Coffee With Greta: April Job Growth Comes In Hot
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DJIA Futures: -15 (-0.1%)
SPX Futures: -3 (-0.1%)
NASDAQ Futures: -13 (-0.1)
Good morning friends!
Futures are slightly lower after plunging on Thursday, with the Dow and the Nasdaq logging their worst days since 2020.
Let’s get right to it!
Mixed April Jobs Report
April job growth came in hotter than expected but other metrics in the report were weak.
The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 428,000 jobs last month, beating economists’ expectations for a gain of 400,000.
The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6% vs expectations for that to fall to 3.5%.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% monthly, below expectations for 0.4%.
Wages rose 5.5% year over year, lagging far behind inflation.
The labor force participation rate fell by 0.2% to 62.2%, tied for the lowest level of the year and still far below pre-pandemic levels.
Supply Worries Boost Oil Prices
Oil prices are still rising on fresh supply concerns.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 1.6% to $110 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 1.8% to $113 bbl.
EU sources say the bloc is tweaking its sanctions plan against Russia to get three reluctant countries on board.
The sanctions package would phase out all Russian oil imports by the end of this year.
Crypto Tumbles
The crypto market is extending Thursday’s losses this morning.
Bitcoin dropped below $36,000 earlier in the day but is now down about 8% in the past 24 hours at $36,300.
Ethereum is down 7.3% at $2,700, XRP is off 4.8% at $0.61, and Dogecoin is down 4.6% at $0.13.
Some experts see Bitcoin moving lower in the days ahead, saying it lost a key level when it fell below $37,500.
DraftKings Earnings
DraftKings (DKNG) shares are up 5.6% ahead of the open after the company hiked its full-year guidance.
The online sports betting company reported and adjusted Q1 loss of $0.74 per share on $417 million in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for a loss of $1.09 per share on $412 million in revenue.
DraftKings forecast full-year revenue between $1.93 billion and $2.03 billion, up from previous guidance for $1.85 billion to $2 billion.
The CEO said, “DraftKings delivered significant growth across our key revenue and performance metrics. We are not seeing any impact from inflationary pressures on customer demand.”
DoorDash Orders Hit Record High
DoorDash (DASH) shares are up 3.6% in premarket trade after reporting record-high orders in the first quarter.
The food delivery service reported a loss of $0.48 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion.
That was steeper than analysts’ expectations for a $0.41 per share loss but better than estimates for $1.38 billion in revenue.
Revenue rose 35% year-over-year as the total number of orders jumped 24% to 404 million.
That’s the first time orders have topped 400 million.
DoorDash forecast Q2 adjusted EBITDA of up to $100 million, up from $54 million in Q1.
In a letter to investors, the company said it now holds 57% of the food delivery market in the U.S.
DoorDash now plans to invest in other categories like grocery, alcohol, and retail deliveries.
Sweetgreen Revenue Surges
Sweetgreen (SG) shares are up 4.2% ahead of the open after reporting strong Q1 sales.
The salad chain reported a loss of $0.45 per share on $102.6 million in revenue.
That compared to analysts’ expectations for a $0.41 loss per share on $101.5 million in revenue.
Sales jumped 67% year-over-year.
Same-store sales rose 35% in Q1 as more customers visited the chain and Sweetgreen raised its prices.
Prices were up 10% compared to Q1 2021.
Sweetgreen reiterated its 2022 forecast for revenue between $515 million and $535 million and same-store sales growth between 20% to 26%.
The company plans to open 35 new locations this year.
Virgin Galactic Tumbles After Postponing Commercial Flight
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares are falling 5.9% in premarket trade after postponing its first commercial space flight.
The company reported a loss of $0.36 per share in Q1.
Although that was down from the $0.55 per share loss a year ago, it was higher than analysts’ expectations for a $0.32 loss.
But Virgin Galactic’s $319,000 in revenue topped estimates for $100,000.
The company pushed its first commercial space flight to Q1 2023 citing “escalating supply chain and labor constraints”.
Virgin Galactic previously announced plans to have its first 1,000 customers on board flights to space later this year.
Block Shakes Off Q1 Earnings Miss
Block (SQ) shares are up 5.3% ahead of the open despite missing Q1 expectations.
The Square parent company reported adjusted earnings of $0.18 per share on $3.96 billion in revenue.
That missed analysts’ expectations for adjusted EPS of $0.20 per share on $4.14 billion in revenue
Block generated overall gross profit of $1.29 billion.
That was up from $964 million a year ago but shy of analysts’ estimates for $1.3 billion.
The market pays closer attention to that number than revenue as the revenue line is swayed by high-cost initiatives like Bitcoin trading.
Block brought in $1.73 billion in Bitcoin revenue in Q1 but Bitcoin-related costs totaled $1.69 billion.
Gross profit from its Cash App mobile wallet jumped 26% year over year while Square’s gross profit surged 41%.
Block’s CFO said they have seen the “platform is resilient” through times of uncertainty like the pandemic and the current inflationary environment.
Lucid Beats Q1 Expectations
Lucid (LCID) shares are up 0.4% in premarket trade after reporting a narrow than expected Q1 loss.
The electric automaker reported a loss of $0.05 per share on $58 million in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for a loss of $0.31 per share on $56 million in revenue.
Lucid delivered 360 vehicles in Q1 and said it has more than 30,000 reservations for its flagship Air sedan.
The company announced it is raising prices as costs continue to soar.
Lucid will honor current pricing for existing reservations and those made through the end of May.
But starting June 1, pricing on the Air models will rise 10% to 12%.
Those prices will range from $87,400 to $179,000 depending on the trim level.
Lucid maintained its full-year production target for 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles in 2022.
Zillow Falls on Weak Outlook
Zillow Group (Z) shares are tumbling 12.4% ahead of the open as the company’s weak outlook overshadows a Q1 earnings beat.
The real-estate giant reported adjusted earnings of $0.49 per share on $4.26 billion in revenue.
That topped analysts’ expectations for adjusted EPS of $0.24 on $3.36 billion in revenue.
Zillow continued to wind down its property investment business in the quarter, selling 8,981 homes in the first quarter.
The company stopped purchasing homes on January 31.
But the Q2 forecast came in weak amid uncertainty about the real estate market.
Zillow expects revenue between $903 million and $1.03 billion this quarter vs analysts’ estimates of $1.83 billion.
In Case You Missed It
- E-commerce stocks plummeted Thursday as consumers head back to stores. Wayfair (W) shares closed 25.7% lower after hitting a fresh 52-week low earlier in the session. Etsy (ETSY) plunged 16.8%, eBay (EBAY) dropped 11.7%, and Shopify (SHOP) tumbled 14.9% on weak guidance. The drag also hit Amazon (AMZN), which closed down 7.6%.
- Tesla (TSLA) shares tumbled 8.3% Thursday on reports Elon Musk plans to serve as Twitter’s temporary CEO after buying the company. Citing unnamed sources, CNBC reported Musk plans to hold that position “for a few months”. Tesla’s stock has been volatile since Twitter accepted Musk’s buyout offer as shareholders worry it will distract from his duties at the automaker.