Tale of the Tape
Good evening, y’all! Happy almost-Friday!
The market of stocks bounced back after yesterday’s minor meltdown. Was it real love or a dead cat bounce? 🤔
Every major index closed higher. The Russell 2000 rallied 1.68%, followed by the Dow and S&P 500 surging 1.2%.
Energy was the only sector that stumbled. Utilities and industrials turned up ~1.9%, followed by financials +1.61%.
Bitcoin broke below 47K for the first time since March 5th. Ethereum edged lower ~4.2%.
Jobless claims checked in at 473,000— well below Wall Street’s estimate. 🤷 Here’s Crossing Wall Street with more.
Coindesk came in 6.5%. The publication dropped its first earnings report as a public company.
YETI yeeted ~5% after reporting earnings early this morning.
Tesla tumbled another 3% after Elon said his company will no longer allow customers to buy with Bitcoin. See more below.
Here are the closing prints:
| S&P 500 | 4,112 | +1.22% |
| Nasdaq | 13,124 | +0.72% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,170 | +1.68% |
| Dow Jones | 34,021 | +1.29% |
Earnings Round-Up
Disney dropped earnings after the close. The stock stumbled as its streaming service missed new subscriber estimates.
Here are the numbers:
EPS: $0.79 vs $0.26 est.
Revenue: $15.61B, -13.3% YoY
Disney+ Subscribers: 103.6M vs 109.3M est.
CEO Bob Chapek commented:
We’re pleased to see more encouraging signs of recovery across our businesses, and we remain focused on ramping up our operations while also fueling long-term growth for the Company. This is clearly reflected in the reopening of our theme parks and resorts, increased production at our studios, the continued success of our streaming services, and the expansion of our unrivaled portfolio of multiyear sports rights deals for ESPN and ESPN+.
Coinbase reported earnings for the first time ever as a public company. Net profit increased 24x YoY. 👏 👏
Here are the numbers:
EPS: $3.05
Revenue: $1.80B
$COIN climbed 3.4% after hours.
Yeti reported better-than-expected earnings and sales thanks to the pandemic pushing everyone outdoors. 🏕️
Here are the stats:
EPS: $0.38 vs $0.21 est.
Revenue: $247.6M, +42% YoY
Yeti CEO Matt Reintjes commented:
YETI had an exceptional start to the year with first quarter net sales growth of 42% fueled by continued strong demand for the brand throughout the period. Significant gross margin expansion powered nearly a 700-basis point improvement in operating margin for the period, contributing to a more than three-fold increase in earnings per share.
$YETI gained 5.4% today.
McDonald’s Boosts Wages
McDonald’s just announced its decision to raise wages at some of its restaurants to attract new employees. 🍔 🍟
The fast-food chain will raise wages by 10% on average, boosting pay anywhere from $11 to $17 depending on each restaurant’s location.
There’s a catch, though 🙄— pay increases will only affect company-owned restaurants. Soo that’s only 650 of the total 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the US.
A McDonald’s employee and union leader in St. Louis commented:
We’ve showed up to work day after day in the middle of a global pandemic, risking our lives without proper P.P.E. or paid time off to keep your stores open and corporate profits flowing. You’ve called us essential for over a year, but your announcement today proves that you’ve seen us as disposable all along.
Here’s the WSJ with more on McDonald’s.
US Fuel Pipeline Pays $5M CyberRansom 💰
US-based Colonial Pipeline Co. paid $5M in ransom to DarkSide, its ransomware hackers, despite reports that the company had no intention to pay the criminal group.
Even though the FBI discourages paying ransomes, Colonial Pipeline paid $5M to hackers in the form of an elusive cryptocurrency.
Apparently, DarkSide provided Colonial Pipeline with a decrypting tool to restore the company’s network. Colonial Pipeline representatives declined to comment.
Here’s Bloomberg with more info.
Don’t Buy with Bitcoin
On Wednesday evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the EV maker would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment. 😢
Musk cited environmental concerns over the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining” to support his decision.
Crypto fans feel cheated— they’re asking why Musk is showing concern now. What changed?? 😖
Twitteratis is boycotting Musk and #dontbuytesla is now a trending topic.
Bitcoin broke to its lowest level since March 5, 2021. Here’s the daily chart:
Maybe Musk and Team Tesla will adopt a different crypto?? Time will tell…
Binance Under Investigation 🕵️♀️
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is in big trouble. The exchange is reportedly under investigation by both the IRS and the Department of Justice. 🕵️♂️
According to Bloomberg, officials who typically probe money laundering and tax offenses are seeking information from individuals connected to Binance’s business.
The news sounds serious, but it’s not Binance’s first strike. Binance faced an inquiry from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in March related to discrimination against US residents.
The news frustrated CEO Changpeng Zhao. He tweeted:
So much FUD today.
It’s a pain for some, an opportunity for others.
NFA.
Oof. 🙃
Earnings This Week
Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Here’s the earnings calendar.
Links That Don’t Suck
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