Coffee With Greta: Stocks Slip As Retail Sales Surge
DJIA Futures: -100 (-0.3%)
SPX Futures: -13 (0.3%)
NASDAQ Futures: -23 (-0.2%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are falling after the release of more hotter-than-expected economic data.
Let’s get right to it!
January Retail Sales Smash Expectations
Retail sales were stronger than expected at the start of 2023 as consumers remain resilient despite inflation.
The Commerce Department reported retail sales jumped 3% in January to $697 billion.
That was sharply higher than expectations for a 1.9% increase and was the largest monthly increase since March 2021.
Excluding autos, retail sales rose 2.3% vs 0.9% expected.
Restaurants and bars saw the largest increase in spending, up 7.2% monthly and 25.2% year over year.
Sales at auto dealers jumped 6.4% monthly and 2.5% annually.
The data is not adjusted for inflation and the increase is partly due to consumers paying higher prices.
The report supports the Fed’s plan to continue raising rates to lower inflation and slow consumer spending.
Roblox Rallies On Q4 Earnings Beat
Roblox (RBLX) shares are surging 17.7% ahead of the open after beating Q4 expectations.
Here’s how the video game company’s results compared to analysts’ expectations:
- Adjusted loss per share: $0.48 vs $0.50 expected
- Bookings: $899.4 billion vs $871.2 billion
The CFO said, “Bookings accelerated meaningfully in December and January, with year over year growth exceeding 20% in both months. Growth was strong across all geographies and age groups with particular strength among users above 17 years old.”
Roblox said that growth has continued in the new year with January’s estimated bookings between $267 million and $271 million, up 22% to 24% from a year ago.
Average daily users in January were 65 million vs 61.5 million in December.
Airbnb Reports First Profitable Year
Airbnb (ABNB) shares are rallying 9% in premarket trade after reporting record Q4 results and strong guidance.
Here’s how the company’s results compared to analysts’ estimates:
- EPS: $0.48 vs $0.26 expected
- Revenue: $1.9 billion vs $1.86 billion expected
- Adjusted ebitda: $506 million vs $434 million expected
For the full year, Airbnb reported a profit of $1.89 billion on $8.4 billion in revenue.
That topped analysts’ expectations for $1.74 billion in profit on $8.36 billion in revenue.
In a letter to shareholders, the company said, “All regions saw material growth in 2022 as guests increasingly crossed borders and returned to cities on Airbnb.”
Airbnb forecast Q1 revenue between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion vs $1.68 billion expected.
Mortgage Demand Drops
Mortgage demand dropped last week as rates jumped higher.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume fell 7.7% last week.
That came as the average 30-year fixed contract rate rose to 6.39% from 6.18%.
Refinance applications tumbled 13% weekly and 76% year over year.
Purchase applications were down 6% weekly and 43% annually.
Homebuilder Sentiment Expected To Improve
The National Association of Homebuilders releases its sentiment index for February at 10:00 a.m. ET.
That survey is expected to rise to 37 from 35 in January.
Although that would still represent negative sentiment among builders, it would be the second straight monthly increase and 12 consecutive months of decline.
In Case You Missed It
- Ford (F) shares slipped 0.9% on Tuesday after the company halted production and shipments of the F150 Lightning. The automaker said that pause was due to a potential battery issue found during pre-delivery quality inspections. A Ford spokeswoman said, “The team is diligently working on the root cause analysis” and the company is “doing the right thing by our customers”.