Steady As She Goes

EVGA, one of the largest manufacturers of graphics card add-in boards, is quitting the board business for two reasons.

Its first reason is the sector’s financial outlook turned bleak after the Ethereum Merge, which moved the cryptocurrency from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. ⚒️

Second, it stated “mistreatment” from its partner Nvidia. Despite holding 40% of the North American market share of Nvidia cards, it says Nvidia kept it in the dark on prices until the last minute and undercut it by selling its own first-party branded cards.

On top of that breakup news, America’s favorite pundit is now short Nvidia, calling it “a loser.” Cramer stated that higher-end products needed for machine learning are too far out to produce earnings. Meanwhile, the company’s lower-end products are being hurt by the Ethereum merge, the overall decline in the crypto space, and the steep drop in gaming demand.

With $NVDA shares already down 65% from their all-time high, we’ll have to see if the bearish bets pay off. Or if the “inverse Cramer” indicator continues its hot streak. 😂

After months of anticipation, blank check company CF Acquisition Corp. VI ($CFVI) completed its business combination with the video-sharing platform “Rumble.” The combined company’s shares began trading on the NASDAQ today under the ticker symbol $RUM.

In an age where most social media platforms like YouTube have to choose between censorship and hosting a free-for-all, Rumble is stepping in as a high-growth neutral video platform. It says its goal is to create rails and independent infrastructure designed to be immune to cancel culture, hence its mission to restore the Internet to its roots by making it free and open again.

In today’s highly polarized environment, it will be interesting to see if the platform can gain enough traction to compete with the largest players in the space. 🤔

At the very least, some investors may invest in the company to support the idea of “free speech” that they think is lacking on other platforms, the same way people bought Gamestop to fight against Wall Street. They’re buying the idea, maybe not the execution (yet).

$RUM shares rose 40% on their first trading day, and one many are watching in the coming weeks. 👀

When money is tight, people are more likely to repair their cars than buy new ones. That’s why people watch retailers like AutoZone for hints on the health of the economy. Unfortunately, today’s report didn’t tell us all that much. 👎

The company reported EPS of $40.51 vs. $38.51 expected and revenue of $5.3 billion vs. $5.2 billion expected.

The company had positive same-store sales but noted that revenue gains this quarter came from inflation. The price increases passed along to consumers matched the increase in the cost of goods, which was about 10%. 🔺

The company expects inflation to be similar in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and did not provide an earnings forecast, citing the uncertain environment.

Despite the current-quarter beat, investors don’t seem thrilled with the company’s outlook (or lack thereof). After an initial pre-market pop of 4%, $AZO shares trended lower and closed down 3%. 📉