Apple and Walmart start the week with bad news, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s big pledge, plus stocks to watch today in the Money and Markets Wall Street Wake-Up.
The Morning Open
U.S. markets were pushed lower Tuesday morning after Apple reported it plans to miss its quarterly revenue projections.
As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%. The S&P 500 opened down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.08%.
The Top Story
Despite the holiday, the week has already started on a negative trend.
On Monday, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced it does not plan to meet its quarterly revenue projections because of lower iPhone supply and lower Chinese demand due to the coronavirus.
That was followed on Tuesday with retail conglomerate Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reporting an earnings and revenue miss due to weaker holiday demand for items like toys, apparel and video games.
Apple said its work around China is starting to get back to normal, but “we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated.”
The company said its iPhone supply is temporarily constrained and production outside of China while ramping up, is slower than expected. Demand is also lower in China as Apple stores have been closed or operating at reduced hours due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Walmart, on the other hand, missed its annual revenue per share projections by $0.05 per share as it reported revenue of $1.38 per share on $141.6 billion — down from the $142.4 billion expected.
For the quarter, the retail chain said its net income was up to $4.14 billion from $3.69 billion it reported a year ago.
Shares of Walmart were down 1% in Tuesday premarket trading while shares of Apple were off 3%.
Stocks to Watch Today
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) — Shares of the supermarket chain jumped 6.2% in premarket trading after it was revealed that Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) purchased 18.9 million shares of the company last week. Berkshire Hathaway had not owned Kroger before the last quarter and is now the seventh-largest shareholder of the company.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM) — The Israeli-based semiconductor manufacturer reported lower 2019 revenues and operating profits compared to 2018. The company said its 2019 revenue was $1.23 billion, compared to $1.3 billion in 2018. Shares of Tower were down 5.3% in the premarket trading session.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) — The spaceflight company recently reported it’s a step closer to commercial space travel after it moved its SpaceShipTwo to its commercial headquarters in New Mexico. Shares of Virgin Galactic were up 13.3% in Tuesday premarket trading.
In the News
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos said he is creating a new fund to help fight climate change.
Bezos said he is pledging $10 billion to create the Bezos Earth Fund. The fund will help scientists, activists, nongovernment organizations and other efforts that “offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.”
If and when the foundation is created, The Wall Street Journal said it would become the largest in the U.S. and one of the most substantial financial commitments to battle climate change.
Bezos said he would start issuing grants this summer.
Pier 1 Files for Bankruptcy
Home furnishings giant Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) filed for bankruptcy Monday after announcing it will close 450 stores in North America.
According to CNN Business, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said it reached a plan with lenders to provide it with $256 million. Company officials said they would try to find a buyer for the company.
The company previously said it was closing 450 stores — including all stores in Canada. Nearly 400 stores have been closed, but the company has more than 500 still open.
HSBC Plans to Cut 35,000 Jobs, $100B of Assets
The largest bank in Europe by assets, HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC), said on Tuesday it will be trimming back operations in the U.S. and Europe over the next three years.
It plans to do that by cutting 35,000 jobs and $100 billion of assets, according to The Wall Street Journal.
One big reason for the cuts is because the bank reported its net profit fell 53% to $5.97 billion last year.
Shares of the bank were down 6% in London and nearly 5% in Tuesday premarket trading in the U.S.
Other Morning Reads
Want to Invest in Stocks? How About a Tax Incentive To Do It? (Money and Markets)
Tesla Bear Morgan Stanley Raises Its Bull Case to $1,200 a Share (Bloomberg)
Congress Called Out for Dragging Feet on Social Security, Medicare (Money and Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP)
Diamondback Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FANG)
Scientific Games Corp. (Nasdaq: SGMS)
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM)
Vonage Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: VG)
Chart of the Day
While it may be the largest internet company in China Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) still has a long way to go to reach Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Alibaba’s total revenue was $23.2 billion compared to Amazon’s $87.4 billion. Alibaba’s core commerce revenue was $20.3 billion compared to Amazon’s $67.5 billion.
Amazon is still stronger in cloud revenue as well. While Alibaba had $1.5 billion in cloud revenue, Amazon reported $10 billion.
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with the Wall Street Wake-Up, here on Money and Markets.
