Beyond Meat Got Minced 🔪 ✂️

One of the core themes we’ve been discussing for a long time is the “ad-ification” of everything. No matter where you go or what you do, you’re likely being targeted by some form of advertising. And the reason why is because it’s such a high-margin, profitable business opportunity. 🎯

As a result, it’s no surprise to see America’s largest employer and big-box retailer, Walmart, leaning heavily into that narrative during its earnings call. 

As we’ve discussed, speculation continues to spread to all corners of the market. Even those areas that have been left for dead for quite some time. Today’s example of this is Jumia Technologies, the “Amazon of Africa” that caught wildfire early in its life before the gravity of reality brought it back down to earth. 🛒

The company reported reducing its losses by over 90% in the fourth quarter as it focused on restoring order and gross merchandise value (GMV) growth. Like other struggling companies, it cut costs significantly and leveraged lower tax provisions to help drive the earnings improvement. 

Today’s action shows that BJ’s may have a branding problem in the retail investing community. Despite the company’s results topping expectations today, sentiment readings from are community are still weaker than you’d expect. 🤔 

BJ’s Wholesale Club revenues grew 8.70% YoY to $5.357 billion, with adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share. While earnings topped expectations, revenue was slightly below, with executives citing an uncertain macroeconomic environment as the primary driver.

The China trade remains a controversial one, with bulls looking to nail an epic bottom and bears looking for the collapse of the country’s stock market (and economy). However, despite all the crazy headlines about economic data, regulators banning short selling, and a whole lot more, some stocks are trying to stabilize. 📰

Today’s example is eCommerce giant JD.com, which reported an earnings and revenue beat after a long string of disappointments. While growth remains well off its pandemic-era highs, investors are happy to see that the business is at least stabilizing and being forecasted properly by management.