Business and Finance News - 7.29.24

3M shares surged to a near two-year high, rising as much as 20%, after strong quarterly results highlighted cost cuts and a focus on high-growth sectors. CEO Bill Brown, who took over on May 1, emphasized reinvigorating product innovation and raised the full-year profit forecast, with adjusted quarterly profit exceeding expectations. (Reuters)

*3M (MMM) - 3M is a diversified technology company, primarily known for its consumer products like Scotch tape and Post-it notes. It also provides a wide range of industrial and safety solutions, healthcare products, electronics and energy components, and transportation materials.

Apollo Funds will take International Game Technology's gaming and digital business and Everi Holdings private in an all-cash $6.3 billion deal. Shares of IGT and Everi surged, and the transaction, expected to complete by Q3 2025, aims to position the combined company better under private ownership. (Reuters)

*Apollo Global Management (APO)- Apollo Global Management is a global alternative investment management firm. It specializes in investing across various asset classes, including private equity, credit, and real assets.

Dexcom shares plummeted over 40% on Friday after reporting disappointing Q2 revenue and lowering its full-year guidance, attributed to a sales team restructuring and lower revenue per user. Analysts downgraded the stock, citing internal issues, while the company highlighted a significant impact from G7 rebates and DME channel underperformance. (CNBC)

*Dexcom (DXCM) - Dexcom specializes in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, primarily known for its innovative CGM devices that help individuals with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, personal consumer expenditures (PCE), showed a 0.1% increase in June, indicating mild price rises and suggesting the inflation crisis is easing. Consumer spending rose 0.3% in June, supported by income gains outpacing inflation, pointing to a still-robust economy. (Axios)

*Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) - Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) refer to the measure of the value of goods and services purchased by households. PCE is an important indicator of consumer spending and overall economic health, often used to assess inflation and guide monetary policy.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) filed a lawsuit against the NBA to retain broadcast and streaming rights for NBA games on its TNT and Max platforms. WBD claims their current agreement allows them to match third-party offers, which the NBA breached by rejecting their offer and partnering with Amazon, Disney, and NBCUniversal. (Quartz)

*Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - Warner Bros. Discovery is a global media and entertainment company that creates, produces, and distributes a wide range of content across multiple platforms.

A Few Companies Expected to Report Earnings This Week…

• McDonald’s (MCD) is expected to report today.

• Microsoft (MSFT), Proctor & Gamble (PG), AMD (AMD), and Pfizer (PFE) are expected to report on Tuesday.

• Meta Platforms (META), Mastercard (MA), T-Mobile (TMUS), and Arm Holdings (ARM) are expected to report on Wednesday.

• Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Toyota (TM), and Shell (SHEL) are expected to report on Thursday.

• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and Chevron (CVX) are expected to report on Friday.

*Amazon (AMZN) - Amazon is a multinational technology and e-commerce company based in the United States, known for its vast online retail platform, cloud computing services through Amazon Web Services (AWS), digital streaming services, and artificial intelligence innovations.

*AMD (AMD) - AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) is a semiconductor company, primarily known for its development and manufacturing of computer processors and related technologies.

*Apple (AAPL) - Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company known for its innovative products and services (iPhone, iPad, Mac Computers, etc.).

*Arm Holdings (ARM) - Arm Holdings is a semiconductor and software design company, primarily known for its design of ARM architecture, a family of reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architectures for computer processors.

*Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The company is known for its control and leadership by Warren Buffett, one of the most famous investors in the world.

*Chevron (CVX) - Chevron is an integrated energy company, primarily known for its exploration, production, and refining of oil and natural gas.

*Exxon Mobil (XOM) - Exxon Mobil is a multinational energy corporation, primarily known for its operations in the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of oil and natural gas.

*Mastercard (MA) - Mastercard is a global financial services company, primarily known for its payment processing network. The company facilitates electronic payments and transactions for consumers, businesses, and financial institutions.

*McDonald’s (MCD) - McDonald's operates a global chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily known for its hamburgers, fries, and beverages. 

*Meta Platforms (META) - Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., is a multinational technology conglomerate that operates a variety of social media platforms and technology products.

*Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a wide range of software products, hardware devices, and related services.

*Pfizer (PFE) - Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of healthcare products, including prescription medicines, vaccines, and over-the-counter treatments, with a focus on advancing health through innovative therapies and solutions.

*Proctor & Gamble (PG) - Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a multinational consumer goods company, primarily known for its wide range of branded products in various categories.

*Shell (SHEL) - Shell is a global energy company, primarily known for its operations in the oil and natural gas sectors.

*T-Mobile (TMUS) - T-Mobile is a leading telecommunications company, primarily known for its comprehensive mobile network services. It offers a wide range of wireless voice, messaging, and data services to individual consumers, families, and businesses.

*Toyota (TM) - Toyota Motor Corporation is a multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Japan. It is one of the largest automakers in the world.

Here’s how the major indexes did on Friday:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,589.34 +654.27 (+1.64%)

• S&P 500: 5,459.10 +59.88 (+1.11%)

• Nasdaq Composite: 17,357.88 +176.16 (+1.03%)

• Russell 2000: 2,260.07 +37.09 (+1.67%)

• CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 16.39 -2.07 (-11.21%)

Here’s how leading market ETFs did on Friday:

• SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY): 544.44 +6.03 (+1.12%)

• iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): 547.39 +6.05 (+1.12%)

• Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): 462.97 +4.70 (+1.03%)

• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): 500.33 +5.55 (+1.12%)

• Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): 269.69 +3.19 (+1.20%)

Here’s how the The Magnificent Seven did on Friday:

• Apple (AAPL) [3.342T]: 217.96 +0.47 (+0.22%)

• Microsoft (MSFT) [3.161T]: 425.27 +6.87 (+1.64%)

• Nvidia (NVDA) [2.786T]: 113.06 +0.78 (+0.69%)

• Alphabet (GOOG) [2.076T]: 168.68 -0.48 (-0.28%)

• Amazon (AMZN) [1.899T]: 182.50 +2.65 (+1.47%)

• Meta Platforms (META) [1.181T]: 465.70 +12.29 (+2.71%)

• Tesla (TSLA) [701B]: 219.80 -0.45 (-0.20%)

Here’s how the major cryptocurrencies did yesterday:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $69,793.78 (11:30PM PST on 7/28/24)

• Ethereum (ETH): $3,378.64 (11:30PM PST on 7/28/24)

• Solano (SOL): $193.25 (11:30PM PST on 7/28/24)