This week in business: retail sales, Netflix earnings, home sales

RETAIL BELLWEATHER

The Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales figures for June on Tuesday.

Analysts expect that sales jumped 0.5% last month from a modest gain of 0.3% in May. Last month’s increase suggested a still-resilient consumer, though retail sales have been bumpy this year after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March but have recovered since.

Retail sales, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

Jan.: 2.8

Feb.: -0.7

March -0.9

April 0.4

May: 0.3

June (est.): 0.5

Source: FactSet

NETFLIX RESULTS

Home streaming entertainment company Netflix will report its second-quarter results after the bell Wednesday.

Analysts are forecasting that California-based Netflix added another 1.8 million paid subscribers in the period, after adding a surprising 1.75 million in the previous quarter. It was a strong start to the year for Netflix, which had been seeing some erosion in its subscriber base. Analysts are forecasting that Netflix earned $2.85 per share in the second quarter on $8.3 billion in sales.

HOME SALES

The National Association of Realtors on Thursday releases monthly data for sales of existing homes.

Economists forecast that home sales dipped modestly in June. In May, existing home sales rose 0.2% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million. Analyst are forecasting sales of 4.25 million for June. The good news for buyers is that prices are dropping — the national median home price fell 3.1% from May last year to $396,100. The bad news? Supply is near an all-time low.

U.S. home sales by month, seasonally adjusted annual rate:

Jan.: 4.00 million

Feb.: 4.55 million

March: 4.30 million

April: 4.29 million

May: 4.30 million

June (est.): 4.25 million

Source: FactSet