Breakfast News: A Truckload To Digest

• Working progress: Analysts are forecasting a significant month-over-month improvement in the headline non-farm payroll print for November (compared to just 12,000 in October’s hurricane and strike-impacted month), which would boost expectations of a soft landing. 
• Catalysts for the month: Other labor market data precedes this, with JOLTS job opening figures out Tuesday and the monthly ADP employment change numbers on Wednesday. Today sees the release of the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), with Wednesday providing the Services equivalent. 

After the market closes today, Zscaler (ZS 1.84%) is due to release quarterly results. Since first introduced to the Foolish universe via Stock Advisor in 2018, it’s beaten the S&P 500 by 287% (our latest SA recommendation is due Thursday).

• Strong topline growth forecasted: Revenue is expected to hit $605.6 million, up 21.9% versus the same quarter last year. In August, Dan Caplinger highlighted that management set a “low bar … for fiscal 2025” and shareholders have to hope Zscaler will easily surpass this.
• Momentum into 2025: Investors will be focused on the progress made on integrating AI into the cybersecurity product suite, as this should help to retain existing clients and attract new ones next year.

• Time for change: The company issued a profit warning in 2024’s annual results released in late September, noting weaker demand in the U.S. and higher competition in China.
• An industry-wide issue: Bloomberg has reported Nissan Motors CFO Stephen Ma is to step down from his position, with the stock down almost 35% this year. This highlights the global slowdown in demand the vast majority of auto manufacturers are facing.

• Targeting large new markets: Veeva Systems (VEEV 2.63%) results are due Thursday, with earnings expected to jump 17.9% to $1.58 per share. Fool analyst Buck Hartzell recently noted that thanks to entering the horizontal enterprise applications marketplace, “their potential addressable market just got much, much bigger.”
• Getting the basics right: On the same day, Kroger (KR -0.41%) earnings will come out, with a modest projected 3.2% increase in EPS at $0.98. However, Dividend Investor analyst Anthony Schiavone flags that “at a time when AI and technology stocks are powering the market higher, the Cincinnati-based grocer has quietly generated annualized total returns of 20% over the last five years.”