Stock Market Futures On The Decline With Economic Data On Tap Later Today
Stock market futures are edging lower during early morning trading on Wednesday this week. Accordingly, this could be due to investor concerns over the latest flurry of economic figures set for release later today. Among the aforementioned figures would be the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) revision and the latest monthly consumer confidence and existing home sales data. With all the volatility in stocks lately, this reaction from investors is understandable.
In fact, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) securities equity strategist, Anna Han seems to share the same sentiment. She said, “I think you naturally are getting a little bit of this bounce after we’ve had a couple choppy sessions. But also the market is trying to price and digest the new information we’re getting here.” Han continued, “We had some news on Build Back Better getting delayed, we have more information on Omicron. These are the things you’re seeing combine with low liquidity as we get into year-end, so we’re not surprised to see the volatility.” Nevertheless, while some investors are playing things safe, others may see opportunity amidst the current weakness in stocks. As of 5:20 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading lower by 0.09%, 0.18%, and 0.34% respectively.
BlackBerry Jumps On Earnings Beat
Smartphone maker turned software firm BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) seems to be making a splash in the stock market now. Namely, this would be thanks to the company’s latest quarterly earnings. The Canadian firm posted a total revenue of $184 million for the quarter, beating estimates of about $177 million. Additionally, the company also beat earnings per share estimates by $0.11 with a loss per share of $0.05. In detail, BlackBerry also posted solid figures across its core Internet of Things (IoT) and Cybersecurity divisions as well. This is evident as both sections reported gross margins of about 81% and 59% respectively.
Overall, CEO John Chen had plenty to say about the company’s solid performance this quarter. Chen highlighted, “BlackBerry delivered solid sequential billings and revenue growth for both the IoT and Cybersecurity businesses, beating expectations for the second consecutive quarter. We also beat expectations on earnings, despite the ongoing investment to drive future top-line growth.” He added, “In IoT our QNX business achieved a quarterly record for design-related revenues, performing stronger than expected despite ongoing industry supply chain headwinds. On the Cybersecurity front, we saw further traction for our recent unified endpoint security product launches with additional head-to-head wins against other next-gen players.”
For the most part, BlackBerry seems to be making the most of its extensive network of partners. The likes of which include Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) among others. Given its position across the increasingly relevant IoT and cybersecurity industries, I could see BB stock gaining traction in the stock market today.
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Newegg Teams Up With Affirm To Provide Payment Flexibility
Elsewhere, Newegg (NASDAQ: NEGG), an online retailer, is reportedly working together with buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) titan Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM). Diving right into the details, the current partnership will see Affirm bring its industry-leading BNPL services to Newegg customers. According to Newegg, orders worth $100 and above will now have the option to pay-over-time thanks to Affirm. Seeing as Newegg primarily offers consumer tech products, introducing a BNPL checkout option would make sense.
If all that wasn’t enough, Newegg CEO Anthony Chow also talked about the company’s dedication to providing customers with payment flexibility. Chow mentioned that this includes “offering the latest cryptocurrencies as a payment option” or introducing BNPL services via this deal. For Affirm, the current deal would serve to further expand its presence in global markets. Notably, Newegg caters to consumers from across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. All in all, it seems like both Newegg and Affirm stand to gain from this deal. The real question now is whether NEGG stock and AFRM stock can follow suit.
AT&T To Sell Advertising Division Xandr To Microsoft
AT&T (NYSE: T) is reportedly looking to sell off Xandr, its advertising unit. The deal will see Xandr go to productivity software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). This move comes at a time where AT&T is looking to clean up its balance sheet by reducing debt. With the company already seeing immense growth opportunities across its telecom offerings, this is not all that surprising. After all, AT&T is a leading name in the booming 5G connectivity industry today. With 5G-enabled smartphones becoming more readily available, the company could ride the upcoming consumer upgrade cycle.
Not to mention, there is also the company’s pending $43 billion deal to combine with WarnerMedia’s Discovery (NASDAQ: DISCA). With both companies looking to close the deal by mid-2022, AT&T’s streaming offerings would also receive a boost. In the larger scheme of things, the sale of its ad tech unit could serve to help the company lighten its current debt situation. Regarding the Xandr deal, Microsoft President of Web Experiences Mikhail Parakhin appears to be positive. Parakhin believes that the acquisition can help “accelerate the delivery of its [Microsoft] digital advertising and retail media solutions” overall. With all this and the recent analyst upgrade, T stock could be turning heads in the stock market today again.
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Chinese Tech Stocks Attempted Recovery With Alibaba Leading The Pack
In other tech-related news, Chinese tech stocks appear to be active in the stock market this week. Throughout Tuesday, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) led the sector higher, ending the trading session up by over 6.9%. This is impressive given that BABA stock recently got downgraded by Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell. In short, Cordwell hit the company’s shares with a Neutral rating from his previous Overweight rating. Moreover, the analyst also lowered his price target from $185 a share to $140. Regardless, investors seem to see further growth in the long run for the Chinese e-commerce goliath.
At the same time, other names in the space such as JD.com (NASDAQ: JD), Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI), and Tencent (OTCMKTS: TCEHY) also gained yesterday. Broad-based rally aside, JD is also hard at work expanding its current e-commerce offerings. As of earlier this week, the company is planning to launch a blockchain-backed platform. In theory, the platform could facilitate the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or “digital collectibles”, in other words. Even with growing regulatory concerns fueling volatility, investors continue to keep a watchful eye on Chinese tech stocks now.
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