What we’re reading (1/17)
“Investors Eye Inauguration Day, Netflix Earnings: What To Know In the Week Ahead” (Yahoo! Finance). “As traders return from the long holiday weekend on Tuesday and equity markets reopen, markets will turn their attention to the first days of the Biden administration and to another batch of corporate earnings results.”
“After Stock Surge, Investors Ask Companies What’s Ahead” (Wall Street Journal). “An epic stock rally faces a key test in coming weeks as investors learn what executives expect for profits and revenues in coming periods. Fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off in earnest Friday with better-than-expected profits from some of the nation’s largest banks. Despite a record quarterly profit at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and some bright spots at Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., shares of all three declined, with Wells and Citi each dropping more than 6%. The market reaction highlights the stakes as large firms begin sharing quarterly results and, more important, their outlooks for coming quarters. “
“Corporate Earnings Don’t Look Great. But The Drought May Be Over Soon” (CNN Business). “According to estimates from FactSet Research, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report that their profits fell by about 7% in the final three months of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. That, however, should be the end of the earnings drought. FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters told CNN Business that S&P 500 profits should rebound in the first quarter, with analysts forecasting a nearly 17% year-over-year jump in the first quarter and a more than 46% surge in the second quarter. For the full year, Butters said profits should rise more than 22%.”
“US Small-Cap Stocks Have Raced Ahead Of Their Bigger Peers In 2021. Experts Say A Number Of Factors Could Send Them Higher.” (Business Insider). “The stock market recovery from the coronavirus crash in the spring of 2020 was all about the biggest US names: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix. But the smaller, more unloved parts of the stock market come roaring back in the autumn and winter, and their momentum has continued in 2021. The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks has jumped 1.5%, for example.”
“How The Blenders Eyewear Founder Turned A $2,000 Loan Into A $90 Million Business In 7 Years” (CNBC). “Fisher borrowed $2,000 from his roommate and launched the sunglasses company Blenders Eyewear (named after Hornblend, the street he lived on). Fisher started to sell his product out of his backpack on the beach where he worked as a surf instructor. Within three years, Blenders made over $1 million in revenue. And in December 2019, Blenders was valued at $90 million after Italian eyewear company, the Safilo Group, announced it would acquire 70% of the company.”
