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Tag: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc

  • Earnings will drive the stock market in the week ahead. That’s a good thing

    Earnings will drive the stock market in the week ahead. That’s a good thing

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    A view of the New York Stock Exchange building in the Financial District in New York City on Aug. 5, 2024.

    Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images

    The good times are still rolling on Wall Street. An intensifying earnings season will put that momentum to the test.

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  • Cramer's week ahead: Earnings season kicks off after JPMorgan Healthcare Conference

    Cramer's week ahead: Earnings season kicks off after JPMorgan Healthcare Conference

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    CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday told investors what to watch for on Wall Street next week, highlighting JPMorgan‘s market-moving health-care conference in San Francisco. Taking place from Monday to Thursday, the conference is one of the year’s largest gatherings of major industry CEOs where they reveal earnings guidance and updates on clinical trial research.

    “The new year has started with a redistribution of cash out of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ and on to the sidelines,” Cramer said, pointing to health-care stocks as a particularly notable group that will likely be “propelled by what people expect to hear from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.”

    Cramer will interview several CEOs at the conference, starting with Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth on Monday. Cramer said he’s interested to hear how the company plans to get its groove back after cutting its dividend nearly in half this week. Cramer will also speak with leadership from Amgen and Medtronic, as well as the new CEO of Bristol Myers, Chris Boerner, whom he’ll ask about the company’s rigorous biotech acquisition plans.

    On Tuesday and Wednesday, Cramer will continue to interview the CEOs of major industry names, including Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks. Cramer said he’s particularly interested in the company’s diabetes and weight loss drug as well as its Alzheimer’s initiative. He’ll also speak with CVS Health CEO Karen S. Lynch to discuss the company’s ongoing transition from drug store to health-care provider. Cramer will also hear from the CEOs of Pfizer, Regeneron, Novartis, Abbott Labs and Cencora.

    Thursday brings the consumer price index for December. Cramer said he thinks those hoping for soft figures will be disappointed. Cramer will also be tuning into CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, next week. The tech event will include commentary by leadership from Nvidia and Dell.

    Earnings season kicks off Friday with reports from major banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. BlackRock will also report, and Cramer said he thinks the company’s earnings could give investors a solid overview of the financial industry. He’ll also be paying attention to Friday reports from UnitedHealth Group and Delta.

    Jim Cramer talks what's ahead for the markets next week

    Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

    Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every move in the market.

    Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Eli Lilly.

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  • Blue Apron notches triple-digit percentage gain while Nike rallies after earnings beat and boosts Foot Locker stock

    Blue Apron notches triple-digit percentage gain while Nike rallies after earnings beat and boosts Foot Locker stock

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    Here are the day’s biggest movers:

    Stock gainers:

    Blue Apron Holding Inc.’s stock
    APRN,
    +133.52%
    rocketed by 134% after food-delivery start-up Wonder said it would acquire the company for $13 a share or about $103 million, just a fraction of its $2 billion in 2017 when the company went public.

    Shares of Nike
    NKE,
    +5.96%
    rallied 7% as the apparel maker, which is also part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    reported better-than-expected earnings, news that also lifted shares of European rivals including Adidas
    ADS,
    +6.22%    .

    Foot Locker
    FL,
    +2.71%    ,
    which sells athletic apparel, saw its stock rise by 3%.

    Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.‘s stock
    WBA,
    +6.39%
    rose 6.2% as a top gainer among the Nasdaq 100
    NDX
    as stocks reacted with gains to the latest inflation data.

    Stock decliners:

    Bionomics 
    BNOX,
    -11.87%    ,
    whose shares jumped 242% on Thursday after reporting positive results from a mid-stage trial of a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, fell 8% in regular trade.

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  • New Covid vaccines could reach Americans as soon as Thursday – here’s what you need to know

    New Covid vaccines could reach Americans as soon as Thursday – here’s what you need to know

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    A nurse prepares doses of the Pfizer vaccine during a COVID-19 vaccination event at Josephine’s Southern Cooking in Chatham, Illinois, Dec. 30, 2021.

    Brian Cassella | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

    A new round of Covid vaccines is finally here in the U.S.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared single-strain shots from Pfizer and Moderna on Tuesday, following approvals from the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Those mRNA vaccines are designed to target a relatively new omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5. 

    The first doses of the new shots will be available at some pharmacies and other vaccine distribution locations within 48 hours of the CDC’s recommendation, agency staff said Tuesday during a meeting of independent advisors to the CDC. That means jabs could reach Americans as soon as Thursday.

    Meanwhile, the FDA is still reviewing a third updated vaccine from Novavax for people ages 12 and up. 

    The debut of the new shots comes after Covid hospitalizations increased for the seventh straight week in the U.S., hitting 17,418 as of the week ending Aug. 26, according to the latest data from the CDC. That number remains below the surge the nation saw in the summer of 2022. 

    But the recent uptick is raising concerns about how much traction Covid will gain in the coming fall and winter months, when respiratory viruses typically spread at higher levels and people spend more time indoors. 

    Public health officials and health experts hope the arrival of new vaccines will help the U.S. avoid another severe Covid wave and “tripledemic” of Covid, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, which inundated hospitals last winter. The Biden administration said last month that it will encourage eligible Americans to receive an updated Covid vaccine alongside an annual flu shot and an RSV jab approved for older adults or mothers. 

    Roughly 42% of Americans surveyed by the CDC in August said they “definitely will” or “probably will” get a Covid vaccine this fall, Dr. Megan Wallace, a CDC epidemiologist, said during the advisory meeting.

    Here’s everything you need to know about the updated Covid vaccines, from where to find them, whether you can get them for free and when to get them.

    Who should get the updated shots?

    The CDC on Tuesday recommended that all Americans ages six months and older get the new shots. The agency’s website outlines more specific guidelines for staying up to date on Covid vaccines, which differ depending on age group and risk level.

    The CDC said that everyone ages 6 and older should get at least one dose of an updated mRNA vaccine this year, regardless of whether they’ve received any of the original Covid shots.

    People ages 65 years and older may get an additional dose of an new Covid vaccine four or more months after their first new shot.

    Children 6 months through 5 years of age who are getting their vaccines for the first time should complete their primary series with two doses of an updated Moderna shot or three doses of a new Pfizer jab, according to the CDC. If children previously received prior vaccines, the CDC has different recommendations for how many updated doses to get.

    People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should get one or more doses of a new shot, depending on their vaccination history. Those patients are at higher risk of getting severely sick from Covid, according to the CDC.

    Where can you get a new shot? 

    A sign advertises COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine shots at a Walgreens Pharmacy in Somerville, Massachusetts, August 14, 2023.

    Brian Snyder | Reuters

    The updated shots will soon be available to eligible people at pharmacies, health clinics and community centers, among other vaccine distribution sites. Those locations will stop offering last year’s bivalent boosters, which are no longer authorized for use in the U.S.

    Several retail pharmacy chains told CNBC that they will start offering appointments for the new shots shortly after the CDC recommendation: 

    • Walgreens will allow people to schedule appointments for the new shots within 24 hours after the CDC recommendation, “with available appointments starting that week,” a company spokesperson said. People can schedule those appointments through the Walgreens website or app, or by calling 1-800-WALGREENS. The company will add more appointments on a rolling basis. 
    • CVS Pharmacy locations will start receiving supply of the updated vaccines “later this week,” a company spokesperson said. Pharmacies will receive more doses on a rolling basis and appointments will be available to schedule on the CVS website and CVS Pharmacy app. 
    • Albertsons expects its 1,700 pharmacies to begin administering the updated shots “as early as Friday,” a spokesperson said. The company’s pharmacies span stores like Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Amigos and Market Street. People can view and schedule appointments on the Albertsons website or app.
    • Kroger will allow people to walk in or schedule appointments to get the new Covid vaccine at the company’s pharmacies or clinics. 

    Americans will soon be able to use the federal website vaccines.gov to find other locations offering the updated Covid shots, according to a CDC spokesperson. The agency is still “unsure of the exact timing” for when the site will be updated to include a search filter for the new vaccines, the spokesperson added.

    Later this week, uninsured and underinsured people will also be able to use the site to find locations offering the new vaccines for free through the Bridge Access Program. Around 85% of uninsured Americans live within five miles of a location participating in that program, according to the CDC’s Twentyman.

    Will the updated shots be free? 

    There are slight changes to how Covid vaccines are covered in the U.S this year. But the federal government aims to ensure all people can still receive them for free.

    The U.S. Covid public health emergency ended in May, which means the federal government is shifting vaccine distribution to the private market this fall. 

    Manufacturers will sell their updated shots directly to health-care providers at more than $120 per dose. Previously, the government purchased vaccines directly from manufacturers at a discount to distribute to all Americans for free. 

    All three vaccine manufacturers shared the list prices of their new vaccines during the advisory meeting on Tuesday: Moderna’s shot is $129 per dose, Pfizer’s is $120 per dose and Novavax’s jab is $130 per dose.

    Private insurers will provide the vaccines to beneficiaries at no cost. Government payers such as Medicare and Medicaid will also cover the new shots with no co-payments.

    For the estimated 30 million uninsured Americans, the Biden administration aims to offer shots for free through its “Bridge Access Program” at health centers, clinics and pharmacies across the U.S.

    “We’re setting up the Bridge Access Program as a temporary solution to maintain access to Covid-19 vaccines, specifically in the short term,” said Dr. Evelyn Twentyman, a CDC medical officer, during the advisory meeting on Tuesday.

    The program will begin as soon as vaccines have reached participating providers, which include CVS and Walgreens, according to Twentyman. Free vaccines through the program will not be available after December 2024.

    The CDC’s Vaccines For Children program will also provide free Covid shots to children whose families or caretakers can’t afford them after the shots move to the commercial market.

    How should you time your new Covid vaccine?

    People should talk to their doctors about when to get an updated shot because it largely depends on individual risk levels and situations, health experts told CNBC.

    Individuals at higher risk of getting severely ill from Covid, including older adults and those who are immunocompromised, should get a new vaccine as soon as they can, according to Dr. Taison Bell, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Health.

    Younger, healthy adults can choose to wait so that immunity from the vaccine kicks in around the winter holidays or a specific event where they may be more exposed to Covid, Bell added. 

    He said Covid vaccines take around two weeks to produce an immune response against the virus, and that protection tends to last for a few months. So if a patient has upcoming travel or a large gathering to attend in mid-October, they could plan to get the new shot at the beginning of that month. 

    People recently vaccinated should wait two months before getting an updated vaccine, according to the CDC’s Wallace. Spacing out shots will allow people to maximize the protection they get from each shot.

    Those who have been recently infected can wait three months, but they can also get it “as soon as they’re feeling better,” Wallace added.

    “You have the option to wait for three months, but it is not a requirement,” she said during the advisory meeting.

    How effective are the updated shots? 

    The new shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are designed to target XBB.1.5, which has since been overtaken in prevalence by other, related strains. It only accounted for around 3% of all U.S. cases as of Sept. 2, according to the latest data from the CDC. 

    All three companies said that their updated vaccines produced robust immune responses against the now-dominant EG.5, or “Eris,” variant in trials. That omicron strain is closely related to XBB.1.5 and accounted for 21.5% of all U.S. cases as of Sept. 2, according to the CDC.

    They also presented preliminary trial data in June indicating that their jabs will protect against all other XBB strains. Collectively, those variants make up more than 90% of all cases in the U.S., according to CDC microbiologist Dr. Natalie Thornburg.

    “So the take-home message is that currently, almost all circulating lineages of viruses are XBB variants,” Thornburg said during the advisory meeting Tuesday.

    Both Pfizer and Moderna have also released initial trial data indicating that their new shots were effective against another omicron variant called BA.2.86. Novavax on Monday said it was still testing its vaccine against that strain.

    BA.2.86 has been detected in small numbers across the U.S., but health officials worldwide are watching it closely due to its high number of mutations. 

    Following the approvals on Monday, the FDA said the “extent” of protection provided by the updated shots from Pfizer and Moderna against currently circulating variants like EG.5 and BA.2.86 “appears to be of a similar magnitude” to the protection provided by previous Covid vaccines against prior variants of the virus. 

    “This suggests that the vaccines are a good match for protecting against the currently circulating Covid-19 variants,” the agency said in a release. 

    The FDA also said it is confident in the safety of the updated vaccines, noting that the benefits of the shots for people 6 months and older outweigh their risks.

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  • Airbnb, Blackstone to join S&P 500, while Deere will replace Walgreens in S&P 100

    Airbnb, Blackstone to join S&P 500, while Deere will replace Walgreens in S&P 100

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    Shares of investment giant Blackstone Inc. and vacation-home rental platform Airbnb Inc. rallied after hours on Friday after both won the nod to join the S&P 500 index
    SPX
    later this month.

    The announcement, from S&P Dow Jones Indices, said that the change would take hold before the start of trading on Monday, Sept. 18. The move, among others announced Friday, will “ensure each index is more representative of its market-capitalization range,” according to a release.

    Airbnb
    ABNB,
    +0.87%
    currently has a market value of $83.98 billion, and its shares are up 64.7% so far this year. Blackstone
    BX,
    -1.77%    ,
    currently worth $129.29 billion, has seen its stock rise 43.6% year-to-date.

    Shares of Airbnb and Blackstone were up 5.7% and 4.8%, respectively, after hours on Friday.

    Blackstone and Airbnb will replace Lincoln National Corp.
    LNC,
    +2.14%
    and Newell Brands Inc.
    NWL,
    +1.23%
    in the index, S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Friday. In the process, Lincoln and Newell will join the S&P SmallCap 600.

    Blackstone in July said it had reached $1 trillion in assets under management, aided by a growth trajectory that it said had outpaced its private equity rivals.

    “We’ve established an unparalleled global platform of leading business lines, offering over 70 distinct investment strategies,” Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman told analysts. “We believe our clients view us as the gold standard in alternative asset management.”

    Meanwhile, Airbnb last month said that travelers were seeking longer stays and bigger properties in pricier areas, as the rebound in travel endures despite a tidal wave of inflation last year. The company’s second-quarter results and third-quarter sales forecast topped Wall Street’s estimates.

    Meanwhile, S&P 500 member Deere & Co.
    DE,
    +1.94%
    will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
    WBA,
    -7.43%
    in the S&P 100, S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Friday. That change also takes hold on Sept. 18. S&P Dow Jones Indices said Walgreens “is no longer representative of the megacap market space” but will stay in the S&P 500.

    Shares of Deere fell 0.2% after hours. Walgreens stock was up 0.4%.

    Don’t miss: Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer steps down with stock at decade-and-a-half low

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  • Nike beats sales expectations, misses on earnings as margins drop

    Nike beats sales expectations, misses on earnings as margins drop

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    A customer enters a Nike store along the Magnificent Mile shopping district on December 21, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. 

    Scott Olson | Getty Images

    Nike reported mixed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, as lower margins weighed on profits.

    Here’s how the sneaker giant performed during the quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

    • Earnings per share: 66 cents vs. 67 cents expected
    • Revenue: $12.83 billion vs. $12.59 billion expected

    The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended May 31 was $1.03 billion, or 66 cents per share, compared with $1.44 billion, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier. 

    Sales rose to $12.83 billion, up about 5% from $12.23 billion a year earlier.

    Investors have been eager to see if Nike managed to improve its bloated inventory levels, which have weighed on its margins. 

    Nike’s margins fell again this quarter, this time by 1.4 percentage points to 43.6%. The company attributed the drop to higher product input costs, elevated freight and logistics costs, an uptick in promotions and unfavorable currency exchange rates.

    Other retailers that reported earnings recently noted freight and logistics costs had gone done for them and proved to be a boon for their margins.

    Inventories came in at $8.5 billion, flat compared with the prior-year period.

    In March, executives said on a call with analysts they were “increasingly confident” the company would be able to exit the fiscal year with healthy inventory levels. They noted sales momentum could lead to “even leaner inventory” than anticipated. 

    Nike has been relying on its wholesale partners to reduce inventory levels. The push boosted its wholesale revenue over the past few quarters, but didn’t help its margins much.

    The company said in March that it expects revenue from that segment to moderate moving forward. Still, Nike recently restored some of the wholesale relationships that it cut when it first began focusing on its direct-to-consumer strategy in 2020.

    Both DSW and Macy’s will start selling a range of Nike merchandise again in October, the retailers both announced in June. 

    Macy’s hasn’t received a shipment from Nike since December 2021, but will now resume selling its apparel, including plus size women’s, big and tall men’s, kid’s, bags and other gear, the department store told analysts during an earnings call. Nike’s more premium offerings appear to be off the table for sale at Macy’s.

    The decision to bring Macy’s and DSW back under the Nike fold has left some investors wondering if the company is moving away from its direct-to-consumer strategy. 

    Investors have also been curious to see how sales have rebounded in China following Covid lockdowns. During Nike’s holiday quarter, China sales came in below estimates. The country overall has since seen an uneven path of economic recovery.

    In April, retail sales in China rose 18.4% but came in lower than economists’ forecast of 21%.

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  • Treasury yields little changed as focus remains on economic outlook, earnings

    Treasury yields little changed as focus remains on economic outlook, earnings

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    John Zich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Tuesday, as investors continued to assess the outlook for the U.S. economy and digested the latest round of corporate earnings.

    As of around 2:20 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was fractionally higher at 3.5946% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also nudged marginally upwards to 3.8080%. Yields move inversely to prices.

    Corporate earnings season dominates this week’s agenda, with giants Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs all set to report before the opening bell on Wall Street on Tuesday.

    On the data front, traders will have an eye on the March housing starts and building permits figures due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Housing starts for the month are expected to have fallen by 3.4% to 1.40 million units, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates, while building permits are projected to drop by 4.9% to 1.45 million units.

    Markets are closely following economic data for a read on where the Federal Reserve might take interest rates at its next meeting in early May. More than 84% of traders are calling a 25 basis point hike at the next policy meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

    An auction will be held Tuesday for $34 billion of 52-week Treasury bills.

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  • Goldman Sachs invests $2 billion in Black women-owned businesses — the first chapter of a bigger plan

    Goldman Sachs invests $2 billion in Black women-owned businesses — the first chapter of a bigger plan

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    The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, November 17, 2021.

    Andrew Kelly | Reuters

    Goldman Sachs is investing more than $2.1 billion into Black women-owned businesses and nonprofits via the investment bank’s One Million Black Women program — and leaders say it’s only the first chapter.

    “Goldman Sachs is sending a powerful signal into the marketplace around Black women and saying there has been a misalignment of capital, in terms of capital dedicated to this group. We’re seeking to change that by putting our capital where our mouth is,” Asahi Pompey, global head of corporate engagement and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, told CNBC.

    One Million Black Women launched in March 2021 with the bigger goal of having a positive impact on the lives of 1 million Black women by 2030. Goldman Sachs has committed $10 billion in investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital with a focus on access to capital, affordable housing, health care, education, job creation, workforce advancement, digital connectivity and financial health.

    “Turbo boosting Black women entrepreneurs is a key part of the work that we do,” Pompey said. “We know they create jobs. When a Black woman entrepreneur is able to grow her business, she employs Black people in the community, she’s a leader in that community, she mentors individuals in that community. The ripple effect of investing in a Black woman entrepreneur is tremendous.”

    On Monday the group held a meeting of its advisory council — which includes Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, actress and producer Issa Rae and National Urban League President Marc Morial — where it announced the $2.1 billion milestone in addition to the deployment of $23 million in philanthropic capital that will assist an estimated 215,000 Black women.

    Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett (to his right in purple), and National Urban League President Marc Morial (far left) at a meeting of the bank’s One Million Black Women program.

    Frank Holland | CNBC

    “When Black women succeed, America succeeds,” Jarrett, a founding member council, told CNBC. “You bet on Black women, that is a good bet. Goldman Sachs recognizes that and that Black Women have a track record of delivering.”

    Jarrett said the initiative isn’t “just about the investment capital.”

    “It’s a holistic approach,” she said. “What we are able to do uniquely is first to listen, meet people where they are, figure out what those needs are and then provide the resources and the expertise to help women thrive.”

    Economists at the global investment bank have found the most efficient way to close the racial wealth gap is by investing in Black women. The racial wealth gap describes the disparity in wealth between Black and white households in the United States and is estimated to be at least $14 trillion, according to William Darity Jr., director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.

    Closing the gender pay gap for Black Women could increase gross domestic product by $300 billion to $450 billion and create between 1.2 million and 1.7 million jobs in the U.S., according to Goldman Sachs economists.

    “The past two years have confirmed a key insight of our research. By investing in businesses that help Black women advance we can build a strong economy for everyone,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said during the One Million Black Women advisory meeting. “Our firm has a long history of supporting economic empowerment and we’re proud that One Million Black Women is already making a difference.” 

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams also attended the meeting Monday to hear updates on One Million Black Women initiatives that the city has partnered on, including a $75 million investment in the NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund, designed to provide funding for Black female entrepreneurs.

    “We get this right, we will stop feeding the other issues,” Adams told CNBC. “Sometime we stay in crisis mode instead of planning mode. What these women are doing about child-care issues, health-care issues, support to build businesses will prevent things from turning into a crisis. That’s why we wanted to be here.”

    Still, launching One Million Black Women during the height of the Covid pandemic has created a unique challenge, according to Dina Powell McCormick, global head of sustainability and inclusive growth at Goldman Sachs.

    “You are seeing a huge focus now on using the lessons learned from the digital divide and turning that into a huge opportunity,” said McCormick, who also previously led Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women initiatives. “We see what we learned all these years reaching a critical mass now to invest in this program.”

    Goldman Sachs is now launching “OMBW: Black in Business,” a program providing support and resources specifically to Black female sole entrepreneurs. Applications for the fall 2023 cohort are open until April 23.

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  • Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Micron, Paramount, McCormick and more

    Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Micron, Paramount, McCormick and more

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    Micron Technology headquarters in Boise, Idaho, March 28, 2021.

    Jeremy Erickson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading Tuesday.

    PagSeguro — Shares popped 5.3% after Citi upgraded the Brazilian payment stock to buy from neutral. The firm called the company’s fourth-quarter earnings unsurprising and said it is still in rough waters, but shares were more attractive following recent underperformance. Stone, which was also upgraded by Citi to buy from neutral, edged higher as well on Tuesday.

    Affirm — The pay-later service dropped 6.9% after Apple announced a competing service. Apple shares were down about 0.9%.

    Occidental Petroleum — The energy stock jumped nearly 4% after a regulatory filing showed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased an additional 3.7 million shares for $216 million on Monday and last Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded Occidental to outperform from market perform following the news.

    Micron Technology — The semiconductor stock was down 2.8% ahead of its scheduled second-quarter earnings report after the bell on Tuesday. Analysts expect revenue of $3.71 billion and a loss per share of 67 cents, according to FactSet. Micron’s shares have gained more than 14% in the last six months. 

    PVH — Shares soared 18.9% after the apparel company’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.38, beating estimates of $1.67, per Refinitiv. Its revenue of $2.49 billion beat expectations of $2.37 billion. PVH’s guidance for the first quarter and full year also surpassed estimates.

    Paramount — Shares of the media giant gained 3.6% during midday trading on a rating upgrade from Bank of America from neutral to buy. The bank highlighted Paramount’s strong lineup of assets that could help the business in the event it puts itself up for sale.

    McCormick & Company — The spice maker’s stock price jumped about 10% during midday trading after reporting better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. McCormick reported quarterly earnings of 59 cents per share, while analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 50 cents per share. 

    Alibaba — Shares soared by 12% after the e-commerce giant said it would split its company into six separate business groups, with each group having the potential to raise outside funding and go public.

    Ciena — The technology company advanced 4.9% after Raymond James upgraded the stock to strong buy from outperform.

    Walgreens Boots Alliance – Shares of the pharmacy giant rose more than 3% midday after the company reported an increase in its quarterly revenue despite seeing a sharp decline in demand for Covid tests and vaccines. Walgreens posted revenue of $34.86 billion for the most recent quarter, compared to analysts’ estimates of $33.53 billion, according to Refinitiv.

    Carnival Corp — The cruise operator’s stock price rose 5.9% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo upgraded Carnival to equal weight from underweight. The firm said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for the company

    — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.

    Correction: According to FactSet, Micron is expected to post a loss of 67 cents per share. A previous version misstated the estimate.

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  • Walgreens stock rallies after profit and sales beat expectations, helped by an acceleration of business in February

    Walgreens stock rallies after profit and sales beat expectations, helped by an acceleration of business in February

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    Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
    WMB,
    +0.66%
    rallied 2.6% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the health care services and drug store chain reported fiscal second-quarter profit that beat expectations, but fell from a year ago due in part to lower COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 28 fell to $703 million, or 81 cents a share, from $883 million, or $1.02 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.16 was above the FactSet consensus of $1.10. Sales grew 3.3% to $34.86 billion, well above the FactSet consensus $33.53 billion, boosted by an “acceleration” in February. U.S. Retail Pharmacy sales slipped 0.3% to $27.6 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $26.5 billion, while international increased 1.6% to $5.7 billion and U.S. Healthcare revenue more than doubled, to $1.6 billion from $500 million. Gross margin contracted to 20.2% from 22.8%, as cost of sale rose more than sales, up 6.8% to $27.81 billion. Looking ahead, the company affirmed its fiscal 2023 adjusted EPS guidance range of $4.45 to $4.65, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $4.50. The stock has shed 11.8% year to date through Monday, while the Consumer Staple Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund
    XLP,
    +0.53%
    has eased 1.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.60%
    has slipped 2.2%.

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  • The Street awaits key inflation report next week as banking worries persist

    The Street awaits key inflation report next week as banking worries persist

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    US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on the proposed budget request for 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 16, 2023.

    Andrew Caballero-reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

    Another week, another important piece of inflation data for the market to digest.

    The personal spending and income report, out this coming Friday, has the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation: the core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index. The Fed likes this reading because it looks at changes in consumer behavior, including whether buyers are substituting goods based on prices. In comparison, the consumer price index (CPI), released this past week, only tracks price changes over time.

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  • Bank fears will likely lead to even more market volatility in the week ahead

    Bank fears will likely lead to even more market volatility in the week ahead

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  • Biden taps CEOs of 3M, CVS, FedEx, Citi, others to join his Export Council on trade

    Biden taps CEOs of 3M, CVS, FedEx, Citi, others to join his Export Council on trade

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    US President Joe Biden meets with CEOs about the economy in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC on July 28, 2022.

    Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

    U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed the heads of Citigroup, United Airlines, CVS, 3M and FedEx, among other top executives, to sit on a White House advisory committee overseeing international trade.

    The President’s Export Council gives recommendations and insight into the ways government policies impact U.S. trade performance. The group also provides feedback on how Biden’s trade policies are affecting businesses across sectors from industry and labor to agriculture.

    D.C. businessman Mark D. Ein will chair the board. He currently serves as chairman of Lindblad Expeditions and Kastle Systems and is on the board of directors of Custom Truck One Source and Membership Collective Group. Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer will serve at the council’s vice chair. She previously served as chief operating officer and group president of Starbucks and CEO of Sam’s Club.

    The 25-member board includes: Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment; Jane Fraser, Citigroup CEO; Michael F. Roman, chairman and CEO of 3M; Rajesh Subramaniam, president and CEO of FedEx; Karen S. Lynch, president and CEO of CVS; John Lawler, chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R. Amon.

    The Export Council features expertise from labor, real estate, national security and law, and leaders of Fortune 200 companies. Biden has previously reached out to some of the executives for counsel on the state of the economy.

    Other members include: Raymond E. Curry Jr., president of the UAW union; Rich Lesser, global chair of Boston Consulting Group; Patrick E. Murphy, a former congressman who is the chief investment officer of Coastal Construction Group; Robert G. Martinez Jr., international president of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers union; Daniel Rosen, CEO of real estate firm Rosen Partners; and Brett Isaac, co-founder and executive chairman of Navajo Power.

    Other members of the council include:

    • Lisa Disbrow, a national security expert who served as the undersecretary of the Air Force;
    • Lacy M. Johnson, partner-in-charge of Taft’s D.C. law firm;
    • Juan Verde, strategist and consultant with stops at Santander Bank Investments and the World Bank;
    • Michelle W. Singer, senior vice president for political engagement at Comcast;
    • Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University;
    • Paul A. Laudicina, chairman emeritus of the consulting firm A.T. Kearney; and
    • Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus Punit Renjen.

    Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

    CNBC Politics

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  • Walmart, CVS Health adjust pharmacy hours amid labor crunch

    Walmart, CVS Health adjust pharmacy hours amid labor crunch

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    A woman shops in the pharmacy area of a Walmart store in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

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    Walmart Inc said on Friday it would adjust working hours for its U.S. pharmacy team and implement it nationwide in 4,600 locations, with drugstore operator CVS Health Corp doing the same for about two-thirds of its retail pharmacies, amid a tight labor market.

    The United States has been experiencing a nationwide labor shortage since the Covid-19 pandemic which has forced retailers to offer attractive incentives and pay increases.

    Walgreens Boots Alliance and CVS each raised their minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2021 while Walmart said last year it would increase the average pay of pharmacy workers to more than $20 per hour.

    Earlier on Friday, the Wall Street Journal first reported CVS Health Corp and Walmart were cutting pharmacy hours.

    Walmart’s pharmacies will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday from March, while the weekend hours would not change, a spokesperson for the company said. Currently, they are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

    CVS said the new hours of operation, which begin in March, at impacted pharmacies will vary, adding it periodically reviews operating hours to make sure peak customer demand was being met.

    The company had 9,900 retail locations including pharmacies, according to a regulatory filing in February 2022.

    Walgreens said in a statement that at times it had to adjust store or pharmacy hours at some places after staffing challenges impacted retailers and healthcare entities, among others, over the last 12 months.

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  • China predicts COVID ‘normalcy’ within months, but experts forecast more than 1 million deaths

    China predicts COVID ‘normalcy’ within months, but experts forecast more than 1 million deaths

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    China’s closely watched reopening is now causing concern as the number of new COVID-19 cases grows and the country reports the first deaths in several weeks. 

    Much of the news out of China this week is in stark contrast to zero COVID, the strict policy that was in place up until a month ago. In response to widespread protests, authorities have lifted many of the restrictions that limited how people in China were able to move, work and treat their illnesses.

    Now some local governments are encouraging people with mild COVID to continue to work. Beijing reported five COVID deaths on Tuesday and two on Monday — the first COVID fatalities to be reported in the country in weeks. Cities like Guangzhou are expanding “fever clinics” that can handle up to 110,000 patients a day, up from 40,000. And basic cold medicines are in short supply.

    Chinese authorities have reportedly told state media that the surge is part of an “exit wave” of cases, according to the Financial Times. A headline from Monday’s China Daily, an English-language news outlet in China, reads: “Virus experts expect normalcy by spring.”

    Experts have predicted that millions of people in China will get sick, and up to 1.6 million people could die in 2023.

    COVID news to know: 

    • In the U.S., it’s still hard to find children’s cold medications. CVS Health
    CVS,
    -0.31%
    and Walgreens Boots Alliance
    WBA,
    +0.95%
    this week put limits on purchases of children’s cold and flu medicines in response to high demand amid a surge in cases of pediatric COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, according to the Wall Street Journal. This includes medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. 

    • Testing positive a second or third time may worsen long-COVID symptoms, according to a study published in Nature in November. However, it can be hard to predict how each new infection will affect an individual patient. “It makes sense that repeat infections would not be beneficial to a person’s health,” one doctor told WebMD. “But I think it’s really hard to know what the additional risk of each subsequent infection would be because there are all sorts of other things in the mix.” 

    • COVID hospitalizations are rising in the U.S. There are about 40,000 people hospitalized with COVID right now, a figure that is 11% higher than it was two weeks ago, according to the most recent update of a New York Times tracker. The numbers of new infections and COVID-related deaths are also rising this month. The seven-day daily average of new cases is about 66,000, while about 413 people are dying each day.

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  • Cowen upgrades Walgreens, says stock can rally more than 30% as company grows health care business

    Cowen upgrades Walgreens, says stock can rally more than 30% as company grows health care business

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