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Tag: Costco Wholesale Corp

  • Here’s what an overbought market and endless negativity tell me to do this week

    Here’s what an overbought market and endless negativity tell me to do this week

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    Jim Cramer on Squawk on the Street, June 30, 2022.

    Virginia Sherwood | CNBC

    Not a great setup. There are too many articles and postings about how we are overdoing artificial intelligence, and how there’s not enough substance to justify recent market moves.

    There’s no question that the market, particularly the Nasdaq, has rallied endlessly on what amounts to the same information: Nvidia (NVDA) makes great cards; Adobe‘s (ADBE) putting them to use; so is Meta Platforms (META) but we don’t know how; as are Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet‘s (GOOGL) Google and, most importantly, Oracle (ORCL); but don’t forget Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell (MVRL).

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  • Five takeaways about the consumer from Walmart, other retailers after a big week of earnings

    Five takeaways about the consumer from Walmart, other retailers after a big week of earnings

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    A Target department store in North Miami Beach, Florida, May 17, 2023.

    Joe Raedle | Getty Images

    More grocery purchases, fewer ambitious do-it-yourself projects and last-minute splurges at the store.

    This week, some of the biggest retailers in the country reported earnings and described how their customers are shopping. As Home Depot, Target and Walmart reported their quarterly sales and shared full-year outlooks, the companies offered up the latest clues about the health of the American consumer and previewed what could be ahead for the economy.

    Some smaller retailers also offered warning signs for the current quarter and this year.

    Next week will give even more insight into the retail industry and economy. Best Buy, Lowe’s, Costco, Dollar Tree and Kohl’s are among the earnings on tap. Some mall retailers are also reporting earnings, including Gap, American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch.

    Here are some of the emerging themes.

    Sales trends have weakened

    So far, at least five retailers — Target, Walmart, Tapestry, Bath & Body Works and Foot Locker — have spoken about sales trends across the country getting worse.

    As the three-month period went on, shoppers spent less, especially on discretionary merchandise, Target CEO Brian Cornell said on a call with investors. Walmart noticed the same pattern.

    Both big-box retailers reported a sharp sales drop after February.

    Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey attributed the decline, in part, to the end of pandemic-related SNAP benefits and a decrease in tax refunds. 

    Cornell said headline-grabbing events could have shaken consumer confidence too. He pointed to the March banking crisis. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed that month, sparking fears of broader economic woes.

    Bath & Body Works saw sales fall off in March. Yet, sales recovered in April as the retailer turned to a common playbook: promotions. It got a boost as customers spent money at sales events toward the end of the quarter, CFO Wendy Arlin said on a Thursday earnings call.

    Foot Locker also said it may have to motivate shoppers with markdowns for the rest of the year. The company cut its full-year forecast Friday, as it reported earnings that missed expectations. CEO Mary Dillon said in a statement, “sales have since softened meaningfully given the tough macroeconomic backdrop.”

    On a call with investors Friday, Dillon said the sneaker seller’s sales got hurt by lower tax refunds and high inflation as customers spent more on food and services. While she said sales rebounded in April, “they did not improve nearly to the extent we expected, and that weakness has continued into May.”

    A few other retailers that reported earnings had specific factors working in their favor.

    When Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, reported earnings last week, the company said sales softened as the quarter progressed and into April as consumers became more cautious.

    But it has a factor going for it that some other retailers don’t: A growing business in China and other international markets to offset some of those softer sales.

    Home Depot bucked the slowing sales trend, but that may have to do more with what it offers than consumer health.

    Spring is peak season for home improvement. The retailer’s comparable sales in the U.S. declined 4.6% in the quarter versus the year-ago period. In February, its comparable sales were down 2.8%. March was its weakest month of the quarter, as comparable sales fell nearly 8% year over year in the U.S.

    Home Depot’s trends were still negative in April but saw a slight improvement as comparable sales slid 3.7%, according to CFO Richard McPhail. Customers may have been buying more spring items such as potted plants.

    Inflation is still a key factor

    Inflation is easing, according to a Labor Department report this month. Yet, that’s cold comfort for shoppers who are still paying a lot more at the grocery store than they were a few years ago.

    Stubbornly high prices, especially for food, are a storm cloud that hangs over many families who shop at Walmart, and looms over the retail industry as a whole, the big-box giant’s CEO Doug McMillon said. On a call with investors Thursday, he called the persistent inflation “one of the key factors creating uncertainty for us in the back half of the year.”

    “We all need those prices to come down,” he said on the call. “The persistently high rates of inflation in these categories, lasting for such a long period of time, are weighing on some of the families we serve.”

    For example, he said general merchandise costs in the U.S. are lower than a year ago, but still higher than two years ago. In dry grocery and consumables categories, Walmart is seeing high single-digit to low double-digit cost inflation on items such as toilet paper or paper towels. For food, inflation has climbed more than 20% on a two-year basis, according to Walmart’s Rainey.

    A shopper browses the eggs section at a Walmart store in Santa Clarita, California.

    Mario Anzuoni | Reuters

    Walmart is feeling the inflation crunch even though it is better positioned to manage higher costs than other retailers. As the nation’s largest retailer and biggest grocer, Walmart can use its scale to manufacture private-label merchandise or negotiate with vendors over price.

    One rare item that dropped dramatically in price? Lumber. Home Depot cited the sharp price decrease as a factor that contributed to its fiscal first-quarter revenue miss.

    In plenty of other categories, however, inflation is still driving a higher average ticket for customers, Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said on an earnings call Tuesday.

    Consumers are spending on needs, not wants

    Target, Home Depot and Walmart all saw a noticeable pattern: fewer pricey and fun items in shopping carts.

    At Home Depot, customers bought fewer big-ticket items such as appliances and grills in the fiscal first quarter.

    Home projects got more modest, too, Decker said on an investor call. Contractors and other home professionals noticed a change from large-scale remodels to smaller renovations and repairs.

    Decker said consumers’ increased focus on value could be contributing to that shift, along with an uptick in spending on traveling, dining out and other services. He added some homeowners already tackled big projects and bought some high-priced home items during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving less for them to do or to buy now.

    Oppenheimer's Brian Nagel on Home Depot Q1 earnings: This is a weak report

    The trend extended beyond home improvement.

    Customers at Walmart have become more selective when shopping for electronics, TVs, home items and apparel, Rainey told CNBC. The items have become a tougher sell and when customers do buy them, they often wait for a sale, he said.

    At Target, sales declined in some discretionary categories as much as low double-digits as customers bought less clothing and home decor, Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington said on an investor call. Groceries and essentials drove a bigger portion of the retailer’s quarterly sales.

    One exception? Beauty. Hennington said Target’s beauty category was its strongest in the fiscal first quarter. Sales grew in the mid-teens year over year, showing shoppers are still willing to replenish the cosmetic case and get a new tube of lipstick.

    Weather dampened demand (literally)

    Weather has not worked in retailers’ favor, at least not yet.

    As the weather turns warm and sunnier, it can inspire shoppers to buy summer dresses, beach towels or gardening supplies.

    Yet, Home Depot said cooler and wetter weather in California and parts of the western U.S. hit its sales, contributing to its biggest revenue miss in more than 20 years.

    Walmart is eager for warmer weather too. Sam’s Club has noticed slower sales of patio sets, perhaps because of the later-to-hit spring weather, its CEO Kath McLay said on an investor call. Walmart has seen a sharp drop in air conditioner sales at its big-box stores, its CFO Rainey said.

    “We’re ready to get some spring or summer weather,” he said on a call with CNBC.

    Target noted it’s looking forward to another upcoming season: back-to-school.

    The discounter expects to get a sales boost in the back half of the year due to the big shopping season, Hennington said on an investor call. She said the return to classrooms and college dorms triggers sales across almost every department of its store, from lunch ingredients in the grocery aisles to new outfits in the kids’ clothing department.

    Shoppers have become more last-minute

    Retailers may be saying so long to the days of stockpiling and early shopping.

    Company leaders said there are signs shoppers are reverting to some of their old ways.

    At Walmart-owned Sam’s Club, McLay said shoppers are not just opting for lower price points. They’re also shopping later for seasonal items. For example, she said, customers used to buy patio furniture just as soon as it was set at the stores.

    “Now we’re seeing people wait a little bit later into the season,” she said.

    It saw a similar pattern with Mother’s Day sales, she said.

    McLay said that may indicate people have returned to shopping habits of 2018 and 2019. The trend could be fueled by shoppers’ reluctance to open their wallets or because they’re not as worried about out-of-stock items — or a combination.

    At Target, shoppers have also embraced more procrastinator tendencies, especially for discretionary items such as apparel.

    “Guests are shifting to shop more just in time in these categories, as they wait until the last moments before key events to invest in new decor or wardrobe refreshes,” Hennington said on an earnings call.

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  • Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday

    Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday

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    My top 10 things to watch Thursday, May 4

    1. In a widely expected move, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by 25 basis points — the 10th rate increase in just over a year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated the central bank may pause rate hikes going forward, but did not suggest it would begin cutting anytime soon. The Fed must see weakness in wages to consider pulling back.

    2. Regional bank stocks are under pressure, with PacWest Bancorp (PACWP) in focus. Shares of the California lender are down 39% in premarket trading, at just under $4 apiece, and it is reportedly considering a sale. “Leaving rates this high is going to continue this stress,” DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach told CNBC. “I believe with a very high degree of probability there’s going to be further regional bank failures.”

    3. The debt-ceiling debacle continues, with the U.S. hurtling towards a June 1 deadline by which it could default on its debt obligations. The 2011 debt standoff offers some lessons for investors.

    4. Oil prices fell to their lowest level since Dec. 2021 on concerns over demand and an uneven economic recovery in China, before edging up Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude — the U.S. oil benchmark — slid nearly 11% over the past three sessions and was flat in morning trading, at around $68 a barrel.

    5. Club holding Apple (AAPL) is set to report quarterly results after the closing bell Thursday, with analysts predicting the iPhone maker will announce $90 billion in share buybacks and dividends. We also got a potential readthrough from Club name Qualcomm (QCOM) Wednesday when the chipmaker announced a weaker-than-expected forecast for handsets on the back of slower demand in China.

    6. A slate of banks on Thursday lower their price targets on Estee Lauder (EL) after shares of the Club holding plunged more than 20% Wednesday on weak forward guidance. Wells Fargo reduces its price target on the prestige beauty name to $225 per share, from $290, while Citi drops its target to $240 a share, from $295.

    7. Mizuho lowers its price target on Club stock Emerson Electric (EMR) to $90 a share, from $103, and maintains a neutral rating, noting moderating demand in the discrete manufacturing market. Emerson on Wednesday delivered a solid fiscal second quarter, while raising its full-year outlook.

    8. Citi says Yum! Brands‘ (YUM) post-earnings selloff is a buying opportunity, with the stock closing down nearly 4% on Wednesday. The firm raises its price target on YUM to $172 a share, from $170, while reiterating a buy rating on the stock.

    9. Club holding Costco Wholesale‘s (COST) same-store sales for April rose 1.4%, compared with a 1.1% decline in March, the retailer reported Wednesday. Truist on Thursday lowers its price target on COST to $568 a share, from $571, but maintains a buy rating on the stock for its “extreme value proposition.”

    10. Kellogg (K) delivers better-than expected first-quarter results Thursday, with adjusted earnings-per-share coming in at $1.10, compared with analysts’ forecasts for $1 a share. The food manufacturing company also raises its adjusted-basis operating profit growth to be in a range of more than 8% to more than 10%.

    (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.)

    As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

    THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER.  NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.  NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

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  • Pro Picks: Watch all of Friday’s big stock calls on CNBC

    Pro Picks: Watch all of Friday’s big stock calls on CNBC

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    A recap of Friday's best stock picks on CNBC.

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  • CNBC Daily Open: Stocks rebound from their worst week this year — but analysts aren’t optimistic

    CNBC Daily Open: Stocks rebound from their worst week this year — but analysts aren’t optimistic

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    Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 27, 2023 in New York City.

    Spencer Platt | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    Stocks rebounded from last week’s lows but are still on track to end February in the red.

    What you need to know today

    • The U.K. and the EU signed a new trade deal. Known as the Windsor Framework, it remedies problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, which mandates checks on goods that travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Sterling jumped on the news.
    • Culture clashes may have contributed to China’s decision not to pick up the phone when the U.S. Department of Defense called after shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon, according to a researcher at a China-backed think tank.
    • Meta will create a new team that focuses on generative artificial intelligence models, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday. The team will build “creative and expressive” tools for the company’s products like Messenger and Instagram.
    • PRO The S&P 500 might fall back to a bear market in March, warned Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist. “With the equity market showing signs of exhaustion after the last Fed meeting, the S&P 500 is at critical technical support,” Wilson wrote.

    The bottom line

    Markets pulled back from their lows of last week and managed to stage a rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.22%, the S&P increased 0.31% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.63%.

    Investors felt they had slightly more breathing room after Treasury yields eased from their peaks on Friday, with the interest-rate-sensitive 2-year yield dipping from a 16-year high. As Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, wrote, “the rapid shift in Fed funds expectations and the spike in short-term yields has been risk-off in the stock market, so some reprieve on rates today will likely boost equities.”

    Additionally, a decline in orders placed with manufacturers may have given investors a sign of slowing inflation — such signs are increasingly rare. Data released Monday showed that sales of durable goods like appliances, TVs and autos dropped 4.5% in January, worse than analysts’ expectations of a 3.6% fall. By contrast, orders increased 5.1% in December. Though a plunge in airplane orders contributed to much of the decline, orders were still down 5.1% when excluding defense.

    Earnings reports from major retailers like Target, Costco and Macy’s will be released this week and give an indication whether consumer spending will remain strong or start faltering. Regardless of what happens, analysts from JPMorgan’s Mislav Matejka to Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson aren’t too optimistic. It might be best to brace for a bumpy landing for the time being.

    Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

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  • Dow up 500 points as pace of jobs growth, wage gains cools in December

    Dow up 500 points as pace of jobs growth, wage gains cools in December

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    U.S. stocks advanced Friday, with the Dow rising 500 points, as monthly Labor Department data showed the pace of job creation cooled in December while wage gains slowed, fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are starting to have the desired effect.

    How are stocks trading
    • The S&P 500
      SPX,
      +1.85%

      gained 61 points, or 1.6%, to 3,869.

    • Dow Jones Industrial Average
      DJIA,
      +1.85%

      climbed 528 points, or 1.6%, to 33,458.

    • Nasdaq Composite
      COMP,
      +2.93%

      advanced 155 points, or 1.5%, to 10,460.

    After several sessions of choppy trade stocks finished lower on Thursday. However, thanks to Friday’s strong rebound, the S&P 500 is on track to finish the week in the green after four consecutive weekly declines.

    What’s driving markets

    Stock-market bulls cheered Friday’s jobs report, which showed that the pace of job creation and wage growth cooled last month, contradicting labor-market data released earlier in the week.

    The December nonfarm payrolls report showed 223,000 jobs were created in December, above expectations for 200,000 new jobs, though the pace of job creation slowed from 256,000 during November. Wages grew by just 0.3% in December, down from 0.4% a month earlier.

    See: U.S. adds 223,000 jobs in December and jobless rate matches 55-year low of 3.5%

    While stocks advanced in the wake of the data, it seems the labor market has continued to confound expectations for an imminent recession, market analysts said. While the pace of wage growth has slowed slightly, workers continued to command higher pay, even if wages have lagged headline inflation.

    “This is not going to push the Fed off its agenda one iota,” said Brad Conger, deputy chief investment officer at Hirtle, Callaghan & Co., in commentary about Friday’s data.

    Numerous Fed officials have made clear that they want to see unemployment climb in order to help suppress inflation and engineer a return to the Fed’s 2% target. Senior Fed officials expect unemployment to rise by nearly a percentage point in 2023, according to projections released in December.

    “The release was a win-win from the Fed’s perspective, as it signaled that wage inflation is moderating while job growth remains steady,” said Peter Essele, Head of Portfolio Management, Commonwealth Financial Network. “Coupled with the fact that headline inflation continues to move in the right direction, there’s a growing chance the Fed may be able to navigate a soft landing in the economy. If it meets its target, 2023 could be one of the best years for markets given the amount of negative investor sentiment currently weighing on prices.”

    The S&P 500 index is down more than 19% from its 52-week high after the Fed raised interest rates by 4.25 percentage points in 2022 in an attempt to crush inflation that hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in June, according to the consumer-price index.

    Jobs data released earlier in the week painted a picture of a labor market that had remained robust despite the Fed’s best efforts, and it’s not clear whether Friday’s data have meaningfully changed this perception, market strategists said.

    JOLTS data released Tuesday showed more than 10 million jobs remained open. Analysts noted that the ADP private sector employment report released on Thursday was stronger than expected, which triggered a selloff in stocks.

    Later Friday morning in New York, the ISM services sector index for December turned negative for the first time since May 2020, indicating a slowdown in the all-important services sector. The ISM services index slowed to 49.6% in December from 56.5%, below forecast.

    The drumbeat of cautious Fedspeak continued on Friday, with Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook saying that inflation “remains far too high, despite some encouraging signs lately.” The pace of inflation has cooled in recent months, according to the consumer-price index.

    Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on CNBC Friday that the December jobs data “doesn’t really change my outlook at all.”

    A number of other Fed speakers are expected Friday, including Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin at 12:15 p.m. and Kansas City Fed President Esther George at 1 p.m.

    Single-stock movers
    • Technology stocks may be under pressure on Friday after Samsung Electronics KR:005930 said quarterly profits fell to an eight-year low as it saw weaker demand for chips and smartphones.

    • Southwest Airlines Co. 
      LUV,
      +2.51%

      shares are worth watching after the airline warned Friday that it expects to report a surprise net loss for the fourth quarter after canceling thousands of flights over the holidays.

    • Tesla Inc. shares are sinking lower after the electric vehicle maker cut prices in China again.

    • World Wrestling Entertainment 
      WWE,
      +22.56%

      shares soared as founder Vince McMahon returned to the company.

    • Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
      BBBY,
      -21.60%

      slumped as the company said it was likely to file for bankruptcy.

    • Costco Wholesale Corp. 
      COST,
      +6.77%

      shares climbed on strong holiday sales. 

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  • Costco stock rises as holiday sales gain even as online sales recede

    Costco stock rises as holiday sales gain even as online sales recede

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    Costco Wholesale Corp. shares ticked higher in the extended session Thursday after the warehouse club reported a rise in holiday sales from a year ago, even as online sales pulled back.

    Costco
    COST,
    -1.40%

    said December sales rose 7% to $23.8 billion, up from $22.24 billion a year ago.

    For the 18 weeks ending Jan. 1, sales rose 7.6% to $81.16 billion, up from $76.34 billion in the year-ago period.

    While same-store sales grew for each period, e-commerce sales declined. Total company same-store sales rose 5.5% for the month and 6.1% for the 18 weeks ending Jan. 1., while e-commerce sales declined 6.4% and 4.8%, respectively.

    Costco shares rose more than 2% after hours, following a 1.4% decline to close the regular session at $450.19.

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  • Costco CEO’s cautious consumer outlook justifies our near-term view on the stock

    Costco CEO’s cautious consumer outlook justifies our near-term view on the stock

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    A shopper wearing a protective mask looks at a television for sale inside a Costco store in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

    David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Craig Jelinek, chief executive officer of Club holding Costco (COST), said Monday he sees a more-vigilant consumer this holiday shopping season and potentially beyond. However, he also said inflation is generally trending in the right direction, a development that’s good for the U.S. economy over the long term.

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  • What Cramer is watching Thursday — OPEC+ surprise, Corona beer maker beat, Costco’s sales

    What Cramer is watching Thursday — OPEC+ surprise, Corona beer maker beat, Costco’s sales

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    OPEC+'s 2 million barrels-per-day oil production cut to boost prices. U.S. delivers an angry rebuke.

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