Palo Alto Network’s Upside Surprise

The online personal styling business might’ve been a solid bet during the ZIRP era, but it has really taken a beating in the post-pandemic world. Today, we heard from Stitch Fix and ThredUp, battling for survival in the public markets. 📦

First up, Stitch Fix reported a $0.29 per share loss on $330.40 million in revenues. Both numbers missed estimates of a $0.22 loss and $330.88 million. Looking ahead, the company’s third-quarter revenue guidance of $300 to $310 million also missed expectations. 🔻

Animal spirits have been a big theme of this newsletter since October, and boy, are things getting wild. While the mainstream media continues focusing on tech giants like Nvidia, investors and traders are searching far and wide for new opportunities to squeeze the shorts and make a killing. 🕵️‍♂️

Today’s surefire sign of this speculative fervor building in the market is everyone’s favorite non-meat meat stock, Beyond Meat. 🫨

Semiconductors continue to dominate the market and thus dominate our headlines. With that said, today we’ve got a fresh stock breaking out and another setting up, so stick with us. 👇

First up is Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli chip manufacturer that reported results today. The company’s revenue fell 13% YoY to $351.7 million during the fourth quarter but topped the $350 million expected by analysts. Its earnings per share were down about 30% YoY to $0.48, but again, better than anticipated. 🔺

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.