Coffee With Greta: Soft Inflation
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DJIA Futures: +93 (+0.3%)
SPX Futures: +13 (+0.3%)
NASDAQ Futures: +94 (+0.6%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are higher after a soft July inflation report.
Let’s get right to it!
Cooling CPI
Inflation pressures came in cooler than expected in July.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index rose 0.2% monthly and 3.2% year over year.
That was better than expectations for a 3.3% annual gain but a tick up from 3% in June.
Food and shelter prices contributed the most to that gain.
Grocery prices rose 3.6% annually, restaurant prices jumped 7.1%, and shelter prices were up 7.7%.
Gas prices were down 19.9% from a year ago with oil prices down 26.5%.
The core CPI rose 0.2% monthly and 4.7% annually.
That was better than expectations for 4.8% annually and marked the slowest annual increase since October 2021.
Weekly Jobless Claims Rise
Weekly jobless claims jumped more than expected last week.
The Labor Department reported 248,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits.
That was up by 21,000 from the previous week and higher than 230,000 expected.
That was the highest level since the week ending July 1.
Continuing claims fell by 8,000 to 1.64 million in the week ending July 29.
Disney Profits Beat
Walt Disney (DIS) shares are up 1.8% ahead of the open after reporting mixed fiscal Q3 results.
Here’s how the entertainment giant’s results compared to analysts’ estimates:
- Adjusted EPS: $1.03 vs $0.95 expected
- Revenue: $22.33 billion vs $22.5 billion expected
- Disney+ subscriptions: 146.1 million vs 151.1 million expected
Revenue was up 4% year over year but Disney+ subscribers dropped 7.4% from the previous quarter.
Due to those struggles in the streaming business, Disney announced it will raise the price on its ad-free Disney+ tier in October and crackdown on password sharing.
The parks, experiences, and products division was a bright spot for the company as revenue jumped 13% year over year to $8.3 billion.
CEO Bob Iger said, “Moving forward, I believe three businesses will drive the greatest growth and value creation over the next five years. They are our film studios, our parks business and streaming, all of which are inextricably linked to our brands and franchises.”
Alibaba Beats Expectations
Alibaba (BABA) shares are up 3.6% in premarket trade after beating quarterly expectations on the top and bottom line.
Here’s how the Chinese e-commerce giant’s results compared to analysts’ estimates:
- Net income: 34.33 billion yuan vs 28.66 billion yuan expected
- Revenue: 234.16 billion yuan vs 224.92 billion yuan expected
Revenue in Alibaba’s main business jumped 12% year over year.
International commerce retail revenue surged 60% from a year ago as Alibaba makes efforts to expand overseas.
The cloud business – which Alibaba has previously said it plans to publicly list – saw revenue growth of 4%.
The CEO said, “Alibaba delivered a solid quarter as we continue to execute our Reorganization, which is beginning to unleash new energy across our businesses.”