Business and Finance News - 6.28.24

Amazon Launches Budget Storefront to Compete with Temu and Shein, Offering Low-Cost Unbranded Items with Direct Shipping from China

• Amazon plans a budget storefront featuring low-cost apparel, home goods, and other items.

• The storefront will compete directly with Temu and Shein in the U.S. market.

• Amazon aims to start accepting products for the storefront this fall.

• The storefront will allow Chinese sellers to ship directly to U.S. consumers.

• Items will be unbranded and many priced under $20.

• Delivery goal is nine to eleven days from China to the U.S.

• Amazon will enable cost savings for Chinese sellers through small-batch production.

*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.

Levi Strauss Misses Sales Expectations Amid Cautious Spending, Expands Direct Sales Channels

• Levi Strauss narrowly missed Wall Street’s sales expectations despite rising denim popularity.

• Consumers are cautious and not spending much on discretionary items, warns Levi's CFO.

• Levi's is reducing reliance on department stores by expanding its website and stores.

• Levi's posted better-than-expected earnings due to direct sales and cost cutting.

• Levi's shares fell about 15% in extended trading despite strong earnings.

• Direct-to-consumer sales jumped 8%, representing 47% of overall sales.

• Levi's raised its dividend by 8% to 13 cents per share, first increase in six quarters.

*Levi Strauss (LEVI) - Levi's, short for Levi Strauss & Co., is an American clothing company that designs, markets, and sells a range of apparel and accessories, known primarily for its iconic denim jeans.

Micron Shares Fall 7% Despite Strong Quarterly Results and AI-Driven Stock Surge

• Micron shares fell 7% despite better-than-expected quarterly results.

• Revenue guidance met estimates, not surpassing them.

• Micron's stock value doubled over the past year due to the AI boom.

• Earnings per share were 62 cents adjusted versus 51 cents expected.

• Revenue was $6.81 billion, exceeding the $6.67 billion expected.

• Micron expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 on $7.6 billion revenue next quarter.

• High bandwidth memory for AI chips is sold out through 2025.

*Micron (MU) - Micron Technology, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that specializes in the design and production of semiconductor devices, primarily memory and storage products.

OpenAI and Time Announce Multi-Year Content Deal for AI Training

• OpenAI and Time announced a multi-year content deal for access to Time's articles.

• OpenAI will use Time's content to enhance its products and train AI models.

• Time’s content will be displayed in ChatGPT with citations and links to the original source.

• Time will use OpenAI’s technology to develop new products for its audiences.

• A similar partnership with News Corp. gives OpenAI access to articles from several outlets.

• OpenAI faces lawsuits over alleged copyright infringement in its AI model training.

• The New York Times and prominent authors have filed suits against OpenAI for copyright violations.

*OpenAI - OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organization and company with a mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. 

*Time Magazine - Time Magazine is a prominent American news magazine and website that provides in-depth reporting and analysis on a wide range of topics.

Walgreens Misses Q3 Earnings, Slashes Profit Outlook; Shares Drop 20% Despite Beating Revenue Estimates

• Walgreens reported fiscal Q3 earnings below expectations and slashed full-year profit outlook.

• The company exceeded revenue estimates due to strong performance in its health-care segment.

• Walgreens shares dropped over 20% following the earnings report.

• Fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings forecast revised to $2.80-$2.95 per share, down from $3.20-$3.35.

• Revenue for the quarter was $36.4 billion, surpassing the $35.94 billion expected.

• U.S. health-care unit sales rose 7.6%, reaching $2.13 billion.

• Walgreens plans to close underperforming stores and simplify its U.S. health-care portfolio.

*Walgreens (WBA) - Walgreens, officially known as Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., is a major American pharmacy and retail corporation. 

Here’s how the markets closed yesterday:

• Dow Jones: 39,164.06 +36.26 (+0.09%)

• S&P 500: 5,482.87 +4.97 (+0.09%)

• Nasdaq: 17,858.68 +53.53 (+0.30%)

• Bitcoin (BTC): $61,599.58 (5:15PM PST on 6/27/24)

• Ethereum (ETH): $3,448.13 (5:15PM PST on 6/27/24)

Here’s how the THE SUPER SIX STOCKS did yesterday:

• Microsoft (3.366T): 452.85 +0.69 (+0.15%)

• Apple (3.283T): 214.10 +0.85 (+0.40%)

• Nvidia (3.055T): 123.99 -2.41 (-1.91%)

• Alphabet (2.309T): 186.86 +1.49 (+0.80%)

• Amazon (2.059T): 197.85 +4.24 (+2.19%)

• Meta Platforms (1.318T): 519.56 +6.44 (+1.26%)