Meta Stock’s Winning Streak Has Outlasted the Biden Administration

/ / Technology /

Meta Platforms was set to extend its winning streak for a 20th consecutive trading day on Friday, cruising to new highs on a wave of support for the Instagram and Facebook parent’s artificial-intelligence strategy. Shares of Meta Platforms rose 1.1% to $736.70, on track for a record high, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock has stomped its record for the previous longest rally, which lasted 11 days in September 2015. Meta’s latest winning streak kicked off on Jan. 16, following reports that President-elect Donald Trump was weighing an executive order to delay the U.S. ban on TikTok. The rally is so long that it began in the final days of the Biden administration — since then, it has persisted through some of the most significant, market-rocking news. That includes the looming threat of chip tariffs and the broad selloff triggered by Chinese start-up DeepSeek. In fact, Meta was […]

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Tesla’s New Competitor Is Meta

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Tesla bulls believe the electric vehicle maker is far more than just a car company. Tesla bears disagree, of course, pointing out the vast majority of its profit comes from selling EVs. Based on Tesla’s growing list of competitors, the bulls are winning. That doesn’t mean it’s clear sailing for Tesla stock, though. The new competitors are formidable. Friday, Bloomberg and Reuters reported that Meta Platforms was investing in humanoid robots. Sunday, Bloomberg added that Apple was working on humanoid robots, too. Meta and Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla has been working on those since a person in a robot costume danced on stage at an artificial intelligence showcase in 2021. The thing that links Meta, Apple, and Tesla in robotics is AI, which is getting good enough to train cars to drive themselves as well as or better than humans and train humanoid robots

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Buffett’s Berkshire Holds On to Apple Shares, but Trims Stakes in BofA, Citi and Capital One

/ / Financials /

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reduced its positions in several financial stocks in the fourth quarter, but didn’t sell any Apple shares. The Omaha, Neb., company continued to sell Bank of America, one of its biggest stockholdings, slashed its stake in Citigroup and unloaded part of its position in Capital One Financial, according to a regulatory filing made public after the market closed Friday. Berkshire unveiled a new position in Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and Corona beer in the U.S., worth $1.2 billion at the end of December. It sold off its shares of Ulta Beauty. Observers of the famed stock picker were watching closely to see if Berkshire’s sales of Apple would continue for a fifth consecutive quarter. But Berkshire ended 2024 still holding 300 million shares of the consumer-electronics company. The stake, valued at $75.1 billion on Dec. 31, remained the sprawling conglomerate’s largest stockholding, followed by American

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Airbnb Stock Surges After Earnings Beat. It Wants to Be the Amazon of Travel.

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Airbnb stock surged after its earnings beat expectations. It has largely missed out on the travel boom but that may be about to change as the short-term rental company positions its app to become the Amazon of the travel industry. The shares have fallen 5% over the past year heading into Friday’s trading — in contrast to hotel companies Hilton and Marriott, which are up 40% and 23%, respectively, over the same period. But Airbnb jumped 14% to $161.40 ahead of the open after reporting fourth-quarter earnings late Thursday that beat expectations. The short-term stay company’s sales growth accelerated but its guidance disappointed. However, Airbnb revealed something a bit more exciting for investors — plans to invest up to $250 million in launching and scaling new businesses set to be introduced in May. “We want the Airbnb app kind of similar to Amazon — to be one place to go

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Walmart’s Q4 Sales Growth to Slow, but Upside Potential Remains, BofA Says

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Walmart’s (WMT) fiscal Q4 comparable sales growth will decelerate from the previous quarter but there is a potential for upside based on credit & debit card data from Bloomberg Second Measure, BofA Securities said in an earnings preview of Friday. Walmart’s earnings are scheduled for Feb. 20. The company is strengthening its market share across various income groups and product categories due to its strong value proposition, high digital convenience, store remodels, an expanded online stock-keeping unit portfolio and improved express delivery capabilities, the firm added. BofA said that growth in digital advertising, third-party marketplace fees, and fulfillment services is providing Walmart with significant margin support by offsetting challenges from a shifting sales mix. Continued improvements in e-commerce profitability, such as a 40% reduction in US net delivery costs per order, are expected to further expand gross margins, the firm said. BofA raised its price objective on the company’s stock

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Did Berkshire Hathaway Sell More Apple Stock? We Should Know More Today.

/ / Financials /

Ever since Berkshire Hathaway began selling stock in Apple and Bank of America during 2024, investors have wondered when it would stop. CEO Warren Buffett’s followers should get a fresh read on Berkshire’s holdings in Apple, Bank of America, and other stocks in its $300 billion equity portfolio late Friday. Berkshire, along with most other institutional investors, will disclose its equity holdings for U.S-listed companies in a 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deadline is Friday, and Berkshire’s report likely will be released after the close of trading. The filing will also show any new stock purchases by Berkshire in the period, although investors looking for a big new holding could be disappointed. Buffett’s company did little buying and a lot of selling of stocks in the first three quarters of 2024. It bought just $5.8 billion of stocks while selling $133 billion, according to its third

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Alphabet’s AI Models ‘More Efficient’ Than DeepSeek, Google DeepMind CEO Says

/ / Technology /

Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google DeepMind Chief Executive Demis Hassabis told employees that the company’s artificial intelligence models are more efficient than those of China’s DeepSeek, CNBC reported Friday, citing audio from an all-hands meeting in Paris. Hassabis said DeepSeek’s reported AI training costs were “exaggerated” and that it may have used more hardware and relied on Western AI models, according to the report. “We actually have more efficient, more performant models than DeepSeek,” Hassabis reportedly said. “So we’re very calm and confident in our strategy and we have all the ingredients to maintain our leadership into this year.” The meeting, attended by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other executives, included answering employee questions about AI and DeepSeek, CNBC reported.

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Applied Materials Beat Quarterly Estimates. Why the Stock Is Lower.

/ / Technology /

Shares of Applied Materials were falling Friday after the chip equipment maker issued mixed financial guidance. Applied Materials stock fell 5% to $175 in premarket trading. Chip maker stocks were also in the red, with Lam Research down 1.3%, while KLA Corp. was 0.7% lower. Late Thursday, the company reported adjusted earnings of $2.38 per share for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 26, beating Wall Street’s call for $2.28, according to FactSet. Net revenue of $7.17 billion was above the consensus estimate of $7.15 billion. “We delivered strong financial performance in the first fiscal quarter, with record revenue, gross margin expansion and robust shareholder distributions,” said Chief Financial Officer Brice Hill in the earnings release. One of those metrics was highlighted by William Blair analysts Jed Dorsheimer and Mark Shooter, who rate Applied Materials at Market Perform. “Gross margin reached 48.9%, a level not seen in 25 years, from

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Nvidia Stock Rises. This Is When the Next Big AI Sales Boost Will Come.

/ / Technology /

Nvidia stock was rising early Friday. The chip maker could face some obstacles in shipping new artificial-intelligence hardware in the first half of the year but there’s reason to be patient. Nvidia shares were up 0.6% at $136.10 in premarket trading. The stock rose 3.2% on Thursday. Nvidia’s multimillion-dollar GB200 NV liquid-cooled rack systems are expected to be in high demand this year as the most advanced AI infrastructure. However, it could take some time before that turns up on the company’s top line. “Not unexpectedly, Nvidia GPU AI servers with GB200 drive a complex connectivity/power upgrade and, near-term, we estimate some growing pains. Our checks indicate that while JanQ DC [January-quarter data-center revenue] is expected in-line, AprQ could be more flattish as near-term ramps remain modest,” wrote Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh in a research note. Rakesh now expects Nvidia to report $36.7 billion in data-center revenue for the April

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Walmart Is Retail King Again. Can It Keep the Crown?

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Walmart, a 62-year-old retailer, looks sharper than it has in a long time. How long can it keep the spark going? After years of lagging behind the retail stars Costco Wholesale and Amazon.com, Walmart is catching up quickly. Its shares rose 72% in 2024, and are up another 16% so far this year. Walmart has become an e-commerce heavyweight, and it is gaining share with both low- and high-income shoppers. For some time, America’s largest retailer — for better or worse — was best known for its corporate motto: Every Day Low Prices. Target and Costco were the places where higher-earning consumers went for exciting products and a fun store experience, while Amazon was light years ahead on e-commerce. Over the past few years, though, Walmart has started encroaching on those competitors’ territory. To begin with, more of the well-to-do are shopping at Walmart. In February, 89% of households surveyed

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Moderna’s Results Reaffirm a Grim Picture for Vaccine Maker

/ / Health Care /

The vaccine maker Moderna had no Valentine’s Day chocolates for investors when its fourth-quarter financial results came out on Friday morning. The company had prereported its annual results and previewed its 2025 guidance in mid-January, so there were few surprises left. There wasn’t much to leaven an increasingly troubled outlook. Moderna reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $943 million among analysts tracked by FactSet. The company lost $2.91 per share in the quarter, while the consensus call was for a loss of $2.68 a share. Full-year revenue was $3.2 billion in 2024, and full-year product sales were $3.1 billion, in line with what the company had said in January. Moderna said it continues to expect 2025 revenue of between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion. When Moderna first rolled out these numbers, investors panicked. The stock fell 17% in a single day as investors worried

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Uber CEO Hints At Potential Tesla Partnership For Robotaxis: ‘No One Wants To Compete Against Tesla Or Elon’

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed optimism for a possible partnership between the ride-hailing company and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) where the latter would deploy its autonomous vehicles on Uber’s platform. What Happened: “Ultimately, we’re hoping that my charm and the economic argument gets Tesla to work with us as well. If they want a direct channel, no problem,” Khosrowshahi said while adding that he does not wish to compete against Tesla if he can help it. The CEO was speaking in an interview with Ben Thompson published on Thursday. “No one wants to compete against Tesla or Elon, if you can help it. Their capabilities are pretty extraordinary, but I think the same economic laws apply to them” The Uber CEO is hopeful that the EV giant will deploy its autonomous vehicles, which are currently under development, on the Uber app in addition to its own in favor of higher revenue. “So it all comes back to

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