Episode 62: Stop GameStop says Wall Street
We have a huge week of earnings, as we get ready to look at how our favorite companies report, and hopefully, we will see more companies giving guidance in 2021!
With today’s trading swings the question for 2021 is what’s hot and what’s not. GameStop is putting that to the test which has left all the commentators with their jaws on the floor as it traded from $70 to $150 in one day. It all boils down to the increased trading activity on the retail side including what they are calling the “Big Short” which left traders dizzy. Old Wall Street is asking regulators to step in because they believe it’s a bad look to allow such volatility to happen and it creates a lack of confidence for investors overall.
All week: Microsoft (Tuesday), Facebook, and Apple (Wednesday), and Tesla will release its first earnings report since joining the S&P 500 club. You can bet analysts will ask about demand and manufacturing timelines since construction is underway on new Gigafactories in Berlin and Texas. In 2020, Tesla delivered just shy of 500k vehicles—above Wall Street’s target, but slightly less than Elon’s own goal. Thursday and Friday: Samsung and LG, respectively, will report their Q4 earnings. In earnings estimates, Samsung projected a ~25% spike in Q4 operating profit, and LG forecasted its highest Q4 operating profit ever, thanks to the work-from-home boom.
Private sector stepping up to get us going! Walmart plans to offer the vaccine at 5K US locations, starting in seven states this week. It hopes to deliver 10M to 13M doses a month. Wild stat: 150M people already pass through its doors weekly. Amazon wrote a letter to Biden offering its logistical expertise. It also signed an agreement with a healthcare provider to administer vaccines at its US warehouses, and partnered with a Seattle hospital to offer vaccinations at its HQ yesterday. Starbucks, Costco, and Microsoft are partnering with the state of Washington to deliver vaccines to hospitals and vax sites. Let the reopen begin!
Clubhouse, a San Francisco-based audio social network, raised around $100 million led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz at a $1 billion post-money valuation, Axios has learned. The risk is that the audio boom is being artificially inflated by the stay-at-home pandemic and that Andreessen Horowitz's confidence and own addictions to using Clubhouse. Also, it could be a break from all the other social networks is how I see it.
Market Close
Dow 30 30,960.00 -36.98 (-0.12%)
S&P 500 3,855.36 +13.89 (+0.36%)
Nasdaq 13,635.99 +92.93(+0.69%)
IPO
Eight companies plan to price IPOs on U.S. exchanges this week, including possible $1 billion-plus raises from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Qualtrics, and Shoals Technologies Group. http://axios.link/xs9z
Have a great week!