Here are September events that could be catalysts for 6 of our stocks

Published Thu, Sep 1 20223:04 PM EDTUpdated Thu, Sep 1 20224:19 PM EDT

As we exit a tough August, we enter September, which has traditionally been the worst month of the year for stocks. August tends to be a solid month for the markets — but this year, it was rough. While it started out strong — building on July's strength after a bottom in mid-June — the Dow , the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq all ended up dropping more than 4% in August. The tech-heavy Nasdaq's decline was the most severe, down 4.6% for the month. Although we could be heading into some more market turbulence this month, we're marking our calendars for six September events that could be catalysts for six Club holdings: Starbucks (SBUX), Humana (HUM), Nvidia (NVDA), Salesforce (CRM), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Costco (COST). Here's a brief summary of the events in order and what the Club hopes to hear from the companies. Sept. 13: Starbucks' investor meeting One of the main highlights of the Starbucks investor meeting will be the unveiling of the company's new reinvention plan, which is set to revamp the Starbucks experience. We think this new plan could position the coffee giant for a strong fiscal 2023. This initiative is expected to result in new investments. So, we're expecting management to shed light on the effect this spending could have on company margins and sales growth. We're also interested in hearing about Starbucks' capital allocation plans. Returning as interim CEO, Howard Schultz in April suspended the company's buyback program, thinking he could get a better return on investment by putting company cash back into the business to bring increased efficiency and speed in its stores. The dividend was untouched. One issue that's been resolved ahead of the meeting is who will be the next CEO of Starbucks. The company announced late Thursday Laxman Narasimhan as its new chief executive. Narasimhan is stepping down at the end of the month as CEO at Reckitt Benckiser , the maker of Lysol and other household and consumer products, including Durex condoms. He's set to start at Starbucks in April. Sept. 15: Humana's investor update During Humana's investor update , we want to hear about its long term growth expectations and more about management's plan to reaccelerate Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment growth. This update could also be a chance for management to reassure investors that its $1 billion value creation plan is on track. Sept. 19-22: Nvidia's developer conference At the developer's GTC conference , we will be waiting for announcements on new product launches. We hope this will be bullish event for the stock, which was hit hard Thursday due to the U.S. government restricting chip sales in China, creating an overall drag on the semiconductor sector. Any guidance on the China restrictions and how Nvidia plans to deal with them would be welcome. As we said in our morning bulletin , we think there are ways the company can mitigate the impact. But the U.S. government's restrictions, revealed after the closing bell on Wednesday, throw a monkey wrench into an already challenged situation. Gaming has been weak but data center has been better despite supply chain challenges and some softness from hyperscaler customers in China. In its latest quarter, Nvidia delivered results largely in-line with its preannounced warning. But forward guidance was a bit worse. Sept. 20-22: Salesforce's Dreamforce conference Dreamforce, the world's largest software conference , is Salesforce's annual event where management highlights new business innovations and deals the company is making during that time. In its second quarter earnings results, Salesforce delivered a solid quarter but provided a softer business outlook for fiscal 2023. The company said it was taking longer to close deals due to what co-CEO Marc Benioff told CNBC last month is a "more measured" approach from customers. During Dreamforce, we'll be looking for updates on new business wins, operating margin targets and any forward-looking guidance. Sept. 22: Qualcomm's automotive investor day Qualcomm's auto investor day will be shaped around its Snapdragon Digital Chassis, an integrated set of open, cloud platforms that let drivers connect their cars. We are interested in how Qualcomm's technology is enabling its auto business to grow. This may include how Snapdragon is transforming the auto industry and more importantly how these new designs are empowering the next generation of vehicles. We're also looking for how Snapdragon will translate into customer acquisition. Qualcomm already has some notable auto customers such as BMW, Stellantis (STLA), and a commitment from General Motors (GM) to use Snapdragon to power its advanced driver assistance system. But we want to know if there are more customers in the pipeline and how much of a benefit automakers see in the technology. Sept. 22: Costco earnings Club holding Costco (COST) will report its fiscal fourth-quarter results later this month. We got a preview of performance with the retail giant reporting its August sales results late Wednesday, delivering an 11.4% increase in net sales of $17.55 billion during the month compared to last year's $15.7 billion. Rival retailer, Walmart (WMT) announced on Wednesday it will raise its Sam's Club membership fees to $50 from $45 for members and to $110 from $100 for plus-members, effective Oct. 17. This is important because Costco typically raises its membership fees every five to six years. Since we passed the five-year mark, we will be all ears to hear whether the retailer will hike its annual fees. Costco charges $60 a year for a basic membership and $120 a year for its gold membership. We would like to see Costco membership fees increase because those revenues represent a large source of the company's profits. We also think any news related to a special divi