Stock Market Futures Rise Ahead Of Monthly Consumer Price Index Release
U.S. stock futures are in the green heading into Wednesday’s trading session this week. As the broader stock market looks to extend its gains from the previous day, the economy is coming into focus. Overall, this would be the case as the U.S. Labor Department is set to release April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading. The likes of which would offer investors more insight into the current state of inflation in the U.S. As it stands, economists are expecting an 8.1% year-over-year hike in headline inflation. This would not be that far off from March’s 40-year high acceleration of 8.5% on an annualized basis.
Weighing in on how markets are currently doing is Charles Schwab’s (NYSE: SCHW) chief investment officer, Omar Aguilar. He says, “We’re going to see more volatility. This is not going to be an easy path forward as we still have a lot of unknowns.” Aguilar continues, “There’s still a lot of uncertainty in many parts, not just in the macroeconomic and the economic structure, but also just geopolitically, things that haven’t been resolved, like the war in Ukraine as well as just the COVID situation in China.” Alongside all this, investors certainly have no shortage of exciting stock market news to take in today as well. As of 5:02 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 0.92%, 1.09%, and 1.29% respectively.
Unity Stock Sees 52-Week Low On Lackluster Earnings And Slowing Growth Outlook
Unity Software (NYSE: U) is making headlines in the stock market today following its latest quarterly earnings update. However, this would be for less-than-ideal reasons. Namely, Unity stock is plunging towards new 52-week lows at today’s market opening. The development software firm is looking at adjusted losses of $0.08 per share on revenue of $320.13 million. This would be versus Wall Street estimates of an $0.08 loss and revenue of $321.17 million. While Unity’s financials are mostly in line with projections, investors are likely responding to the company’s growth outlook.
Diving in, the software firm is guiding for sales of between $290 million to $295 million for the current quarter. This would be substantially below consensus expectations of $359.65 million. Year-over-year, it would add up to a meager 6% increase. Likewise, Unity’s full-year revenue outlook is currently in the range of $1.35 billion to $1.425 billion. This would also fall short of analyst forecasts of $1.49 billion.
Despite all this, could the current dip in Unity stock be overplayed? Well, for one thing, CEO John Riccitiello had this to say about Unity’s performance for the quarter. He says, “Unity delivered record quarterly revenue in the first quarter of 2022, the highest in the company’s history, up 36% compared with the first quarter of 2021, with Create over-performing at 65% year-on-year growth, offset by slower growth in Operate,” Also, worth mentioning, the company remains a key player in the growing metaverse space today. With all this in mind, Unity stock would certainly be gaining attention today.
[Read More] Most Active Stocks To Buy Today? 4 Metaverse Stocks To Watch
Matterport Gains On Better-Than-Expected Quarterly Earnings And Rising Subscriber Count
On the flip side, we have Matterport (NASDAQ: MTTR) gaining following its first fiscal quarter earnings update. In brief, the company topped consensus analyst projections on the top and bottom lines. For reference, Matterport is looking at a loss of $0.10 per share on revenue of $28.5 million for the quarter. Wall Street was expecting a $0.14 loss per share and sales of $27.5 million. Similar to Unity, Matterport focuses on providing 3D digital design tech. This tech plays a key role in enabling the construction of 3D structures in digital spaces such as the metaverse.
In detail, Matterport has its rapidly growing subscriber base to thank for the current attention around MTTR stock. According to the company, its total subscriber count is now up to a whopping 562,000. This would add up to a solid 70% year-over-year increase. At the same time, the firm’s revenue from subscriptions is up by a sizable 24% over the same period. That’s not all, for its second fiscal quarter, the company is projecting earnings of between $0.13 to $0.15 per share. Should this be the case, it would mark significant quarter-over-quarter progress for Matterport. As such, it would not surprise me to see investors flocking toward MTTR stock at today’s opening bell.
[Read More] Best Stocks To Invest In 2022? 3 Leisure Stocks To Know
Disney To Report Earnings After Today’s Market Close: What To Know
Among the biggest names set to report their earnings today would be Disney (NYSE: DIS). All in all, Disney would be an interesting firm to look at this current earnings season. For the most part, this would be thanks to the unique array of offerings that it offers to consumers. On one hand, the company’s rapid rise to stardom on the streaming front via its Disney+ service would be a key focus. With industry titans like Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) experiencing decelerations in subscriber growth, Disney is likely to be affected as well. Nevertheless, analysts are forecasting a total subscriber count of 135.4 million, up 30% quarter-over-quarter.
On the other hand, investors may also want to consider redirecting focus towards Disney’s in-person entertainment arm. Notably, this mainly concerns its Parks, Experiences, and Products (PEP) section. As consumers continue to double down on leisure and travel spending, Disney’s PEP business would see an uptick in traffic. Because of this, Wall Street is currently expecting PEP revenue of $6.4 billion from Disney this quarter. In this case, the company’s PEP sales would double quarter-over-quarter.
In the larger scheme of things, current estimates point towards earnings of $1.17 per share alongside revenue of $20.1 billion for Disney. To put things into perspective, this translates to quarter-over-quarter gains of about 48% and 28% respectively. After considering the flexibility of Disney’s diverse consumer businesses, investors could be tuning in to DIS stock today.
[Read More] What Are The Best Stocks To Invest In? 4 Lithium Stocks To Know
More Major Stock Market Earnings To Consider Today
Other than Disney, numerous other notable companies are posting their latest financial updates today. For the pre-market names, Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR), Evgo (NASDAQ: EVGO), and Paysafe (NYSE: PSFE) are on deck. Additionally, fast-food names such as Wendy’s (NASDAQ: WEN) and Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT) are also hosting their earnings calls.
After today’s closing bell, we also have a wide array of firms on deck as well. This ranges from Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN), Bumble (NASDAQ: BMBL), and Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) to Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO). Moreover, gold industry players like Kinross (NYSE: KGC) and Sandstorm Gold (NYSE: SAND) would also be worth noting. Not to mention, Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) and Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) are also set to release their financials. Between today’s CPI figures, more earnings, and the overall uncertainty in markets, things continue to heat up in the stock market now.
If you enjoyed this article and you’re interested in learning how to trade so you can have the best chance to profit consistently then you need to checkout this YouTube channel. CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!!
