Fast Money Blog- 9/29/23

This week’s gyrations in the stock market were caused by Wall Street’s reaction to the pending government shutdown and uncertainty as to the next Fed rate hike. 

Below is a sample of how this week's volatility affected stocks.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) traded in a range of $310.11 to $318.99

Oracle Corporation (ORCL) traded in a range of $108.58 to $103.46

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) traded in a range of $131.73 to $123.65

On Tuesday, September 26th, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) issued its earnings for Q4, which ended on Sept. 3rd. The company posted revenue of $78.9 billion in the quarter up 9.5% year-over-year. 

U.S. comparable sales rose 3.1% in the quarter. Additionally, traffic in the U.S. rose 5% on a year-over-year basis.

Costco ended the period with a total of 71 million paid household members, up nearly 8% from a year ago.

Fiscal 2023 total revenue came in at $242.29 billion, up 6.8%.

Overall Costco is enjoying strong grocery sales but seeing weaker trends in discretionary items.

For over the decade Costco has been an outstanding investment. I expect its revenue to continue to grow and its profit margins to continue to expand. Costco is a great date for the long-term. 

On Thursday, September 28th, Nike, Inc. (NKE) released its earnings for Q1 2024, for the period ending August 31st. 

The company posted Q1 top-line revenue of $12.9 billion, up 2% year-over-year. While sales declined slightly in North America, they were up 8% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and up 5% in China.

Here’s how Nike’s quarterly revenue broke down:

Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $12.4 billion, up 3% year over year. 

NIKE Direct sales brought in $5.4 billion, up 6% year-over-year.

Most importantly, Nike's latest earning results showed that it has made progress on getting its post-Covid inventory down to more manageable levels, as Q1 inventories were down 10% year-over-year to $8.7 billion. 

By every Wealthy Investor standard, Nike is an excellent long-term hold. 

Overall I think the market will begin to rise over the next 37 days. 

Stay positive…there’s a lot to look forward to between now and the end of the year. 

Tyrone Jackson

The Wealthy Investor