotle remains the rock star in fast casual. It's on an impressive streak of delivering double-digit year-over-year growth in comparable-restaurants sales for four consecutive quarters. It will try to stretch that run to five quarters after Tuesday's market close, but it did warn earlier this year that it sees comps growing only in the single digits for all of 2015.

Wednesday -- EBay's Splitting Headache

There will be many companies announcing quarterly results on Wednesday, but one in particular that bears watching is eBay (EBAY). The leading online auctioneer and marketplace is breaking up into two companies.

The market's been excited about the prospects of buying directly into PayPal, the financial payments platform that's growing faster than eBay's namesake site. The dot-com giant should offer up some insight on how the process is coming along in Wednesday's conference call.

Thursday -- Closing Windows

Tech bellwether Microsoft (MSFT) checks in with its latest financials on Thursday. Things haven't been easy for the world's largest software company in recent years. PC sales have softened, with consumers flocking to smartphones and tablets that are primarily fueled by iOS or Android. Microsoft is a distant third in the market for mobile operating systems, and it may be fighting a losing battle.

Microsoft's pinning its hopes on the release of Windows 10 later this year, and it's a safe bet that Mr. Softy will discuss the upcoming update to its iconic operating system. The outlook will ideally be more uplifting than its performance through the past three months. Analysts see a sharp decline in profitability since the same quarter form the prior fiscal year with revenue inching a mere 3.5 percent higher.

Friday -- Watch Out

The week ends with all eyes turning to Apple (AAPL) as the Apple Watch finally hits the market. Demand has lived up to its end of the bargain. Market watchers estimate that the consumer tech giant has already sold more than 2 million of the devices since pre-rders kicked off earlier this month, and the initial supply sold out within minutes. Now we'll see if supply can live up to its end of the bargain.

There won't be the long lines that Apple usually sees at Apple Store locations during iPhone launches. Production delays have reportedly limited the number of devices that will be available on Friday to those who have been already spoken for through initial preorders. Even folks wanting to get their wrists fitted have been making appointments this month. General availability may not start until June. However, it's still a big moment as Apple enters the wearable computing market, hoping to legitimatize the smartwatch market in the process.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill and eBay. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and eBay. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Is your portfolio ready for what 2015 has to offer? Click here to check out our free report for one great stock to buy for this year and beyond.

Advertisement