📈 Walmart Wows Wall Street

Advertise with us | Our Newsletters | Your Rewards

Happy Friday!

Walmart has stunned Wall Street with a killer first-quarter performance, driven by a surprising influx of wealthy shoppers. Meanwhile, Congress is taking on the SEC in a heated battle over crypto regulations. And Wisconsin's state pension fund is making headlines with a massive Bitcoin investment.

Grab your coffee and let's get into it! ☕️👇️

Markets

🤖 Reddit Stock Pops 11% on OpenAI partnership

🎬️ Hedge Funds Plan A Quick Exit Amid Meme Stock Frenzy

⛏️ 'Big Short' Investor Michael Burry Bets Heavy On Gold

📈 Dow vaults above 40,000, setting new record

🇨🇳 China’s Stealth Rally

Missed out on Ring and Nest? Don’t let RYSE slip away!

Ring 一 Acquired by Amazon for $1.2B

Nest 一 Acquired by Google for $3.2B

If you missed out on these spectacular early investments in the Smart Home space, here’s your chance to grab hold of the next one.

RYSE is a tech firm poised to dominate the Smart Shades market (growing at an astonishing 55% annually), and their public offering of shares priced at just $1.50 has opened. 

They have generated over 20X growth in share price for early shareholders, with significant upside remaining as they just launched in over 100 Best Buy stores.

Retail distribution was the main driver behind the acquisitions of both Ring and Nest, and their exclusive deal with Best Buy puts them in pole position to dominate this burgeoning industry.

Secure your stake before the offer closes.

From our partners

BUSINESS

Walmart Wows Wall Street

Walmart's first-quarter earnings report was a shocker, even for the retail giant itself. The company reported a 6% revenue growth and a 3.8% rise in U.S. comparable sales. What's impressive is that these figures weren't driven by inflation, but by increased customer activity. Here’s the lowdown:

• Revenue Growth: Up 6% year-over-year, beating expectations.

• U.S. Comparable Sales: Increased by 3.8%.

• Customer Behavior: Shoppers are buying more frequently and in larger quantities.

• Market Reaction: Walmart's stock jumped 7%, hitting a new high.

According to CEO Doug McMillon, "These are not inflation-driven results." Customers are finding value and convenience at Walmart, leading to more frequent and larger purchases. The company's own guidance was blown out of the water by this stellar performance.

Wealthy Shoppers Make Their Move

A significant part of Walmart’s success can be attributed to a new demographic: wealthier customers. Typically associated with value shopping, Walmart has managed to attract higher-income shoppers, which has further boosted its sales figures.

• High-Income Shoppers: Households earning $100,000 or more contributed significantly to sales.

• Transaction Trends: The number of transactions increased even as the average bill stayed flat.

• E-commerce Boom: Online sales surged by 22%, largely driven by these wealthier customers.

John David Rainey, Walmart's CFO, remarked, “We’ve historically been thought of for value, but now it’s value, quality, and convenience.” This shift in perception has helped Walmart weather inflation challenges better than its rivals.

Outlook and Market Impact

Following these impressive results, Walmart has raised its full-year forecast. The broader market also responded positively, with U.S. stocks extending gains on the back of Walmart’s performance and favorable inflation data.

CRYPTO

Crypto Clash: Congress vs. SEC

The U.S. Congress has taken a firm stand against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with a resolution condemning a new rule on cryptocurrency accounting. Both the House and Senate have passed legislation aimed at striking down SEC’s staff accounting bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which imposes hefty costs on financial institutions involved in crypto custody.

• Senate Vote: The resolution passed with a 60-38 vote.

• House Passage: The House had already approved the resolution earlier.

• Potential Veto: The White House has signaled a likely veto.

Why it matters: The crypto industry, initially battling SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in courts, has successfully lobbied Congress to intervene. This legislative push represents a significant shift in the ongoing tug-of-war between the crypto sector and regulatory bodies.

SEC’s Mixed Fortunes

The SEC’s confidence has been buoyed by procedural victories against major players like Coinbase and Terraform Labs. However, it has also faced notable setbacks, including losses concerning the classification of XRP and the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Wisconsin Makes a Bold Crypto Move

In a surprising move, Wisconsin’s state pension fund, managed by the Wisconsin Investment Board, invested $163 million in Bitcoin during the first quarter. This makes Wisconsin one of the pioneering state pension funds to venture into the crypto market.

• Investment Size: $163 million in Bitcoin.

• Pension Fund Value: Wisconsin’s pension fund is worth over $150 billion.

• Public Stocks: The fund holds approximately $38 billion in public stocks as of March 31.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, emphasized the significance of this move: “Expect more, as institutions tend to move in herds.” This investment could signal a broader institutional shift toward cryptocurrencies, potentially paving the way for more state funds to follow suit.

Bitcoin’s Market Momentum

Bitcoin has been on a bullish run, with prices climbing to around $66,200, marking a 6% increase over the past few days. This surge follows a strong performance on Wednesday when BTC jumped over 7.5% after U.S. inflation data suggested potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

• Current Price: $66,200, up 6% in the last 24 hours.

• Recent Performance: 7.5% increase on Wednesday.

• Market Sensitivity: BTC, like other risk assets, reacts to expected changes in monetary policy.

With the Federal Reserve likely to cut interest rates, Bitcoin and other risk assets are poised for further gains. The crypto market’s are very responsive to macroeconomic indicators.

Our Recommendations:

💻️ MEXC - Where we find and trade Crypto with low fees.
📈 TradingView - Software we use to chart stocks.
🔐 Trezor - Our favorite hardware wallet to keep our Crypto secure.
🦑 Kraken - Where we buy crypto with cash / withdraw profit to our bank.

Your thoughts

Last Editions Results

Have you ever considered buying a Meme stock?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ No

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed, tell your friends!

P.S: If you're interested in crypto and web3 - check out our new newsletter, The Crypto Journal!

Share The Investing Journal with your friends to receive rewards!