Image Source:  Indices at All-Time Highs, Odds of Stock Market Crash Increasing Key stock indices currently sit at or near their record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is near the 40,000-point level. The S&P 500 looks like it can’t be stopped. The Nasdaq Composite Index has been soaring.However, don’t get complacent: the odds of a stock market crash could be increasing.At the moment, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (), often referred to as the “fear index,” says investors are anything but fearful.The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Investor Sentiment Survey, a weekly survey that asks investors about their take on the stock market, says the number of bullish investors has been growing.The National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) Exposure Index says active investment managers don’t see much risk in owning stocks, and that a stock market crash may not be a scenario in their playbook. Utilities Stocks Say Investors Preparing for Stock Market Crash? Here’s the thing: while all this happens, some factions of the financial world suggest that a stock market crash could be coming—and that some investors could be bracing for impact.For some perspective, take a look at the chart below. It plots the performance of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: ), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds utilities stocks, and compares it to the performance of the S&P 500.Chart courtesy of Notice something interesting here?Utilities stocks have been flying. In fact, year-to-date, utilities stocks have been beating the S&P 500 by a […]

Continued growth ():Figure 1: GDP (bold black), May SPF median (light blue), GDPNow of 5/16 (blue square), New York Fed nowcast of 5/10 (green triangle), St. Louis Fed nowcast of 5/10 (tan square), all in bn.Ch.2017$, SAAR. Source: BEA 2024Q1 advance, , Atlanta Fed, NY Fed, St. Louis Fed, and author’s calculations. Unlike the Nov ’23 and Feb ’24 trajectories, the gap between the Feb ’24 and May ’24 is trivial.Figure 2: GDP (bold black), May SPF median (light blue), February (tan), November 2023 (light green), all in bn.Ch.2017$, SAAR. Source: BEA 2024Q1 advance, ,and author’s calculations.Import Prices SurpriseBusiness Cycle Indicators Mid-MayThe Trend Break In CPI

Stocks are fairly , with all three major benchmarks near breakeven after yesterday’s intraday record highs, but now in positive territory for the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average () is on track for its fifth-straight positive week, while the S&P 500 Index () and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) eye their fourth consecutive weekly gains. Meanwhile, the leading economic index dropped 0.6% in April, which is wider than analysts’ anticipated 0.3% fall. This points to headwinds ahead, according to the Conference Board. Still, bond yields are holding steady despite the troubling data.  Options traders are targeting  Applied Materials Inc (Nasdaq: ), following the company’s strong fiscal second-quarter results, but disappointing fiscal third-quarter revenue forecast, after which 10 analysts raised their price objectives. So far, 38,000 calls and 28,000 puts have been exchanged, which is five times the options volume typically seen at this point. The May 215 put is the most popular contract, where new positions are being opened. In a volatile day of trading, AMAT earlier jumped to a record high of $219.36 but is now down 0.2% at $213.69.  Doximity Inc (NYSE: ) stock is up 18.3% at $28.07 at last glance, after the company’s better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. A few analysts chimed in with modest price-target adjustments, while Needham reaffirmed its “hold” rating. Before today’s pop, the security had been on a downtrend since mid-February. DOCS is down 16.1% in the last 12 months.Meanwhile, the shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (Nasdaq: ) are hitting 12-year lows after the company […]

Photo Credit:  from  Earlier this month, Apple (Nasdaq: ) announced its second-quarter results that outpaced market expectations. The market was impressed with the $110 billion buyback announcement, and its stock price increased 7% in the after-hours trading session. Apple’s Financials Apple’s second-quarter revenues fell 4% to $90.75 billion, ahead of the market’s forecast of $90.4 billion. EPS of $1.53 was ahead of the Street’s forecast of $1.51.By segment, iPhone revenues fell 10% to $45.96 billion compared with the Street’s forecast of $46 billion. Mac revenues grew 4% to $7.5 billion, significantly ahead of the estimate of $6.86 billion. iPad revenues fell 17% to $5.6 billion and were short of the market’s forecast of $5.91 billion.Apple finally unveiled its latest iPad earlier this week. Other product revenues fell 10% to $7.9 billion compared with the analyst estimates of $8.1 billion. Services revenues grew 14% to $23.9 billion were higher than the market’s expected $23.27 billion for the quarter.Apple did not provide an outlook for the third quarter but mentioned that it is now looking at a growth of “low single digits” for the period. The market estimated revenues of $95.32 billion and an EPS of $1.59. Apple’s AI Measures With Google and Microsoft upping the ante on AI investments, the market has been watching for Apple’s take on the high-growth technology. Apple’s recently unveiled products include new iPads, the new M4 chip, and several new inclusions of AI capabilities and upgrades to its accessories.The redesigned 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air are now […]

Image Source:  To date, we’ve done pretty well with e-commerce stocks here at GreenDot Stocks.One of our first picks, Mercadolibre (), is up 92% in a year and a half, trouncing the S&P 500 by 57%.Recent pick Coupang () has also done quite well, appreciating 60% in just 3 months, 53% better than the market at large.So it gives me some measure of excitement to look at another stock in the mold of these two big winners. Just recently appearing in the , we have Sea Limited (). Can this one live up to the lofty success we’ve seen with our previous two? Let’s take a closer look. Sea’s Unlimited Business Comparing Sea Limited to Mercadolibre or Coupang is pretty straightforward, as all 3 are giant online marketplaces in their respective geographies. For Mercadolibre, that’s Latin America. For Coupang, it’s South Korea. And for Sea Limited, we’re looking at Southeast Asia.The company’s marketplace is known as Shopee, and it is the largest in the region by a wide margin. 73% of the company’s revenue at large comes from its e-commerce arm. That revenue can be broken up further into 2 parts. 70% of e-commerce sales come from the typical transaction fees on completed sales, as well as advertising fees to promote listings. The remaining 30% come from logistics and shipping services under the firm’s SPX Express offering.Like both Mercadolibre and Coupang, there is more to Sea Limited than just a marketplace. The company also offers financial services, primarily a digital wallet and “buy now pay […]

Image courtesy of  Nvidia (Nasdaq: ), the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software, will release its fiscal first-quarter 2025 earnings report  on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Analysts and investors alike are eagerly awaiting the results. The company has consistently outperformed expectations in recent quarters, largely driven by the surging demand for AI-related products and services. Nvidia Expected to Bring in $24.65 Billion in Revenue for Q1 FY25 Wall Street analysts project Nvidia’s revenue to reach a staggering $24.65 billion for Q1 FY2025, a significant increase from $7.19 billion in the same quarter last year. The company’s net income is expected to soar to $12.87 billion, up from $2.04 billion a year ago, while earnings per share () are anticipated to be $5.17, a sharp increase from $0.82 in the year-ago period.Nvidia has a track record of beating earnings expectations, having done so consistently in the past four quarters. The company’s data center segment has shown rapid growth, reaching a record high of $18.4 billion in Q4 FY2024, driven by the increasing demand for . Key Highlights and Investor Focus Investors will be closely watching the performance of the data center segment, which is projected to achieve $21 billion in sales for Q1 FY2025. Updates on the highly anticipated , Nvidia’s next-generation AI computing architecture, are also expected during the earnings call.Market participants will be keen to gain insights into future performance expectations, particularly regarding the continued demand for AI-capable chips and overall market conditions. They will also focus on any […]