Starbucks Has Opportunity to Re-Accelerate US Business, RBC Says

/ / Uncategorized /

Starbucks (SBUX) has a “meaningful” opportunity to re-accelerate its US business after recent headwinds, RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients emailed Friday. “Amidst macro [and] idiosyncratic headwinds, the US business has been challenged in FY24 which we believe is an opportunity as the new CEO Brian Niccols adjusts the strategy of the business,” the note said. Starbucks can improve factors like “wait times” as well as the “value proposition on both pricing and customer experience,” RBC said. “Ongoing throughput investments can be increasingly impactful; we like the implementation of a 4-minute wait time given the focus on customer experience,” the note said. “And incremental investments, while margin dilutive in the [near term,] could reaccelerate traffic which is critical for the stock to work.” Meanwhile, in China, even amid a challenging macro scenario, the company may see a rebound due to factors like “increasing urbanization,” the “rise of […]

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ASML’s Confirmation of Long-Term Guidance Is Positiv

/ / Uncategorized /

ASML Holding made no changes to its 2030 sales and margin targets in a good development for the stock, J.P. Morgan analysts write in a note to clients. The Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker is still expecting sales of roughly 44 billion to 60 billion euros in 2030 and a gross margin of about 56% to 60%. The analysts say they weren’t expecting a guidance upgrade since ASML cut its 2025 forecasts only last month. The lack of surprises is good for the company, they add. ASML shares trade 4% higher at 652.80 euros.

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ASML Shares Rise as Chip-equipment Maker Confirms 2030 Outlook

/ / Uncategorized /

ASML Holding shares (NL:ASML) rose 3% as the Dutch microchip equipment maker reiterated its 2030 goal of annual revenue between approximately EUR44 billion and EUR60 billion with a gross margin of between approximately 56% and 60%?. “We expect that our ability to scale EUV technology into the next decade and extend our versatile holistic lithography portfolio, positions ASML well to contribute to, and leverage the Artificial Intelligence (AI) opportunity, and allows ASML to deliver significant revenue and profitability growth,” says President and CEO Christophe Fouquet. It’s expecting global semiconductor sales to reach over $1 trillion by 2030, which translates into an annual semiconductor market growth rate of approximately 9% in the period 2025-2030.

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Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript Summary

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

summary of the Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Spotify reported strong quarterly results with a 21% year-on-year growth in total revenue reaching EUR 4 billion. Premium revenue rose 24% year-on-year on a constant-currency basis, driven by subscriber growth and ARPU acceleration from price increases. Gross margin reached a record 31.1%, surpassing guidance by 90 basis points due to favorable content costs. Operating income reached a new record of EUR 454 million, driven by gross profit strength. Record free cash flow of EUR 711 million for the quarter, supported by improved operating income and net working capital favorability. Business Progress: Added 6 million net subscribers, reaching a total of 252 million, and MAUs grew by 14 million to 640 million, both surpassing guidance. Launch of new subscription tiers and expansion into audiobooks in Europe, alongside the advancement of video content on the platform. Forward-looking plans

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Spotify Technology Q3 Diluted Earnings, Revenue Increase; Q4 Guidance Set — Shares Rise

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Spotify Technology (SPOT) reported Q3 diluted earnings late Tuesday of 1.45 euro ($1.54) per share, up from 0.33 euro a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected earnings of 1.67 euros per share. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 3.99 billion euros, up from 3.36 billion euros a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ expected 4.03 billion euros. Spotify said it had 640 million total monthly active users in Q3, up 11% year over year. The company said it expects Q4 revenue of 4.1 billion euros. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expect 4.26 billion euro. Shares of the company were up more than 7% in recent after-hours activity.

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Wells Fargo’s ‘Focus List’ – GOOGL, TJX, XOM, JPM

/ / Financials /

Wells Fargo Investment Institute analysts updated their “focus list” of stocks. These stocks represent the top picks from Global Investment Strategy and Global Securities Research analysis that are expected to exceed the total return of the S&P 500 (SP500) over the next 12 months. Here is the list: Communication services Alphabet (GOOGL) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $8.61; EPS long-term growth estimate: 13% Meta Platforms (META) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $24.35; EPS long-term growth estimate: 13% Netflix (NFLX) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $22.77; EPS long-term growth estimate: 31% T-Mobile (TMUS) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $10.41; EPS long-term growth estimate: 14% Consumer discretionary Amazon (AMZN) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $5.85; EPS long-term growth estimate: 25% Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $7.65; EPS long-term growth estimate: 8% The TJX Companies (TJX) – Consensus next 12 months EPS: $4.32;

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Qualcomm Earnings Could Be Overshadowed by These 2 Worries

/ / Technology /

Qualcomm has seen a recovery in its smartphone chip business, and it’s looking to keep up that momentum when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday after the close. The company also has two diversification efforts that can drive results in the future. But there are clouds hanging over the proceedings. Analysts are projecting 14% revenue growth on the year to $9.9 billion. Adjusted earnings per share is seen at $2.56, up 27%. Over the past 10 quarters, Qualcomm has beaten sales and EPS estimates eight times. The consensus estimate for first-quarter guidance is $10.6 billion in sales, and EPS of $2.86. Qualcomm’s core market is smartphone chips, which comprise 65% of total revenue in the past year. Analysts see smartphone sales at $6.1 billion, up 12% on the year, similar to last quarter. The last three quarters have shown recovery in this cyclical segment, and Wall Street expects

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Apple to Face First-Ever EU Fine Regarding Antitrust Rules, Sources Say, Bloomberg Reports

/ / Technology /

Apple is set to be fined by the European Union’s antitrust regulators, making the iPhone maker the first company to be fined under the union’s new digital antitrust rules for Big Tech, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the case. Watchdogs are preparing the penalty after Apple failed to allow app developers to steer users to cheaper deals and offers outside of the App Store, the report said. The European Commission could wage the fine before current EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is set to leave office later this month, but there is a chance it could be pushed back to later this year, Bloomberg reported.

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Apple IPhone-Related Factors to Drive Near-Term Stock Performance, Morgan Stanley Says

/ / Technology /

Apple (AAPL) iPhone-related factors will be the main drivers of near-term estimate revisions and stock performance, Morgan Stanley said in a note Friday. One such factor is the Apple Intelligence phase 1 rollout consumer response, which Morgan Stanley believes is “too early” to evaluate now. Other factors are the timing of when iOS18.2 will be launched in December and the timing of the rollout of the iPhone SE4, Morgan Stanley said. On Apple’s fiscal Q4 results, the investment bank said they were “admittedly mixed,” with revenue lighter than Morgan Stanley’s above-consensus estimate but “still seasonally better than the last two September quarters.” Morgan Stanley maintained Apple’s overweight rating and $273 price target. Apple shares were down 1.8% in recent Friday trading.

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Estee Lauder’s Dividend Cut Implies Persistent Stress in Medium Term, BofA Says

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Estee Lauder’s (EL) quarterly dividend cut signals “stress continues to be persistent” on earnings and cash flow in the medium term, BofA Securities said Friday in a report. The 5% decline in fiscal Q1 organic sales, led by weaker-than-expected figures in China and Asia travel retail, compared with the firm’s estimate for a 4% decline. The firm slashed its earnings per share forecast to $1.50 for fiscal 2025 from $2.80 and cut the fiscal 2026 projection to $2.95 from $$4.55. The fiscal 2027 outlook fell to $3.50 from $5.20. The dividend cut “implies a return to $3.50 of EPS over time assuming a 40% payout ratio,” the report said. BofA lowered its price target for the stock to $75 from $100 and reiterated its neutral rating. “With China still decelerating and uncertain and a new CEO starting in January, it seems premature to ‘buy the dip’ at this point,” BofA

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Amazon Near All-Time High With AWS Growth, Retail Rebound

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Amazon.com stock approaches an all-time high after the company reported Amazon Web Services growth reaccelerating and a rebound in retail spending following some deceleration last quarter, Davidson analysts Gil Luria and Alex Platt say in a research note. The company’s commentary around AWS suggests that AI features are gaining considerable traction with customers, the analysts say. Management also suggests that AWS core services growth is healthy from new workloads and cloud migration initiatives, they say. Efforts to improve profitability on both the retail side and AWS are boosting the company’s operating margins, the analysts say. Shares rise 7.3% to $200, $1.20 from their all-time high.

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Amazon Web Services Takes Lead Among AI Hyperscalers

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Amazon Web Services is now the top dog among cloud providers for AI, Davidson analysts Gil Luria and Alex Platt say in a research note. Amazon.com has taken several steps to get products and features in line with those of its hyperscaler peers in AI, especially Microsoft Azure, they say. The Amazon cloud division now has a broad set of product offerings for generative AI-specific workloads, and sees strong adoption of AI features like Amazon Q or Bedrock, the analysts say. In 3Q, AWS took in almost twice as many total dollars quarter-to-quarter as Azure, with growth accelerating to 19%, they say.

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