Good Evening. U.S. equities increased on Friday to end a three-day winning run and bring the S&P 500’s best month since November 2020 to a close.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 1.88%, the blue-chip Dow lagged behind with a rise of only about 0.97%, and the S&P 500 rose by 1.42%.
SADLY ALL EARNINGS CAN'T LOOK GOOD
Roku’s shares (ROKU) plummeted on Friday, dropping as much as 22.82%. The second-quarter report from the pioneer of streaming video, which was much worse than anyone anticipated as macroeconomic factors weighed on its business, served as the trigger that sent the company into a spiral.
Revenue: $764 million vs $804 million expected
Earnings Per Share: ($0.82) vs ($0.69) expected
However, things might even get worse according to the management. Roku stated in its letter to shareholders that there had been a “significant slowdown in TV advertising spend due to the macro-economic environment,” and that the firm had also experienced a downturn in consumer discretionary spending in the previous quarter.
On the bright side, There will undoubtedly be obstacles for the firm, but Roku’s dominant position in the sector and its sizable installed base of viewers should protect it from serious harm, and as the economy improves, sales will pick up.
ANOTHER SHORTAGE
Hershey warned that there will be a scarcity of Halloween and Christmas candy due to ongoing supply chain pressures and high customer demand.
During the earnings call, Michele Buck, the chairman, and CEO of Hershey stated that “Seasonal consumer engagement is expected to remain high” and “we expect high single-digit sales growth for both our Halloween and Holiday seasons. However, Despite this strong growth, we will not be able to fully meet consumer demand due to capacity constraints.”
Why though? The absence of Reese’s pumpkins this year can be largely attributed to a paucity of raw ingredients and workers. The company had to make the difficult decision to prioritize creating its everyday sweets offers over festive confections, the CEO added, citing supply chains as being pressured by the Russia-Ukraine war and geopolitical tensions.
Although Buck highlighted that the deficit was anticipated to be temporary, she cautioned that the supply restriction would put pressure on the stock in the second part of the year. Hershey expects to have enough stock to satisfy consumer demand through 2023.