Risk, returns & timeframes illustration
1 min read
May 23, 2023
by
Belinda Nash

In briefs from Wall Street: Walmart, Target and Home Depot

Take-Two Interactive shares surged to their highest yearly peak. Home Depot blames DIY dropoff for missed earnings. Is Walmart’s taking on Amazon? Who’s pillaging US$500 million from Target’s pockets. And has China’s economy rebounded? Here’s our glance back at a week of earnings.
Risk, returns & timeframes illustration
1 min read
May 23, 2023
by
Belinda Nash

In briefs from Wall Street: Walmart, Target and Home Depot

Take-Two Interactive shares surged to their highest yearly peak. Home Depot blames DIY dropoff for missed earnings. Is Walmart’s taking on Amazon? Who’s pillaging US$500 million from Target’s pockets. And has China’s economy rebounded? Here’s our glance back at a week of earnings.
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Double take. Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) released official GTA 6 teasers before last week’s earnings call in which they beat earnings estimates. During the call, CEO Strauss Zelnick atypically shared video games maker’s three-year forecasts, which include the release of 36 game titles. Following the announcements, Take-Two’s shares surged to their highest in a year, peaking at US$141.47, since settling at US$137.43, up nearly 10%. 🚘

Home alone. It hasn’t been a sizzling summer for Home Depot (HD), which missed Q1 earnings estimates - net earnings falling 8.5% year-over-year to US$3.9 billion compared to last year’s US$4.2 billion. CEO Ted Decker said that following the home improvements company’s previous ‘unprecedented growth’ - with stock peaking at US$400.61 in September 2021 - they’re feeling the pinch as DIY falls out of favour. Still, their five-year performance is up 55% and Home Depot’s paid annual dividends of nearly 3%, increasing every year for more than a decade. 🔨

Swiftonomics. Could The Taylor Swift Effect be a saviour for the US economy? Some think so. It’s not just Live Nation’s Ticketmaster (LYV) making money from Taylor Swift’s 52-night, 20-city tour - which raked in as much as US$16.5 million, according to Forbes. Retailers, hoteliers, restaurateurs and even Las Vegas are post-Covid cashing in on pandemic-savings-rich Swifties who, after a five-year wait, are splurging on extreme viewing, bling outfits and… ponchos? 🌧️ Also read: Ticketmaster’s ticketing swift

Shopping small. Is Walmart (WMT) nipping at Amazon’s e-commerce heels? (AMZN). The big box retailer’s online sales are up 27% taking Walmart’s earnings with it - their overall sales up nearly 8%, with the company projecting they’ll increase a further 3.5% in the next quarter. While Walmart is surprised by consumer ‘resilience’, Target (TGT) however is feeling, erm, targeted by thieves, who are likely to cost the business US$500 million this year. Yet despite Target’s frugal shoppers sending net earnings down 5.8% to US$950 million in the first quarter, teens are snapping up beauty products, and pets were pampered. 🐶

China’s tech roller coaster. Last week’s lift in earnings announced by Alibaba (BABA - ADR), Baidu (BIDU - ADR) and WeChat owner Tencent (TME - ADR) has been called by some the start of a possible ‘bumpy recovery’ for China, which has lagged behind the world due to their zero-Covid restrictions. But while Baidu - China’s Google - and Tencent reported revenue increases of 10% and 11% respectively, and Alibaba’s revenue climbed 2%, the e-commerce giant missed analyst expectations. Perhaps investors will be bolstered by Alibaba’s cloud division spin-off? Also read: Is Temu a legitimate site?

Belinda Nash
Finance writer
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We’re not financial advisors and Hatch news is for your information only. However dazzling our writing, none of it is a recommendation to invest in any of the companies or funds mentioned. If you want support before making any investment decisions, consider seeking financial advice from a licensed provider. We’ve done our best to ensure all information is current when we pushed ‘publish’ on this article. And of course, with investing, your money isn’t guaranteed to grow and there’s always a risk you might lose money.

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