US stocks slip in countdown to Nvidia earnings

Stay3 updates

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  Wed, February 21, 2024 at 7:37 AM MST

  Shares open decrease forward of Nvidia earnings

  US shares slipped on Wednesday as traders counted all the way down to high-stakes earnings from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) and the discharge of Federal Reserve minutes that might set hopes for rates of interest.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped roughly 0.3%, whereas these on the Dow Jones Industrial Common (^DJI) shed 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the way in which decrease, down 0.5% on the heels of Tuesday’s declines.

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  Wed, February 21, 2024 at 6:42 AM MST

  TrendWatch: Right here Comes Discuss of Deflation

  From inflation to the alternative of inflation.

  Deflation is beginning to creep up into the convention calls and shows of shopper firms. It’s additionally beginning to affect high line gross sales traits as costs properly, deflate.

  The place we’ve got heard deflation used already this week:

  • Tuesday’s Dwelling Depot Earnings Name: Deflation was talked about six instances on the convention name. “Deflation from core commodity classes negatively impacted our common ticket by 35 foundation factors throughout the fourth quarter, pushed by deflation in lumber and copper wire. Through the fourth quarter, we continued to see, on common, a decline in lumber costs relative to a 12 months in the past.” -Billy Bastek, EVP Merchandising at Dwelling Depot (HD)

  • Tuesday’s Walmart Earnings Name: Deflation talked about two instances on the convention name: “Throughout our Q3 name, I discussed that we’d discover ourselves in a deflationary place early in calendar 2024. In Walmart U.S., we’re there usually merchandise, however the slope of the decline softened throughout This autumn, which means the costs are decrease than a 12 months in the past, however not as a lot because the development line would have advised on the finish of Q3. We noticed the development line for meals and consumables in Walmart U.S. soften too, leading to our retail costs in meals and consumables being barely greater than a 12 months in the past.” Doug McMillon, Walmart (WMT) CEO

  It is a subject I plan to dive into at 10:40 a.m. ET on Yahoo Finance Stay in a chat with the CEO of Mondelez (MDLZ), Dirk Van de Put. The Oreo-maker’s gross sales outlook on the CAGNY convention (the place Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma has been stationed this week, firing off these interesting insights) yesterday suggests it is poised to beat deflation in 2024, however extra to return from our interview quickly.

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  Wed, February 21, 2024 at 5:49 AM MST

  Palo Alto Networks will get pummeled

  For those who may solely hear the chatter very early within the morning within the Yahoo Finance newsroom on one of many extra favourite tickers on our platform: lightning-hot tech play Palo Alto Networks (PANW)…

  The a.m. staff appears to be of the view that Palo Alto Networks is unstoppable (which is in line in all probability with lots of you which have traded this identify prior to now two years). I get it: The inventory gained 377% prior to now 5 years earlier than the 22% premarket, post-earnings drubbing at this time. Palo Alto’s meteoric inventory value has been supported by robust charges of development amid demand for cybersecurity merchandise.

  However I reminded the staff that a number of issues appeared to vary basically round Palo Alto Networks final evening. And should you put them collectively, the steep sell-off seems warranted, and the inventory could keep capped within the near-term till traders get extra snug.

  For one, the corporate’s billings outlook was 10% beneath consensus expectations. Palo Alto Networks stated it’s seeing some federal demand softness. I fancy there may be extra right here, although — particularly demand softness from massive firms — akin to what we heard from Cisco (CSCO) final week (it’s additionally within the cybersecurity enterprise).

  And two, Palo Alto Networks shocked the Road by way of a brand new pricing technique. It’s one that might affect revenue margins this 12 months and maybe into 2025.

  The technique shift displays Palo Alto Networks extra aggressively attempting to realize market share by giving clients short-term entry to options for “free.”

  “This pricing/bundling/consolidation technique can weigh on outcomes over the subsequent 12-18 months,” warned Stifel analyst Adam Borg in a consumer notice this morning.

  Welcome to the show-me story zone, PANW.