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All Eyes on FAANG Stocks Ahead of Earnings; JPMorgan Cheers

All Eyes on FAANG Stocks Ahead of Earnings; JPMorgan Cheers

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Between the ongoing corona crisis and the upcoming elections, the markets are plagued by uncertainty – the one thing that really gets investors worried. Uncertainty puts a cloud over the market’s likely course, making it difficult to find the stocks that will bring in returns.

Fortunately, there are some trends that are somewhat immune to this uncertainty. Just 20 years ago, these would not have moved the needle; their niches were young, just beginning their long march through our society and culture, but today Big Tech has become one of the market’s sure things.

There is no tech bigger than the FAANG stocks. This group – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google – offers the tech we have come to want, whether it is hardware or online. Facebook invented today’s social media; Apple brings us the device innovations that have boosted mobile; Amazon has redefined online commerce. Netflix and Google have each made their own contributions, in video streaming and web search and advertising.

The FAANGs have generated investors interest and media buzz, and they have also gotten attention from some of Wall Street’s top analysts. Writing from investment firm JPMorgan, two analysts, both in the top 10% of the Street’s stock experts, have weighed in on three members of the FAANG group – and recommend them as buys. Let's take a closer look.

Facebook, Inc. (FB)

Facebook has powered its growth through ad revenue, leveraging its massive user base – over 2.7 billion worldwide, or 35% of the global population – along with its massive database of user activity to offer finely targeted advertising. The result has been astonishing – advertisers see results, Facebook sees profits, and investors have garnered a 640% return since the company went public back in 2012.

This year, while 2020 has been lousy for many businesses, Facebook has been able to take advantage of the social lockdown policies. The company offered the prospect of social interaction online, and sold that prospect of increased traffic to advertisers. The immediate result was strong year-over-year earnings growth for FB’s shareholders.

The company saw both revenue and earnings slip in Q1, but that must be put in perspective – Q4 is the company’s strongest, with increased ad use over the holiday season. The Q1 and Q2 earnings grew 101% and 97% respectively. Looking ahead to Q3, the forecast is for $1.93. Meeting that would be somewhat of a disappointment, as last year’s Q3 saw $2.12, but it’s important to note here that FB has beating the earnings forecasts in each of the last 4 quarters.

Doug Anmuth, rated 5-stars by TipRanks, and ranked #24 overall among more than 7,000 analysts, covers this stock for JPMorgan, and has a lot to say.

“We believe Facebook’s virtual ownership of the social graph, strong competitive moat, and focus on the user experience position it to become an enduring blue-chip company built for the long term. Facebook is in rarefied air across the combination of scale, growth, and profitability, as the company’s massive reach and engagement continue to drive network effects, and its targeting abilities provide significant value to advertisers,” Anmuth noted.

Turning to some details, the analyst notes, “FB remains one of our top picks & we raise our 3Q ad revenue estimate from $19.5B (+12% Y/Y growth) to $19.8B (+14% Y/Y). Overall, FB grew ad revenue +10% during the first three weeks of July & mgmt. expected 3Q ad revs to grow at a similar pace…”

In line with these comments, Anmuth rates FB an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and raises his one-year price target to $315, suggesting 13% growth. (To watch Anmuth’s track record, click here)

Overall, Facebook shares get a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. The 36 recent reviews break down to 32 Buys, 3 Holds, and 1 Sell. FB is selling for $279.40 and its average price target of $304.39 implies an upside of 9% from current levels. (See FB stock analysis on TipRanks)

Apple, Inc. (AAPL)

Apple will report FQ4 earnings this evening in what will as per usual be one of earnings season’s highlights. Looking ahead, Apple foresees slowing iPhone sales long-term, due to a combination of factors, increased device competition in China and maturation of the smartphone market’s replacement cycle. The company is compensating by pushing harder on Wearables, and leveraging the continued popularity of iPads and MacBooks – and is seeing some success. The move to 5G networking is also deemed a net-plus for Apple, and the company expects as many as 300 million iPhone users to upgrade their devices in the next two years.

Apple broke its earnings records last year in Q4, with $91.8 billion in revenues and $4.99 in EPS. Since then, the corona crisis has hit the company hard. Disruptions and supply and distribution chains, along with the economic slowdowns and the reduction in consumer spending, saw earnings fall sharply in Q1 and fall again in Q2. The second quarter EPS was just 64 cents. The poor earnings came even as revenues remained at $60 billion, near Apple’s historic mid-year levels.

The common wisdom expects Apple to see the beginning of a rebound in the CYQ3 (the company’s fiscal Q4) report later today. Revenue is predicted at $64, up 6% sequentially and matching the year-ago quarter. EPS is also predicted to rise, to 72 cents per share.

JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee sees Apple in a strong position, despite macro difficulties in the market. The 5-star analyst writes, “Heading into the F4Q (Sep-end) earnings report on Oct 29, shares of Apple have significantly outperformed the S&P500 YTD (+57% vs. +7%), led by the confluence of strong iPhone demand, tailwinds for iPad/Mac from WFH/eLearning trends, and continued Services momentum, underscoring the resilient nature of Apple’s various revenue streams… We remain positive on shares of Apple led by the combination of: 1) strong demand for both legacy and new 5G iPhones; 2) leverage of strong revenue opportunity through industry leading innovation in Wearables; and 3) strong and resilient Services portfolio, benefitting from large and growing installed base of users…”

Chatterjee puts a $150 price target on AAPL shares, implying robust growth of 31% for the year ahead, and supporting his Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating on the stock. (To watch Chatterjee’s track record, click here)

Overall, Apple’s Moderate Buy consensus rating is based on 35 reviews, including 26 Buys, 8 Holds, and 1 Sell. Shares have an average price target of $125.81, suggesting 10% growth from the current trading price of $114.34. (See Apple stock analysis on TipRanks)

Amazon.com (AMZN)

Last on our FAANG list today is Amazon, the company that has remade online retail in its own image, and in so doing has become a behemoth of the tech world. Amazon has found renewed opportunities in the coronavirus crisis this year. The shutdowns affected brick-and-mortar retail, and accelerated the public’s move toward e-commerce – and Amazon has been there to pick up the sales activity.

The company blew away the forecasts last quarter, with revenues of $88.9 billion and EPS of $10.30, both far ahead of forecasts. Unsurprisingly, the stock has shown strong growth this year, too, as shares are up over 70%.

The Street expects Amazon to show $7.30 in EPS for Q3, to be reported today. At this point, it’s important to note that last quarter, when the result was $10.30, the forecast was a mere $1.74. No one expects that sort of outperformance again – but no one will be surprised if Amazon beats the estimates for Q3.

Covering Amazon for JPM, Doug Anmuth notes the overall picture, saying, “We believe Amazon is well positioned as the market leader in e-commerce and public cloud, where the secular shifts remain early—US e-commerce represents ~20% of adjusted retail sales, and we estimate ~15% of workloads are in the cloud today.” He goes on to point out Amazon’s growth and prospects: “E-commerce growth continued at a near-record pace in 3Q, with non-store retail sales only decelerating ~150bps from +25.5% peak COVID-19 levels in 2Q per US DOC. Importantly, we believe AMZN is well positioned into what we expect to be a record online holiday season w/sq footage up 50% Y/Y…”

Anmuth is bullish on Amazon, giving the stock an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating and a $4,050 price target that implies a 27% year-ahead growth. (To watch Anmuth’s track record, click here)

All in all, Amazon has a unanimous Strong Buy from the analyst consensus, based on no fewer than 38 positive reviews. Shares are selling for a whopping $3,183, and the average target of $3,773 suggests it has room for nearly 19% growth on the one-year horizon. (See Amazon stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

The post All Eyes on FAANG Stocks Ahead of Earnings; JPMorgan Cheers appeared first on TipRanks Financial Blog.

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United Airlines adds new flights to faraway destinations

The airline said that it has been working hard to "find hidden gem destinations."

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Since countries started opening up after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, airlines have been seeing demand soar not just for major global cities and popular routes but also for farther-away destinations.

Numerous reports, including a recent TripAdvisor survey of trending destinations, showed that there has been a rise in U.S. traveler interest in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam as well as growing tourism traction in off-the-beaten-path European countries such as Slovenia, Estonia and Montenegro.

Related: 'No more flying for you': Travel agency sounds alarm over risk of 'carbon passports'

As a result, airlines have been looking at their networks to include more faraway destinations as well as smaller cities that are growing increasingly popular with tourists and may not be served by their competitors.

The Philippines has been popular among tourists in recent years.

Shutterstock

United brings back more routes, says it is committed to 'finding hidden gems'

This week, United Airlines  (UAL)  announced that it will be launching a new route from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Morocco's Marrakesh. While it is only the country's fourth-largest city, Marrakesh is a particularly popular place for tourists to seek out the sights and experiences that many associate with the country — colorful souks, gardens with ornate architecture and mosques from the Moorish period.

More Travel:

"We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad," United's SVP of Global Network Planning Patrick Quayle, said in a press statement.

The new route will launch on Oct. 24 and take place three times a week on a Boeing 767-300ER  (BA)  plane that is equipped with 46 Polaris business class and 22 Premium Plus seats. The plane choice was a way to reach a luxury customer customer looking to start their holiday in Marrakesh in the plane.

Along with the new Morocco route, United is also launching a flight between Houston (IAH) and Colombia's Medellín on Oct. 27 as well as a route between Tokyo and Cebu in the Philippines on July 31 — the latter is known as a "fifth freedom" flight in which the airline flies to the larger hub from the mainland U.S. and then goes on to smaller Asian city popular with tourists after some travelers get off (and others get on) in Tokyo.

United's network expansion includes new 'fifth freedom' flight

In the fall of 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to fly to the Philippines with a new Manila-San Francisco flight. It has expanded its service to Asia from different U.S. cities earlier last year. Cebu has been on its radar amid growing tourist interest in the region known for marine parks, rainforests and Spanish-style architecture.

With the summer coming up, United also announced that it plans to run its current flights to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Portugal's Porto more frequently at different points of the week and reach four weekly flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai by August 29.

"This is your normal, exciting network planning team back in action," Quayle told travel website The Points Guy of the airline's plans for the new routes.

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Walmart launches clever answer to Target’s new membership program

The retail superstore is adding a new feature to its Walmart+ plan — and customers will be happy.

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It's just been a few days since Target  (TGT)  launched its new Target Circle 360 paid membership plan. 

The plan offers free and fast shipping on many products to customers, initially for $49 a year and then $99 after the initial promotional signup period. It promises to be a success, since many Target customers are loyal to the brand and will go out of their way to shop at one instead of at its two larger peers, Walmart and Amazon.

Related: Walmart makes a major price cut that will delight customers

And stop us if this sounds familiar: Target will rely on its more than 2,000 stores to act as fulfillment hubs. 

This model is a proven winner; Walmart also uses its more than 4,600 stores as fulfillment and shipping locations to get orders to customers as soon as possible.

Sometimes, this means shipping goods from the nearest warehouse. But if a desired product is in-store and closer to a customer, it reduces miles on the road and delivery time. It's a kind of logistical magic that makes any efficiency lover's (or retail nerd's) heart go pitter patter. 

Walmart rolls out answer to Target's new membership tier

Walmart has certainly had more time than Target to develop and work out the kinks in Walmart+. It first launched the paid membership in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when many shoppers sheltered at home but still required many staples they might ordinarily pick up at a Walmart, like cleaning supplies, personal-care products, pantry goods and, of course, toilet paper. 

It also undercut Amazon  (AMZN)  Prime, which costs customers $139 a year for free and fast shipping (plus several other benefits including access to its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video). 

Walmart+ costs $98 a year, which also gets you free and speedy delivery, plus access to a Paramount+ streaming subscription, fuel savings, and more. 

An employee at a Merida, Mexico, Walmart. (Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

If that's not enough to tempt you, however, Walmart+ just added a new benefit to its membership program, ostensibly to compete directly with something Target now has: ultrafast delivery. 

Target Circle 360 particularly attracts customers with free same-day delivery for select orders over $35 and as little as one-hour delivery on select items. Target executes this through its Shipt subsidiary.

We've seen this lightning-fast delivery speed only in snippets from Amazon, the king of delivery efficiency. Who better to take on Target, though, than Walmart, which is using a similar store-as-fulfillment-center model? 

"Walmart is stepping up to save our customers even more time with our latest delivery offering: Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery," Walmart said in a statement, just a day after Target Circle 360 launched. "Starting at 6 a.m., earlier than ever before, customers can enjoy the convenience of On-Demand delivery."

Walmart  (WMT)  clearly sees consumers' desire for near-instant delivery, which obviously saves time and trips to the store. Rather than waiting a day for your order to show up, it might be on your doorstep when you wake up. 

Consumers also tend to spend more money when they shop online, and they remain stickier as paying annual members. So, to a growing number of retail giants, almost instant gratification like this seems like something worth striving for.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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President Biden Delivers The “Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President”

President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through…

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President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through the State of The Union, President Biden can go back to his crypt now.

Whatever 'they' gave Biden, every American man, woman, and the other should be allowed to take it - though it seems the cocktail brings out 'dark Brandon'?

Tl;dw: Biden's Speech tonight ...

  • Fund Ukraine.

  • Trump is threat to democracy and America itself.

  • Abortion is good.

  • American Economy is stronger than ever.

  • Inflation wasn't Biden's fault.

  • Illegals are Americans too.

  • Republicans are responsible for the border crisis.

  • Trump is bad.

  • Biden stands with trans-children.

  • J6 was the worst insurrection since the Civil War.

(h/t @TCDMS99)

Tucker Carlson's response sums it all up perfectly:

"that was possibly the darkest, most un-American speech given by an American president. It wasn't a speech, it was a rant..."

Carlson continued: "The true measure of a nation's greatness lies within its capacity to control borders, yet Bid refuses to do it."

"In a fair election, Joe Biden cannot win"

And concluded:

“There was not a meaningful word for the entire duration about the things that actually matter to people who live here.”

Victor Davis Hanson added some excellent color, but this was probably the best line on Biden:

"he doesn't care... he lives in an alternative reality."

*  *  *

Watch SOTU Live here...

*   *   *

Mises' Connor O'Keeffe, warns: "Be on the Lookout for These Lies in Biden's State of the Union Address." 

On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden is set to give his third State of the Union address. The political press has been buzzing with speculation over what the president will say. That speculation, however, is focused more on how Biden will perform, and which issues he will prioritize. Much of the speech is expected to be familiar.

The story Biden will tell about what he has done as president and where the country finds itself as a result will be the same dishonest story he's been telling since at least the summer.

He'll cite government statistics to say the economy is growing, unemployment is low, and inflation is down.

Something that has been frustrating Biden, his team, and his allies in the media is that the American people do not feel as economically well off as the official data says they are. Despite what the White House and establishment-friendly journalists say, the problem lies with the data, not the American people's ability to perceive their own well-being.

As I wrote back in January, the reason for the discrepancy is the lack of distinction made between private economic activity and government spending in the most frequently cited economic indicators. There is an important difference between the two:

  • Government, unlike any other entity in the economy, can simply take money and resources from others to spend on things and hire people. Whether or not the spending brings people value is irrelevant

  • It's the private sector that's responsible for producing goods and services that actually meet people's needs and wants. So, the private components of the economy have the most significant effect on people's economic well-being.

Recently, government spending and hiring has accounted for a larger than normal share of both economic activity and employment. This means the government is propping up these traditional measures, making the economy appear better than it actually is. Also, many of the jobs Biden and his allies take credit for creating will quickly go away once it becomes clear that consumers don't actually want whatever the government encouraged these companies to produce.

On top of all that, the administration is dealing with the consequences of their chosen inflation rhetoric.

Since its peak in the summer of 2022, the president's team has talked about inflation "coming back down," which can easily give the impression that it's prices that will eventually come back down.

But that's not what that phrase means. It would be more honest to say that price increases are slowing down.

Americans are finally waking up to the fact that the cost of living will not return to prepandemic levels, and they're not happy about it.

The president has made some clumsy attempts at damage control, such as a Super Bowl Sunday video attacking food companies for "shrinkflation"—selling smaller portions at the same price instead of simply raising prices.

In his speech Thursday, Biden is expected to play up his desire to crack down on the "corporate greed" he's blaming for high prices.

In the name of "bringing down costs for Americans," the administration wants to implement targeted price ceilings - something anyone who has taken even a single economics class could tell you does more harm than good. Biden would never place the blame for the dramatic price increases we've experienced during his term where it actually belongs—on all the government spending that he and President Donald Trump oversaw during the pandemic, funded by the creation of $6 trillion out of thin air - because that kind of spending is precisely what he hopes to kick back up in a second term.

If reelected, the president wants to "revive" parts of his so-called Build Back Better agenda, which he tried and failed to pass in his first year. That would bring a significant expansion of domestic spending. And Biden remains committed to the idea that Americans must be forced to continue funding the war in Ukraine. That's another topic Biden is expected to highlight in the State of the Union, likely accompanied by the lie that Ukraine spending is good for the American economy. It isn't.

It's not possible to predict all the ways President Biden will exaggerate, mislead, and outright lie in his speech on Thursday. But we can be sure of two things. The "state of the Union" is not as strong as Biden will say it is. And his policy ambitions risk making it much worse.

*  *  *

The American people will be tuning in on their smartphones, laptops, and televisions on Thursday evening to see if 'sloppy joe' 81-year-old President Joe Biden can coherently put together more than two sentences (even with a teleprompter) as he gives his third State of the Union in front of a divided Congress. 

President Biden will speak on various topics to convince voters why he shouldn't be sent to a retirement home.

According to CNN sources, here are some of the topics Biden will discuss tonight:

  • Economic issues: Biden and his team have been drafting a speech heavy on economic populism, aides said, with calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy – an attempt to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans and their likely presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

  • Health care expenses: Biden will also push for lowering health care costs and discuss his efforts to go after drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription medications — all issues his advisers believe can help buoy what have been sagging economic approval ratings.

  • Israel's war with Hamas: Also looming large over Biden's primetime address is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has consumed much of the president's time and attention over the past few months. The president's top national security advisers have been working around the clock to try to finalize a ceasefire-hostages release deal by Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins next week.

  • An argument for reelection: Aides view Thursday's speech as a critical opportunity for the president to tout his accomplishments in office and lay out his plans for another four years in the nation's top job. Even though viewership has declined over the years, the yearly speech reliably draws tens of millions of households.

Sources provided more color on Biden's SOTU address: 

The speech is expected to be heavy on economic populism. The president will talk about raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He'll highlight efforts to cut costs for the American people, including pushing Congress to help make prescription drugs more affordable.

Biden will talk about the need to preserve democracy and freedom, a cornerstone of his re-election bid. That includes protecting and bolstering reproductive rights, an issue Democrats believe will energize voters in November. Biden is also expected to promote his unity agenda, a key feature of each of his addresses to Congress while in office.

Biden is also expected to give remarks on border security while the invasion of illegals has become one of the most heated topics among American voters. A majority of voters are frustrated with radical progressives in the White House facilitating the illegal migrant invasion. 

It is probable that the president will attribute the failure of the Senate border bill to the Republicans, a claim many voters view as unfounded. This is because the White House has the option to issue an executive order to restore border security, yet opts not to do so

Maybe this is why? 

While Biden addresses the nation, the Biden administration will be armed with a social media team to pump propaganda to at least 100 million Americans. 

"The White House hosted about 70 creators, digital publishers, and influencers across three separate events" on Wednesday and Thursday, a White House official told CNN. 

Not a very capable social media team... 

The administration's move to ramp up social media operations comes as users on X are mostly free from government censorship with Elon Musk at the helm. This infuriates Democrats, who can no longer censor their political enemies on X. 

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers tell Axios that the president's SOTU performance will be critical as he tries to dispel voter concerns about his elderly age. The address reached as many as 27 million people in 2023. 

"We are all nervous," said one House Democrat, citing concerns about the president's "ability to speak without blowing things."

The SOTU address comes as Biden's polling data is in the dumps

BetOnline has created several money-making opportunities for gamblers tonight, such as betting on what word Biden mentions the most. 

As well as...

We will update you when Tucker Carlson's live feed of SOTU is published. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 07:44

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