Fast Money Blog- 2/14/2

It was another busy week on Wall Street, with new unemployment and inflation data, lots of volatility and an earnings release from Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT).

The Department of Labor released its January report which showed that although hiring in January did slow down somewhat, the unemployment rate fell from 4.1% to an eight-month low of 4%.  

On the other hand, Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report showed that inflation is heating up, as consumer prices rose .5% from December, the fastest pace since August 2023. It’s important to note that the annual inflation rate has risen to 3% in the three months since the November election. Potential tariff hikes on Canada and Mexico along with China, could potentially raise the cost of goods in the near future.  

On Thursday, February 13th, AMAT released its Q1 2025 earnings. 

Quarterly revenue came in at $7.17 billion, up 7% year over year.

Q1 Revenue broke down like this:

AMAT’s semi-conductor segment brought in $5.36 billion for the quarter, up 9% year-over-year

Their applied global services segment quarterly revenue was $1.6 billion, up 8% year-over-year.

However, despite these gains, the company said that its sales in China could be negatively impacted by recent U.S. Government restrictions on the export of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and software. This is especially bad news as sales in China account for a third of AMAT’s total revenue.

Although each division of AMAT saw a rise in quarterly top-line revenue, Wall Street continues to sell off AMAT shares due to the uncertainty surrounding the Trump tariffs.  

Unfortunately Trump’s tariffs are affecting the long-term outlook for many companies that derive significant amounts of revenue from overseas sources. 

Because of current market conditions I continue to encourage you to use all of your trading skills, from covered calls to bear-call spreads. On that note, just a reminder that the next Advanced Stock & Options Course is just around the corner. Save the date: Thursday, March 27th

Tyrone Jackson, The Wealthy Investor