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.
FOOT LOCKER FALLS
Shares of Foot Locker tanked 27 percent on Friday after the retailer released first quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates. CEO Mary Dillon pointed the finger at the "macroeconomic backdrop" and the need to aggressively mark down prices to clear out excess inventory. Now the company is anticipating squeezed margins for the upcoming quarters, with lower demand and higher levels of theft continuing to cut into profits.
VICE MEDIA DECLARES BANKRUPTCY
In what feels like the end of an era for a certain brand of millennial-focused digital journalism, Vice Media declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. The company had struggled to find its financial footing after its rapid rise in the 2010s. The bankruptcy comes just one month after fellow digital news outlet BuzzFeed News shut down.
RETAIL ROUNDUP
Target, Home Depot, and Walmart all reported this week in a whirlwind of earnings that presented a mixed picture for the sector. Shares of Target are down nearly 4 percent for the week after seeing a surprise drop in online sales. Walmart's stock is also down despite beating estimates on earnings and revenue, with the likely culprit being a lower-than-expected adjusted earnings guidance for the coming quarter. Finally, Home Depot posted its worst revenue miss in 20 years.
NETFLIX RISES
Netflix's stock surged 9 percent on Thursday as investors got excited about the streaming giant's new advertising model. The company said that 25 percent of its new subscribers went with its cheaper, ad-supported tier that launched late in 2022. The bump marks a turnaround for Netflix, which has struggled recently to keep up subscriber growth.
SILICON VALLEY BANK CEO APOLOGIZES
Greg Becker, former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, told lawmakers this week that he was "truly sorry" for how the failure of the lender impacted customers and shareholders. At the same time, he defended his decision to go on vacation amid the collapse. Meanwhile, regional bank stocks rallied amid a surge in investor confidence in the sector, which has struggled since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March. Shares of PacWest, for example, jumped 18 percent after falling 21 percent last week.
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.
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As Big Tech reports Q3 earnings, investors await proof that massive AI and cloud investments from Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet are driving real growth.
Eric Trump joins us to discuss American Bitcoin’s mission, market strategy, and why he believes the U.S. must lead the next era of digital currency innovation.
