The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
META LEANS BACK
Meta's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, and the mastermind behind the company's advertising model, announced her departure this week after 14 years in the role. The news rattled some investors' faith in the company, which has already struggled to convince markets that its pivot to the metaverse was the right move. The stock dropped around 4 percent Friday amid a flurry of speculation about what this meant for the company formerly known as Facebook. It also came out Friday that Sandberg sold more than $1.7 billion worth of stock over the last decade — making her potentially one of the biggest inside sellers at a U.S. company of that era.
Making matters more complicated, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sandberg was under investigation by the company leading up to her departure.
NICE AND CHEWY
It's hard out there for e-commerce companies, which have struggled mightily as the economy has returned to a post-pandemic normal, but online pet supplier Chewy broke the mold this week with an impressive rally. Shares of the company jumped nearly 25 percent Thursday following an earnings report that showed a 14 percent year-over-year increase in sales. The report also showed an uptick in what are called "autoship" sales. These are arrangements where customers automatically receive a monthly order, which investors interpreted as a sign of some serious brand loyalty. The stock has struggled since the start of the year and is still down significantly from its 2021 highs, but management is anticipating a 15 to 17 percent year-over-year increase in sales.
Chewy pulled this off despite the fact that pet adoptions are actually beginning to slow after booming through much of the pandemic.
TOP GUN LIFT-OFF
Shares of AMC briefly spiked this week after the company announced that Top Gun: Maverick had brought in 3.3 million guests, out of 5 million guests total, which is a 100 percent year-over-year jump. The long-awaited sequel, starring an ageless Tom Cruise, is proving to be a boon for movie theaters. The blockbuster has so far raked in at least $200 million at the box office, blowing past the original Top Gun's numbers.
'IT'S A HURRICANE'
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is one of the most powerful figures on Wall Street, so when this Master of the Universe speaks, markets listen. This week, Dimon offered little reassurance to the investors surfing these turbulent markets: “You’d better brace yourself,” he said. “JPMorgan is bracing ourselves, and we’re going to be very conservative with our balance sheet.” What should investors be bracing for, exactly? To use Dimon's phrase, a "hurricane" is coming. Whether that means a bear market or a full-blown recession wasn't clear. Regardless, the message from JPMorgan's top executive didn't put markets at ease for what ended up being a pretty rocky week on Wall Street.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
