Sign InKey Insights Before Friday's Stock Market Opening Bell
Alex Vellor
Apple has announced an unprecedented $110 billion share buyback, the largest in history for a public company. Meanwhile, the latest jobs report revealed that the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in April.
Sony and Apollo Proposal for Paramount
In a compelling twist in the media industry, Paramount's future is under intense scrutiny as Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management propose a $26 billion acquisition, intensifying the competition against Skydance Media's existing bid. The offer aims to provide a premium to all shareholders, a move favored by many investors over the Skydance deal. With Paramount's exclusivity window with Skydance ending Friday, pressure mounts on the board's decision-making, potentially reshaping Paramount's strategic landscape.
Premarket movers:
| Ticker Name | Performance | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Hershey (HSY) | +1% | First-quarter earnings beat with $3.07 per share against the expected $2.76. Revenue was $3.25 billion, beating the consensus of $3.11 billion. |
| Apple (AAPL) | +7% | Fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.53 per share on $90.75 billion in revenue, beating estimates of $1.50 per share on $90.01 billion. |
| Amgen (AMGN) | +13% | First-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Proceeding with phase 3 trial of injectable obesity drug. |
| Cloudflare (NET) | -12% | Weak full-year guidance despite a first-quarter earnings and revenue beat. |
| Expedia (EXPE) | -11% | Lower-than-expected guidance for the fiscal second quarter, with Vrbo segment cited as a drag on results. |
| Arista Networks (ANET) | +4% | Stock upgraded to buy from hold by Jefferies. Seen as a prime AI beneficiary. |
| Coinbase (COIN) | -2% | First-quarter revenue of $1.64 billion beat the $1.34 billion consensus despite rising expenses. |
| Union Pacific (UNP) | +1% | Upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel with price target increased to $267. A "sweating-the-assets" strategy seen as beneficial. |
| Mister Car Wash (MCW) | +4% | Stock upgraded to overweight by JPMorgan, citing attractive valuation and improving trends. |
Oil Prices Make Modest Gains Amid Market Volatility
Crude oil prices have seen a slight increase today, despite facing a challenging week influenced by demand uncertainties and strong U.S. stockpiles. As of early morning, U.S. crude futures rose by 0.5% to $79.31 a barrel, with Brent crude also up by 0.5% at $84.05. The market remains cautious, however, as both benchmarks are set to conclude the week with significant losses, reflecting ongoing concerns about persistent high-interest rates impacting global economic growth.
U.S. Job Market Shows Signs of Cooling
The U.S. job market in April revealed slower growth than anticipated, adding only 175,000 jobs against expectations of 238,000. Despite this shortfall, the unemployment rate nudged up slightly to 3.9%, continuing its sub-4% trend for the 27th month in a row. Moreover, wage growth decelerated, with average hourly earnings rising a mere 0.2%. This mixed bag of economic indicators could lead to recalibrations in the Federal Reserve's approach to potential interest rate adjustments in the coming months.
About The Author
Alex Vellor
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