February 12, 2023

The Weekend Rip: February 12, 2023

It’s super bowl Sunday, and although the Monday after should be a public holiday…it sadly isn’t. 😫

Let’s recap and prep for the week ahead so you can enjoy the game / commercials / Rihanna concert stress-free. 📝

What Happened?

🔻 The stock, bond, and crypto markets all fell this week as market participants adjusted to the prospect of higher interest rates. Powell’s midweek speech sparked volatility and ultimately sent stocks into their tailspin.

🤩 This week’s Stocktwits Top 25 report showed underperformance relative to the indexes.

🤖 Microsoft’s partnership with ChatGPT and their “new way to search” accelerated the AI buzz. Google, Alibaba, JD.com, and others all announced their own initiatives this week.

📝 Earnings were center stage this week, with Chipotle, British Petroleum, Hertz, Royal Caribbean, and a lot more reporting.

🚗 Ridesharing company Lyft cratered this week after badly missing estimates, while Uber reported its best quarter ever.

📰 Other earnings reports this week included Pinterest, Chegg, Robinhood, Affirm, Wynn Resorts, and many other companies.

👋 Several CEOs, including Newell Brands and PayPal, announced their retirement. Meanwhile, Disney’s first earnings with Bob Iger back at the helm were good enough for activist Nelson Peltz to abandon his proxy fight.

👀 Lastly, two commodities caught traders’ eyes at the end of the week.

🔥 Several names were on the Stocktwits trending tab for a good portion of the week, including $GNS, $AI, $MULN, $HPCO, and $KPRX.

Here are the closing prices:

S&P 500	4,090	-1.11%
Nasdaq	11,718	-2.41%
Russell 2000	1,919	-3.36%
Dow Jones	33,869	-0.17%

Bullets

Bullets From The Weekend

🛒 Higher priced goods present an opportunity for private label goods makers. As packaged goods makers continue to hike prices and shrink packaging to reduce inflation’s impact on their profits, Walmart and other retailers are saying, “enough.” The world’s biggest retailer warned suppliers that even a slight price increase could prompt some shoppers to look for bargains at dollar stores or warehouse chains like Costco. With that said, higher prices from major players in the space allow Walmart to pitch its own private-label products to shoppers as less-expensive alternatives. Walmart has more.

🏭 Ford is planning a $3.5 billion EV battery factory in Michigan. The company is reportedly a few days away from sharing its plan to increase its supply of U.S.-made electric vehicle batteries. Reuters speculated that Ford could partner with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) to build a $3.5 billion iron phosphate battery plant outside of Marshall, Michigan. Additionally, Bloomberg has reported that Ford has considered an ownership structure that would see it own the entire plant and nearby infrastructure. More from Engadget.

🤫 Loose lips sink ships at big tech companies. After a monthlong leak investigation, Meta has discovered the source behind renders of the company’s unannounced VR headsets that were published last year by a popular YouTuber. The third-party contractor was identified this week and reportedly asked the YouTuber for a revenue share of the money his videos on the leaked product made. This is just one example of companies facing constant internal and external threats to their trade secrets as they desperately try to stay ahead of their competition. The Verge has more.

The Brief

Need a concise summary of what’s going on this week? Look no further. Here’s an overview of important earnings and economic data for the trading week ahead.

Economic Calendar

It’s a busier week for the economy, but all eyes will be on the U.S. consumer and producer price indexes. In addition to the above, check out this week’s complete list of economic releases.

Earnings This Week

Earnings season is in full swing, with 433 companies reporting this week. Some tickers you may recognize are $PLTR, $KO, $ABNB, $WE, $RBLX, $Z, $DDOG, $DASH, $DKNG, $DE, $AMCX, and more.