(Joe Raedle/Getty Images) |
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The price was very, very wrong when four contestants on “The Price Is Right” tried to guess the retail value of Apple’s Vision Pro headset. And it wasn’t that everyone overbid — the guesses were all more than $2,000 below the actual cost. To add insult to injury, the audience could be heard collectively groaning when the true price was revealed.
In a case of opposite day, the lesser-runs of the S&P 500 powered the market higher while the heavyweights broadly retreated on Thursday. The benchmark US stock index closed up 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 eked out a 0.1% gain, and the Russell 2000 led the way with a 0.5% advance.
Contrary to Wednesday, the S&P 500’s advance-decline line was tilted decidedly to the upside, with gainers outnumbering fallers by 247. Every S&P 500 sector ETF traded higher, save for consumer discretionary, with defensive sectors like utilities and consumer staples topping the leaderboard.
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Walmart reported earnings yesterday, and despite an early morning pop in share price, the company finished at a loss in no small part because CFO John David Rainey said that shoppers will start to see prices rise by late May and for sure in June.
On the earnings call, he added that the retailer is also trimming some orders as it watches how sensitive customers are to higher prices. |
- Walmart was already pressing Chinese suppliers to cut prices by as much as 10% per round of tariffs. That move sparked tension with China’s officials, especially given Walmart’s deep exposure.
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An estimated 60% of its shipments came from their country in 2023.
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Analysts say Walmart is well positioned to keep its pricing power — “While they will need to raise some of their prices, they will be very mindful that their prices still remain below their peers’ prices for the same items,” wrote Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research — but price hikes are still price hikes.
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Walmart’s scale gives it an unmatched ability to secure the lowest possible cost, and now that its e-commerce business is profitable, it has more flexibility to absorb those cost increases in-house. Good for them! What about the rest of the economy? |
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Invest in the Pre-IPO Market Amid Public Market Uncertainty |
Kevin O’Leary is StartEngine’s Strategic Advisor and Spokesman.4 |
Tariffs, emptier ports, market volatility. Amidst public market uncertainty, private markets are expected to continue growing, and are projected to hit $18T+ by 2027.1 And yet, the big players have been the ones reaping the rewards of these opportunities, leaving out everyday investors like you.
Enter StartEngine, the platform connecting accredited individuals with top pre-IPO companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Databricks. While uncertainty reigns, StartEngine just posted recent financials. 🌴 Record Q4 2024 revenues of $17M 🌴 Revenue doubled YoY ($23M to $48M)2 Note: net loss also increased to $16.5 million.
The even better part? The window is open to invest in them directly. Join 45K+ who have invested $84M+ in StartEngine (across all offerings) before this round closes next month.3
View Opportunity. |
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Cisco crushed earnings yesterday, with the networking products company offering guidance well above what Wall Street was expecting. The company is one of the many beneficiaries of the ongoing spending: management said that AI infrastructure orders surpassed their $1 billion target for the year with one quarter to spare, which made for some fascinating commentary on the earnings call.
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- Enterprise customers are “still committed to the technology transition,” CEO Chuck Robbins said. “I think the AI transition is just so important that they’re going to continue to spend until they just absolutely have to stop.”
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Now, take a moment to think about the implications of that.
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It’s a reminder of how deeply corporate decision-making and incentive structures are molded by booms. The US tech industry — heck, the stock market as a whole — is on rails for the time being. It sets up a lot of weird incentives, the top one being, let’s keep the music going.
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When your share price becomes a function of how dedicated the market perceives you to be with a mania in progress (and to a certain degree, how much your operating results can back up your claims about that), the biggest perceived risk, above all else, is not being involved enough.
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After underperforming for much of the year, retail investors’ faith in buy-the-dip strategies paid off in April, according to JPMorgan analysts, as a surge in prices of picks like Tesla, Palantir, and Nvidia has helped them sharply cut losses compared to the market.
See what they bought last week. |
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Nasdaq’s 24-hour trading plan will keep markets moving around the clock |
Nasdaq heard the calls of retail traders and global investors. It plans to launch 24-hour trading by late 2026, pending reg approval — and is already making moves to deliver a transparent and reliable overnight trading platform.
So why now? Read more about the decision and how Nasdaq is gearing up for this historic shift at sherwood.news. |
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Yesterday’s Big Daily Movers |
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UnitedHealth tumbled following a report that the DOJ is investigating the healthcare giant for potential Medicare fraud
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Alibaba sank 7.5% on lackluster quarterly results as its cloud business failed to impress
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Foot Locker sprinted up over 80% on news of a massive $2.4 billion takeover offer from Dick’s Sporting Goods (which took a beating on the news)
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“Marvel Rivals” maker NetEase hit a new high score after reporting a 35% spike in profit
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- Crypto-curious? Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF is the lowest-cost5 way to gain Bitcoin exposure in your existing brokerage account (though brokerage fees may still apply). Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal.6
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April Building Permits and Housing Starts
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Advertiser's disclosures:
1 Source: S&P Global, “Private Markets – A Growing, Alternative Asset Class,” Accessed April 30, 2024
2 Based on our 2024 Form 10-K. This revenue growth has been driven by StartEngine Private, a new product line that offers funds in late stage companies. This product line has driven over $28 million of the $48 million in revenue from 2024. Net loss also increased to $16.5 million. To understand the impact on margins, see financials.
3 This is a paid advertisement for StartEngine’s Reg. A+ offering. Please read the most recent offering circular and related risks at StartEngine OWN. The offering is made available through StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc. No broker-dealer or intermediary was involved in offering.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors. This investment is highly speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. There is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.
4 Kevin O’Leary is a paid spokesperson for StartEngine. See his 17(b) disclosure, here. 5 BTC is low cost based on gross expense ratio at 0.15%. Brokerage fees and other expenses may still apply.
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF ("BTC" or the “Fund”), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (or the ’40 Act) and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 1940 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds.
6 Please read the BTC prospectus carefully before investing in the Fund. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Marketing Agent for the Fund.
Investing involves significant risk, including possible loss of principal. The Fund holds Bitcoin; however, an investment in the Fund is not a direct investment in Bitcoin. As a non-diversified and single industry fund, the value of the shares may fluctuate more than shares invested in a broader range of industries. Extreme volatility, regulatory changes, and exposure to digital asset exchanges may impact the value of Bitcoin and, consequently, the value of the Fund. Digital assets are not suitable for an investor that cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. There is no guarantee that a market for the shares will be available, which will adversely impact the liquidity of the Fund.
The value of the Fund relates directly to the value of the underlying digital asset, the value of which may be highly volatile and subject to fluctuations due to a number of factors. There is no certainty that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained which will adversely affect the liquidity of shares of the Fund. |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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