Tale of the Tape

Good evening, folks. Today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday. 🙏

The market was pretty mellow again. The Russell 2000 led and gained 0.58% while the S&P 500 lagged and lost a whopping -0.06%. 

Energy was the strongest sector while utilities were the weakest. Communication services ticked a new all-time high, but couldn’t close at a record level.

Pfizer will only ship about half of the coronavirus vaccines it originally planned. Hear the details and more on tonight’s episode of After Hours.

$SNOW stormed higher after reporting earnings yesterday. The stock soared 16% and closed at a new all-time high. Maybe don’t bet against Buffett? 🧐

Zscaler zipped 26% and closed at a new record high after it reported earnings last night.

Bitcoin continues to bop around crazy highs. Wall Street legend Paul Tudor Jones thinks the path forward for Bitcoin is North. Will Bitcoin finally break 20K? Place your bets… 

Here are the closing prints: 

S&P 500	3,669	-0.06%
Nasdaq	12,377	+0.23%
Russell 2000	1,848	+0.58%
Dow Jones	29,969	+0.29%

Earnings Round-Up

Dollar General reported earnings early this morning. Same-store sales surged 12% YoY.

Here are the numbers:

EPS: $2.31 vs. $1.96 est.
Revenue: $8.2B +17.3% YoY

$DG dropped 1.4%. Here’s the daily chart:

DocuSign topped earnings and revenue estimates for Q3 with ease. Earnings grew 100% YoY with revenue up 53% in the same time period.

Here are the stats:

EPS: $0.22 vs $0.13 est.
Revenue: $382.9M +53%

Here’s a visual from the report:

$DOCU gained 4% after hours.

Ulta Beauty reported Q3 results after the bell. Earnings and revenue both fell YoY.

Here are the numbers:

EPS: $1.64 vs $1.49 est.
Revenue: $1.6B -7.76% YoY

Mary Dillon, CEO of Ulta, said:

Today, we reported financial results that exceeded our expectations as we continue to navigate a year of uncertainties with agility and strength. I am proud of how well our teams are responding and leading throughout this difficult period, and I want to thank all of our Ulta Beauty associates for their continued commitment to serving our guests and taking care of each other during this unprecedented time.

$ULTA was down 3.5% after hours.

Stripe Gets Into Banking 

Stripe will join forces with Goldman Sachs ($GS) and Citigroup ($C) to provide business banking services to their customers.

Online banking is hot 🔥 right now. Companies like Square ($SQ) have received multi-billion dollar valuations by offering alternatives to brick-and-mortar banks. Even Google ($GOOG) got in the game. 

Stripe is looking to milk the online banking cash cow by providing new virtual services to businesses. Early adopters include Shopify ($SHOP) and its vendors.

Is this the beginning of the end for traditional banks? Who knows. But maybe it’s a sign that headlines like this will be irrelevant one day.

Warner Bros. and HBO 🎬  

Today, Warner Bros. announced all 2021 film releases will premiere in theaters and on HBO Max. 

For the first time ever, theater chains will no longer have exclusive rights to new movie premieres. 

Movie theater stocks got slaughtered on the news. AMC ($AMC) stumbled 16%. Cinemark ($CNK) dropped 22%.

Can the cinema survive COVID and a fast-paced shift to streaming? Or was that all, folks? Time will tell…  

Here’s the WSJ with more. 

LPL Financial to Acquire Waddell & Reed

LPL Financial Holdings ($LPLA) will acquire Waddell and Reed Financial’s ($WDR) wealth management business for $300M from Macquarie Asset Management. The deal is expected to close mid-2021.

Dan Arnold, CEO of LPL Financial, said: 

Waddell & Reed advisors are highly experienced and well-respected throughout the industry. They are a terrific fit both culturally and strategically, and we welcome them to the LPL family. Looking ahead, we expect our capabilities and resources will benefit their practices and help them unlock additional value and growth.

$WDR soared 50.5% today on news of the buyout. $LPLA gained 3.69%.

Chevron Cuts Spending

Chevron will cut its spending next year by 26%, following Exxon’s lead to make massive budget cuts.

The pandemic crushed the oil industry. Remember when it went negative..? Lol 😅

Chevron won’t spend more than $14B next year. That’s $5-7B lower than the company’s projections prior to 2020. 

Is this the beginning of the global energy transition? Time will tell… 

Earnings This Week

Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Here’s the earnings calendar.

Links That Don’t Suck

🛢Trump to Sell Arctic Oil Rights Days Before Biden Sworn In

❄️ Dry Ice Demand Swells as Covid-19 Vaccines Prepare for Deployment

⛏ Holy Volatility Batman, These New 3X Leveraged Gold Miners Will Add Some Fuel To Your Fire

🧪 A Rapid Covid Test That’s Also Accurate? The NFL Says It Has One

🏖 The Beach House From ‘The Undoing’ Is Now an Airbnb Rental

🧫 Lab-Grown Meat To Feature on Restaurant Menu for First Time After “Breakthrough” Approval

🚬 San Francisco Officially Bans Smoking Cigs Inside Of Your Own Apartment, Approves Weed