Connect with us

International

Good Stocks To Buy Right Now? 3 Consumer Tech Stocks In Focus

Could these consumer tech names be good buys amid the Fed’s latest interest rate update?
The post Good Stocks To Buy Right Now? 3 Consumer Tech Stocks…

Published

on

Are These Top Consumer Tech Stocks Good Stocks To Buy Right Now?

While investors look ahead to the central bank’s monetary policy meeting later today, consumer tech stocks could be worth noting. By and large, this area of the stock market has been and still is a viable play now. As most would know, consumers turned to some of the biggest names in the industry amidst the pandemic. Whether it is streaming firms, gaming companies, or even social media platforms, this is apparent. Also, some of the top fintech names like PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Block (NYSE: SQ) also received plenty of attention from investors and consumers alike.

Fast forward to today where pandemic conditions are considerably better, and consumer tech stocks are in an interesting position. The likes of semiconductor manufacturer Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to productivity software titan Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) remain as crucial as ever. Even as the world learns to live with the pandemic, it is doing so with the help of tech. At the same time, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), one of the biggest players in the consumer tech space, continues to thrive. Just last week, the company topped earnings estimates across the board and authorized a $90 billion share buyback program. Furthermore, even Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) picked up an additional $600 million worth of Apple’s shares last quarter as well.

Not to mention, travel firms are also seeing an uptick in their core operations as well. With companies like Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) seeing sales return to pre-pandemic levels, travel aggregators such as Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) would gain traction too. All in all, consumer tech firms continue to draw attention during this earnings season. On that note, here are three more to watch in the stock market today.

Consumer Tech Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] This Week

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

To begin with, we have Advanced Micro Devices or AMD for short. Overall, the company specializes in developing computer processors, semiconductors, and related tech. All of which serve a wide variety of consumer and enterprise clients. Among its core end markets include the gaming, high-performance computing, data center, and professional design industries. Following AMD’s latest quarterly earnings call, AMD stock appears to be in focus in the stock market now.

Getting straight to it, AMD posted stellar results in its first-fiscal quarter report yesterday. The company is looking at revenue of $5.89 billion for the quarter. Notably, this translates to a 71% year-over-year increase and a record-high for AMD in terms of quarterly revenue. Furthermore, the company is boasting earnings of $1.13 per share, crushing consensus analyst projections of $0.91. With results like this, it seems that AMD continues to go from strength to strength.

In detail, the company’s two core business divisions are seeing solid momentum. On one hand, AMD’s total sales from its Computing and Graphics arm is up by 33% year-over-year, totaling $2.8 billion. On the other hand, its Enterprise, Embedded, and Semi-Custom sales skyrocketed by 88% over the same period. With all this alongside the recent completion of the company’s acquisition of fellow semiconductor giant Xilinx, we could be looking at exciting times ahead for AMD stock. Would you agree?

AMD stock chart
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] 4 Top Oil Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Today

Airbnb Inc.

Following that, we have Airbnb, a consumer tech company that uses its platform to connect hosts to guests. In fact, the company has grown to over 4 million hosts that have welcomed over 1 billion guests across the globe. The company has had one of the biggest IPOs in 2020 during the pandemic and continues to strive today as the countries around the world continue to reopen their borders. This comes as two years since the pandemic began, a new world of travel has emerged. Millions of people are now more flexible about where they live and work after all.

On Tuesday, the company had reported stellar earnings and beaten estimates. Notably, it had a 70% revenue growth at $1.5 billion as travel continues to rebound across the globe. Impressively, this quarter’s revenue was also 80% higher than Q1 2019, pre-pandemic levels. The company also exceeded expectations for its nights and experiences booked, also surpassing pre-pandemic levels at 102.1 million. Gross booking value was also up by 67% year-over-year at $17.2 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $229 million, being its first positive Q1 adjusted EBITDA since its IPO.

The company will also be announcing big changes on May 11 as it seeks to introduce ‘a new Airbnb for a new world of travel’. Some hints that the company has offered are a new way to search and guests will be able to discover millions of unique homes. The company also says that, despite global headwinds in the quarter, it continues to beat expectations and this would demonstrate strong global demand for travel. Furthermore, Airbnb also says that long-term stays of 28 days or more also continue to be its fastest-growing category by trip length. Given the solid quarter, is ABNB stock a buy?

ABNB stock
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Ticked Higher Ahead Of Fed Decision; AMD Stock Up On Solid Earnings

Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup is a company that provides financial services and also investment banking. In fact, it is one of the Big Four banking institutions in the U.S. In essence, it has five core interconnected businesses across Services, Markets, Banking, Global Wealth Management, and U.S. Personal Banking. Its Banking segment, for instance, focuses on high-returning, capital-light Investments. Today, the company has announced an exciting piece of news.

Diving in, Citi has announced the launch of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Payments in Europe. This will further increase the bank’s global instant payments offerings. Accordingly, the launch will provide clients with the ability to pay to and receive from 36 SEPA countries. Transactions will be made within seconds, 24/7, and funds available to recipients immediately. Elena Gomez, Global Head of Domestic Payments had this to say, “We are seeing an increasing number of countries advance their digital capabilities and introduce local instant payment schemes. Citi has built a globally consistent solution that provides uniform connectivity to all key domestic instant payment systems. We have taken a single point-of-entry approach, utilizing API connectivity, to enable clients to make payments in multiple markets, and access key real time services such as payment status or balance enquiries, as well as instant notification of incoming credits and outgoing debits.”

Businesses will be able to use SEPA for a wider range of use cases to drive business growth and efficiency. The likes of which include on-demand payments. Besides SEPA, the bank also supports 29 other markets globally for Instant Payments, so its Instant Payments capabilities can now reach over 60 countries around the world. All things considered, is C stock worth investing in?

C stock
Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

If you enjoyed this article and you’re interested in learning how to trade so you can have the best chance to profit consistently then you need to checkout this YouTube channel. CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!!

The post Good Stocks To Buy Right Now? 3 Consumer Tech Stocks In Focus appeared first on Stock Market News, Quotes, Charts and Financial Information | StockMarket.com.

Read More

Continue Reading

International

United Airlines adds new flights to faraway destinations

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

Published

on

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.

Read More

Continue Reading

International

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.

Published

on

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

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

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…

Published

on

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

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending