We’re only two days into the week and it already feels like it should be the weekend.
In the past two days, Meta (META) announced it would raise $95 billion to support its AI development through stock offerings, and Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) released a 407-page IPO prospectus that you haven’t read in its entirety. (Neither does Wall Street, so don’t lose sleep over it.)
What this activity misses is that earnings season is in full swing, with results from Coca-Cola (KO), Hilton (HLT), UPS (UPS), Whirlpool (WHR) and others today.
As investors get excited about AI and the return of some stability to the tech sector, don’t lose sight of earnings season: after all, it’s earnings and earnings expectations that drive stocks, not Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (even if his comments have moved markets in the past).
So here are some quick overviews of a few income reports I looked through this morning:
Reading the consumer journey
I have no problem with Hilton this quarter, even if the stock suffers a slight earnings miss. With strong revenue per available room increasing 5.8%, the company remains an aggressive buyer of its inventory and approved the development of 30,500 rooms during the quarter.
The report lines up well with the Delta (DAL) report we received last week, in that rising fuel prices don’t appear to be slowing down business or leisure travelers.
I think it also lines up well with UPS’s numbers today, with U.S. sales up 4.5% and an increase in its full-year guidance.
Big food fights
Coca-Cola’s latest upward forecast revision reinforces the view that the company continues to take massive market share from rival PepsiCo (PEP). Sales of Coke Zero jumped 16%.
It’s not a good day for the PepsiCo team in Purchase, NY
Weak real estate market hurts appliance sales
I continue to be absolutely shocked by what is happening at Whirlpool (WHR). Another supersoft quarter, with an adjusted loss of $0.21 per share. Costs are rising and activity is affected by an almost frozen American real estate market.
It takes nerves of steel to buy Whirlpool stock here — the stock is down more than 63% this year. If so, the thesis must be that the iconic company will be acquired at some point in the next 12 months.
Follow Brian Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, InstagramAnd LinkedIn. Any advice on stories? Email him at brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
Gn bussni
