🤜 Apple and Amazon prepare

Together with BOXABL

Good morning investors! The market climbed yesterday – its 8th green day in a row as big tech continues to report. Moreover, BTC crossed the $97,000 mark for the first time since February.

Today we cover:

• The job report

• Apple and Amazon numbers

• More earnings

📊 Economy and News 

Jobless Claims Spike to Two-Month High Amid Signs of Economic Weakness

Initial unemployment claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 241,000 for the week ending April 26, up 18,000 from the previous week and above the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000, according to the Labor Department. This marks the highest total since February 22.

Continuing claims increased by 83,000 to 1.92 million, the highest since November 13, 2021. A significant portion of the rise came from New York, where unadjusted claims more than doubled to 30,043, likely influenced by public school spring recess.

Sam Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics noted that the recent uptick in jobless claims indicates a potential upward trend in coming weeks.

The District of Columbia also saw a modest rise, following earlier increases tied to efforts to reduce the federal workforce.

Despite the weekly rise, the four-week moving average remains stable at 226,000, reflecting a consistent trend.

The Labor Department will release April’s nonfarm payroll numbers on Friday, with expectations of a 133,000 job increase.

Global hits:

• Yen tumbles with BOJ on hold; US dollar rises vs most currencies.

• South Korea approves bigger extra budget of $9.7 billion as economy falters.

• UK net mortgage lending surged by most since 2021 ahead of tax break expiry.

GDPs: Thailand finance ministry cuts 2025 growth forecast to 2.1%. On the other hand, Saudi economy sees growth in Q1, driven by non-oil sector. Yet, IMF predicts mere 2.6% growth for MENA economies by 2025.

Changing situation: Trump says any country that buys oil from Iran will not be allowed to do business with U.S. On the other hand, U.S. and Ukraine sign landmark minerals deal after months of fraught negotiations.

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📈 Stocks

S&P 500 5,604.14 (0.63+%)
DJIA 40,752.96 (+0.21)
NASDAQ 17,710.74 (+1.52%)
BRENT CRUDE 62.13 (+1.75%)
* Prices as of May 2nd, 12:20 AM UTC

Amazon Beats Q1 Expectations but Warns on Tariffs and Slows Guidance

Amazon topped Q1 estimates with earnings of $1.59 per share on $155.67 billion in revenue, but issued soft guidance amid uncertainty tied to Trump’s new tariffs. Shares fell over 2% after hours.

The company expects Q2 sales of $159–$164 billion and operating income between $13–$17.5 billion, both below analyst forecasts. CEO Andy Jassy said tariffs and trade policy make future performance hard to predict, though Amazon’s seller diversity may help blunt the impact.

AWS revenue missed slightly at $29.27 billion, its third straight shortfall, though profits from the unit surged to $11.55 billion with record margins. Ad revenue jumped 19% to $13.92 billion, beating expectations and outpacing core retail growth.

Amazon continues heavy investment in AI infrastructure, with capital spending up 74% year over year, and remains optimistic it can gain share during economic volatility.

Apple Beats Q2 Estimates, But Services Miss and Tariff Risks Weigh

Apple topped expectations in its fiscal Q2, reporting EPS of $1.65 (vs. $1.63 est.) and revenue of $95.4B (vs. $94.66B est.). iPhone sales led with $46.84B, beating estimates by $1B. Mac and iPad revenues also came in ahead.

Services revenue rose 11.65% to $26.65B but missed estimates slightly and showed slowing growth from last year. Wearables revenue dropped 5% to $7.52B, partly due to a tough comparison from the Vision Pro launch.

Apple expects June-quarter revenue growth in the low- to mid-single digits and a gross margin of 46%, down from 47.1%. Tariffs are expected to add $900M to costs, though CEO Tim Cook said supply chain shifts to India and Vietnam helped offset impacts.

AI feature delays, including improvements to Siri, were also noted. Apple approved a $100B buyback and raised its dividend by 4%.

More earnings:

• McDonald’s narrowly beat on earnings per share, but fell short on revenue. U.S. same-store sales shrank 3.6% during the first quarter as the chain faced bad weather and a more cautious consumer. That drop is the worst in McDonald’s home market since the 8.7% plunge during the second quarter of 2020.

• CVS Health reported first-quarter revenue and profit that topped estimates and hiked its guidance, as its troubled insurance business showed some improvement during the period. The company now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $6 to $6.20 per share, up from a previous guidance of $5.75 to $6 per share.

• Lloyds Banking Group’s profits fell 7% in the first-quarter, hit by higher costs and impairment charges. Lloyds, seen as a bellwether for the UK economy, said UK home loans rose by 4.8 billion pounds in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of last year. The bank announced it had set aside 100 million pounds ($133 million) for the impact of trade tariffs imposed by tariffs.

• Eli Lilly topped first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates as sales of its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro topped expectations for the first quarter. The pharmaceutical giant lowered its full-year profit outlook due to a recent deal for a cancer treatment.

• Block reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the first quarter and issued disappointing guidance. The stock plunged -18% in extended trading. Moreover, the company cut its full-year gross profit guidance citing macro uncertainty.

• Airbnb posted in-line first-quarter earnings after the bell. The company’s revenue forecast for the second quarter was weaker than analysts had expected. Airbnb said the business saw “softness” in travel from Canada to the U.S. toward the end of the quarter.

• Reddit reported first-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, and issued better-than-expected guidance. The company said that second-quarter sales should come in the range of $410 million to $430 million, ahead of Wall Street projections of $396 million. “Ever-shifting macro environments like these create both challenges and opportunities,” Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders. “We’re well-positioned to meet this moment.”

• Moderna posted first-quarter revenue of $108 million, falling short of analyst expectations of $115.32 million, as demand for its COVID vaccine continued to decline amid lower vaccination rates. The company also announced a delay in FDA approval for its COVID-flu combination vaccine, now expected in 2026, due to the need for more efficacy data.

Good to know: European auto giants reported a sharp drop in first-quarter profit, and many suspended or cut full-year financial guidance, partially attributing the industry pain to tariffs. Elsewhere, CoreWeave, which rents out access to Nvidia graphics processing units, surged 9% following better-than-expected earnings reports from CoreWeave customers Microsoft and Meta. Almost two-thirds of CoreWeave’s 2024 revenue came from Microsoft, which reiterated its capital expenditure guidance.

💵 Personal Finance

How to be a day trader - Part V

Let’s resume this week’s topic and cover more about day trading;

Key Strategies for Profitable Day Trading

1. Technical Analysis and Chart Patterns

Day traders rely heavily on technical analysis to predict price movements. They study charts for patterns like head and shoulders, flags, or breakouts to identify entry and exit points. Common indicators include:

• Moving Averages: To spot trends and reversals.

• Relative Strength Index (RSI): To gauge overbought or oversold conditions.

• Volume Analysis: To confirm price movements with trading activity. For example, a trader might buy a stock breaking above a resistance level with high volume, aiming to sell at a 2–3% gain within minutes.

2. Momentum Trading

Momentum traders target stocks with strong intraday price movements, often triggered by news like earnings reports or FDA approvals. They enter trades when a stock shows rapid upward movement and exit before momentum fades.

3. Scalping

Scalping involves making dozens or hundreds of trades daily, targeting small price increments (e.g., $0.10–$0.25 per share).

Scalpers use tight stop-losses and high liquidity stocks to minimize risk. A scalper might trade 1,000 shares of a stock like Apple, profiting $100 on a $0.10 move, repeating this multiple times daily.

4. Swing Trading (Intraday)

Some day traders use swing trading techniques, holding positions for hours to capture larger price swings. They might buy a stock at a support level and sell at resistance, leveraging tools like Fibonacci retracements to set targets. This strategy balances risk and reward for traders with smaller accounts.

5. Arbitrage and Market Inefficiencies

Advanced traders exploit price discrepancies between markets or related assets. For example, a trader might buy a stock on one exchange where it’s undervalued and sell it on another for a profit. This requires sophisticated tools and low-latency systems, often inaccessible to retail traders.

Real-World Example

A trader with a $30,000 account spots a stock gapping up 5% on positive earnings. They buy 1,000 shares at $50, setting a stop-loss at $49.50 and a target at $51.50. The stock hits $51.25 in 30 minutes, yielding a $1,750 gross profit (before $10–$20 in fees). With a 40% win rate and 10 trades daily, consistent profits are possible, but losses on losing trades must be tightly controlled.

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