AAPL

Best Buy (BBY) faces high expectations for its first quarter results out on Thursday morning as key product launches like Apple’s (AAPL) MacBook Neo and higher tax refunds are expected to help sales. Wall Street expects same-store sales growth of 0.9%, following a 0.8% decline in the fourth quarter when consumers pulled back on holiday purchases. Best Buy forecast same-store sales growth of 1% for the quarter. Revenue is expected to grow about 1% to $8.8 billion in the first quarter, alongside earnings growth of 6% to $1.22 per share. This report will be the first since the company announced CEO Corie Barry will step down from the electronics retailer at the end of the third quarter. On Oct. 31, Barry will be succeeded by Jason Bonfig, who currently serves as Best Buy's chief customer, product, and fulfillment officer. Barry will stay on as a strategic adviser for six months when Bonfig takes the reins, and Bonfig will replace her on the board. Wall Street will be focused on the impact of new product launches — as well as higher-margin businesses, such as marketplace and advertising — as the K-shaped economy continues to divide Americans, with higher-income consumers remaining resilient while lower-income consumers struggle more with budget pressures. ”Apple's record March quarter and MacBook Neo demand point to solid contribution while Logitech delivered an encouraging read on peripherals [computer hardware devices], citing a resilient premium US consumer, solid tax refund lift and US gaming sales turning positive in February,” Wedbush analyst Matthew McCartney wrote in a note to clients. Read more: What is a 'K-shaped' economy, and what’s causing the divide? Investors will also have eyes on Best Buy’s forward guidance, with McCartney calling it the “larger variable.” In the fourth quarter, Best Buy CFO Matt Bilunas noted the “mixed macro environment” as the company set expectations for full-year revenue in the range of $41.2 billion to $42.1 billion, alongside same-store sales ranging from a 1% decline to growth of 1%. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $6.30 to $6.60 for the year. “We expect a conservative 2Q guide given lingering product shortages (including for Neo and Mac Mini), CEO transition, lapping last year’s Switch 2 launch,” McCartney said. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joe Feldman gave Bonfig a vote of confidence, sa...

In a release issued under the headline “PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC) Raises FY2026 Guidance to $68M–$75M Revenue and $7M–$10M Adjusted EBITDA*” on Wednesday, May 27th by PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC), please note that all references to Fiscal 2026 should have read Fiscal 2027. The corrected release follows: PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC) Raises FY2027 Guidance to $68M–$75M Revenue and $7M–$10M Adjusted EBITDA* • $7M warrant exercise converted to cash; all junior debt repaid; largest cash position in company history • PodcastOne in Podtrac’s Top Ten publisher rankings ahead of DailyWire+, Barstool and CNN • Expects to start monetizing this quarter 250K+ hours of video content through AI/LLM data licensing partnerships with hyperscalers • Expanding retailer and carrier partnerships alongside Amazon, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Paramount Global, Pluto TV, Telly, LG, Samsung and Vizio LOS ANGELES, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC), a leading podcast platform and publisher, today announced it has raised its fiscal year 2027 guidance to projected revenue of $68 million to $75 million and Adjusted EBITDA* of $7 million to $10 million, reflecting continued momentum across the Company’s advertising, platform expansion, AI monetization and strategic growth initiatives. “We believe PodcastOne is executing from a position of significant strength as we continue scaling our platform, monetization capabilities and strategic partnerships,” said Robert Ellin, Chairman of PodcastOne. “Raising our FY2027 guidance reflects growing confidence in our business model and long-term opportunities across advertising, AI licensing, B2B partnerships and M&A. With a strengthened balance sheet, expanding distribution ecosystem and growing premium content library, we believe PodcastOne is exceptionally well-positioned for sustained growth and long-term shareholder value creation.” About PodcastOnePodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC) is a leading podcast platform that provides creators and advertisers with a comprehensive 360-degree solution in sales, marketing, public relations, production, and distribution. PodcastOne has surpassed 3.9 billion total downloads with a community of 200 top podcasters, including Adam Carolla, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Jordan Harbinger, LadyGang, A&E's Cold Case Files, and Varnamtown. PodcastOne has built a distribution network reaching over 1 billion monthly impressio...

Earnings season is winding down, but we still have a couple of big name companies reporting. This week we have Dell Technologies (DELL), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Snowflake (SNOW), Salesforce (CRM) and Costco (COST) all reporting. Before a company reports earnings, implied volatility is usually high because the market is unsure about the outcome of the report. Speculators and hedgers create huge demand for the company’s options which increases the implied volatility, and therefore, the price of options. Micron Stock is Up over 133% From Its Lows - But Is MU Still Undervalued? Nvidia Hikes Its Dividend and Buybacks Based on Surging FCF - Is NVDA Too Cheap? Real Money Flows + Fed Pause + Seasonal Timing: The AUD Setup Traders Are Watching! Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. After the earnings announcement, implied volatility usually drops back down to normal levels. Let’s take a look at the expected range for these stocks. To calculate the expected range, look up the option chain and add together the price of the at-the-money put option and the at-the-money call option. Use the first expiry date after the earnings date. While this approach is not as accurate as a detailed calculation, it does serve as a reasonably accurate estimate. Monday Memorial Day Holiday Tuesday Nothing of note Wednesday MRVL – 13.5% SNOW – 13.5% PDD – 6.5% CRM – 8.7% SNPS – 8.5% Thursday DELL – 11.7% COST – 3.7% Friday Nothing of note Option traders can use these expected moves to structure trades. Bearish traders can look at selling bear call spreads outside the expected range. Bullish traders can sell bull put spreads outside the expected range, or look at naked puts for those with a higher risk tolerance. Neutral traders can look at iron condors. When trading iron condors over earnings, it is best to keep the short strikes outside the expected range. When trading options over earnings, it is best to stick to risk defined strategies and keep position size small. If the stock makes a larger than expected move and the trade suffers a full loss, it should not have more than a 1-3% effect on your portfolio. Stocks With High Implied Volatility We can use Barchart’s Stock Screener to find other stocks with high implied volatility. Let’s run the stock screener with the following filters: Total call v...

Best Buy (BBY) is expected to report in-line comparable sales for the first quarter and issue a cons

By Brian Lantier, CFA NYSE: RERE READ THE FULL RERE RESEARCH REPORT Before the market opened on May 19, ATRenew (NYSE: RERE) released its first-quarter results for 2026, highlighting that the diversification of its product lines, strong consumer branding, and access to premium products continue to drive growth, even as the broader domestic smartphone market in China has contracted. ATRenew continues to gain mindshare among consumers, and the company’s strong affiliation with Apple products helped drive demand in Q1. Total net product revenues at ATRenew jumped 34.4% from the same period of 2025 to RMB5.73 billion ($830 million) and were only down 1.7% sequentially from the seasonally strong fourth quarter of 2025. The strong performance of the iPhone 17 was likely the primary driver of this outperformance, but we noted that the company cited strength across all consumer electronics lines, so we think the demand for other Apple products, including MacBooks, may have temporarily boosted revenue in the quarter. Net product revenues for ATRenew exceeded our forecast by 4.5%, or RMB249 million, largely due to higher unit volume, and we believe higher average pricing, driven by a higher proportion of Apple products and higher pricing across all brands as a result of higher memory costs. After adjusting for non-cash share-based compensation expenses of RMB4.4 million in the quarter and small amortization of intangibles (RMB780 thousand), adjusted non-GAAP income was reported at RMB140.1 million or $20.3 million for the quarter or $0.08/ADS, which was about $2.3 million ahead of our forecast or a little over a $0.01/ADS. Model adjustments: We have adjusted our model to reflect the very strong Q1 results and the company’s guidance for Q2 revenues of between RMB6.24 billion and RMB6.34 billion. As a result of this updated guidance, our total revenue forecast for 2026 is now RMB26.4 billion (up from a previous estimate of RMB26.0 billion), representing roughly 25.5% topline growth. We are maintaining our 2027 revenue estimate of RMB31.1 billion, but we are monitoring the timing of Apple’s iPhone 18 launch. If Apple staggers the launch, we believe we may have to increase our Q3 revenue forecast, while decreasing our Q4 revenue forecast and pushing some of that revenue into 2027. Management has also provided further details on the company’s share of losses in equity meth...

The AI trade is splitting between stocks like Cisco, where investors have positioned aggressively on future earnings, versus Intel, where a potential Apple manufacturing deal could change the company’s long-term position in the semiconductor ecosystem. Cisco reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $15.35B with networking revenue rising 21% year over year and AI infrastructure orders reaching $2.1B. Intel jumped 15% intraday on reports of a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement with Apple, pushing the stock up 113% over the past month and nearly 500% in the past year. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Apple wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE. Friday’s CNBC Halftime Report on May 8 featured two very different AI market stories unfolding at the same time. One centered on growing optimism around Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) ahead of earnings, while the other exploded mid-segment as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) jumped double digits on reports of a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Options trader Oliver Rennick delivered a warning while discussing Cisco’s earnings setup: "Implied volatility in Cisco is the highest in more than a year. Paying up for these calls ahead of earnings is basically the options equivalent of accelerating into the turn." Call volume was running more than four times the put volume, while one of the biggest trades highlighted on air was a roughly $200,000 purchase of 95-strike calls betting on another move higher after earnings. Cisco reports earnings after the market's close on Wednesday, May 13. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Apple wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE. Part of the enthusiasm comes from genuinely strong fundamentals. Cisco posted Q2 FY2026 revenue of $15.35 billion, with networking revenue rising 21% year over year. AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers also reached $2.1 billion, reinforcing the company’s growing role in AI networking demand. But the discussion on CNBC focused less on the business itself and more on the expectations embedded in the stock. One longtime Cisco shareholder called into the show and admitted the rally was “making me a little queasy, not a lot, but a little,” while adding that he planned to hold through earnings in hopes of another breakout move. Investors increasingly agree that Cisco is benefit...

Berkshire Hathaway bought a sizable stake in Delta Air Lines in Greg Abel’s first quarter at the helm since succeeding Warren Buffett, returning to a stock the conglomerate previously invested in several years ago. Abel took over as CEO in January. In his first letter to shareholders in February, Abel made clear there are positions he considers “core,” such as Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Moody’s, and wrote that Berkshire would continue its “concentrated approach” to stock investing.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue and PPA Income: $132.9 million, a 28% sequential increase from Q4. Adjusted EBITDA: $36.6 million for the quarter. Adjusted Diluted EPS: $0.03 per share, compared to a loss of $0.12 per share in Q1 last year. NDPR Oxide Production: 917 metric tons, up 63% year-over-year and 28% sequentially. NDPR Oxide Sales: 1,006 metric tons, more than double prior-year levels and 79% higher than Q4. REO Production: Just under 13,000 metric tons, a 6% year-over-year increase. Material Segment Revenue and PPA Income: $114.5 million, approximately double last year's first quarter. Material Segment Adjusted EBITDA: $36.7 million. Magnetic Segment Revenue: $21.1 million. Magnetic Segment Adjusted EBITDA: $9.6 million. Apple Prepayments: Total of $72 million, with $32 million received in February. CapEx: $77.4 million for the quarter, with about 60% attributable to the magnetic segment. Cash and Short-term Investments: $1.7 billion at the end of the quarter. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with MP. Is MP fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: May 07, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. MP Materials Corp (NYSE:MP) achieved a record production of 917 metric tons of NDPR oxide, marking a 63% year-over-year increase. The company began initial shipments to a new US customer, significantly boosting NDPR oxide sales to 1,006 metric tons. MP Materials Corp (NYSE:MP) produced nearly 13,000 metric tons of REO, a 6% year-over-year increase, marking their highest first-quarter output. The company made meaningful progress on the heavy rare earth separation circuit, expected to begin commissioning in the second quarter. Strong sales volumes and improved market pricing led to $114.5 million in material segment revenue, approximately double the previous year's first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA declined modestly on a sequential basis, primarily due to the composition of PPA income in the prior quarter. The company expects a single-digit quarter-over-quarter decline in NDPR oxide production in Q2 due to maintenance outages. There is uncertainty regarding the eventual roll-off of precursor product deliveries, which may impact financials quarter-to-quarter. The ramp-up of the Independence facility is expected to take time, with mo...

This option trade on Nvidia offers a healthy annualized return and multiple ways to make it a success.

PayPal (PYPL) beat Q1 2026 earnings with $8.4B revenue (up 7% YoY) and $1.34 adjusted EPS, but guided Q2 EPS to decline 9% YoY, sending shares down 10% as forward metrics are weighted heavily by fintech investors. PayPal’s strategic review of a potential Venmo spin-off, combined with a three-segment restructuring, offers catalysts for re-rating, but forward earnings deceleration and mounting competitive pressure from fintech challengers suggest near-term stabilization is uncertain. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and PayPal wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE. PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares are tumbling roughly 10% in early trading Tuesday morning to about $45.50, after the company reported a Q1 2026 earnings beat alongside a soft Q2 outlook. The stock closed Monday at $50.39 before the report. The slide extends an already painful run. PYPL stock entered the earnings report down 13% year to date and 25% over the past year, with shares off a punishing 80% over five years. The Q1 numbers were strong on the surface. Revenue came in at $8.4 billion, up 7% year over year (YoY), with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34. The catalyst for selling sits in the forward guidance. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and PayPal wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE. PayPal guided Q2 2026 adjusted EPS to a 9% YoY decline, signaling that the Q1 beat was largely backward-looking. For fintech valuations, forward metrics carry more weight than trailing results, and a contracting EPS curve is hard to reconcile with growth-stock multiples. This pattern is familiar to PYPL shareholders. The beat-then-sell reaction has been a recurring theme for the stock, and today's move extends that pattern. Even a +14.53% Q1 2025 surprise produced only a 2% day-of move. Competitive pressure is part of the story. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) just printed a record Services quarter at $30.976 billion, while Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) both delivered double-digit revenue growth in Q1 FY2026. Apple Pay, Stripe, Block, and emerging stablecoin rails continue to compress branded checkout share. Management is conducting a strategic review of Venmo, which generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2025. A spin-off could unlock value if Venmo trades at a richer multiple as a standalone consumer brand, where investor sentiment...

US equity indexes were mixed on Friday as earnings helped lift technology and communication services

This week, five "Magnificent Seven" members -- Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) -- reported quarterly results, and the headlines all looked great. Calling out some of the highlights, Meta's revenue jumped 33%, Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue soared 63% year over year, and Amazon's cloud computing business grew at its highest rate in 15 quarters. But four of these five companies have been spending huge sums of cash to produce this kind of growth. And some of them even used their latest quarterly updates as opportunities to raise their already massive 2026 capital expenditure budgets. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » One of these companies' earnings reports, however, looked much different from the rest: Apple's. The iPhone maker posted accelerating growth without committing enormous spending on AI infrastructure -- and it did this while seeing accelerating growth in its high-margin services business, too. Here are four reasons why I think Apple was the best report of the bunch -- and the best stock to buy out of the group, too. Apple's fiscal second quarter of 2026 (the period ended March 28, 2026) revenue of $111.2 billion was up 17% year over year, and earnings per share climbed 22%. Both numbers represented a step up from the prior quarter, when fiscal Q1 revenue grew 16% and earnings per share rose 19%. And the company's biggest segment -- iPhone -- saw revenue increase 22% year over year to $57 billion, with management calling the iPhone 17 the most popular lineup in Apple's history. Further, the overall business benefited from strong momentum in the key Greater China market, where revenue jumped 28% to $20.5 billion. Looking ahead, Apple's strong momentum should persist. The company guided fiscal third-quarter revenue to grow 14% to 17% -- well above the roughly 10% Wall Street had been expecting. Apple's high-margin services business -- which includes the App Store, Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, AppleCare, and advertising -- has been a core part of the bull case for years. And last quarter, it stepped on the gas. Apple's fiscal second-quarter services revenue of...