Market Update
Volatile Stocks Rebound Ahead of Inflation Reports
Barry Adams
10 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stock indexes closed higher in a lackluster trading ahead of inflation data.
The consumer price index is expected to ease in the latest tomorrow and wholesale prices are expected to be stable at elevated levels on Thursday.
The S&P 500 index increased 0.25% to 4,001,59 and the Nasdaq Composite index gained 1% to 11,737.67.
The indexes opened higher as bargain hunters returned seeking value in beaten down tech stocks but the sentiment faltered after one hour of trading.
Market averages steadily declined for the next two hours and reached their lows at 12:30 p.m. on the worries that the inflation data may be worse than anticipated.
Market sentiment reversed, lifting Indexes higher as the leading tech stocks sustained the advance. However, market jitters returned in the final thirty minutes of trading and traders stayed away from adding more positions ahead of economic reports tomorrow.
Microsoft Corp gained 2.2% to $270, Meta Platforms gained 1.3% to $198.20, Apple added 1.5% to $154.89, and Alphabet gained 2% to $2,296.
Amazon, Shopify, Zoom, Etsy, Wayfair, and other pandemic era darlings have nearly erased the gains of the last two years.
In Europe, market indexes gained after buyers returned to add more stocks.
The DAX index in Frankfurt gained 1.1%, the CAC-40 in Paris added 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4%.
The indexes in Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden advanced today.
For the year so far, the DAX is down 16%, the CAC 40 has fallen 15%, and the SMI index in Zurich has declined 11%.
EssilorLuxottica dropped 5% to 144.10 euros on the worries that China lockdowns extension may impact sales of sunglasses.
Airbus SE gained 0.9% after the aerospace company reported 98 new orders for aircrafts and delivered 48 in April.
Swedish Mach AB soared 26% after the tobacco products maker confirmed that it has been approached by Philip Morris with a takeover offer.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo edged down 0.6% and trimmed the day's loss after March household spending rose more than expected.
Spending increased 4.1% from the previous month but declined 2.6% from a year ago to 307,261 yen, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said today.
The average monthly household income in March rose 2.3% to 503,128 yen from a year ago.
NTT Data Corp fell as much as 7% after the company announced restructuring.
Japan Steel Works plunged 16% to 2,554 yen after the company reported that one of its units falsified product data for more than two decades.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 1.9% but the index in Shanghai jumped 1% after the Chinese government announced rent relief to small businesses struggling from a coronavirus outbreak.
The two leading indexes in Mumbai ended lower after another day of choppy trading.
The Sensex fell 0.2% or 105.82 to 54,346.85 and the Nifty index declined 0.4% or 61.80 to 16,240.05.
Cvent Beats Revenues Estimate, Loss Expands
Scott Peters
10 May, 2022
New York City
Cvent Holding Corp reported first quarter 2022 ending in March revenues increased 17% to $137.4 million and net loss in the quarter increased to $31.4 million from $16.6 million a year ago.
Diluted loss per share increased to 7 cents from 4 cents a year ago.
Revenues from event organizers increased 17.1% to $95 million and from venue and hotel operators increased 17.2% to $42.2 million.
Total revenues in the quarter were $3.9 million ahead of its own estimate range between $133.0 and $133.5 million.
Net dollar retention rate increased to 109%, ahead of 108% in 2019 before the pandemic.
The number of clients spending more than $100,000 on an annual basis increased to 840 from 802 in 2021, 666 in 2020, and 722 in 2019.
Adjusted free cash flow in the quarter increased to $44.7 million from $40.8 million a year ago.
Guidance and Outlook
Cvent guided second quarter revenues between $1153.2 million and $154.2 million and adjusted operating earnings between $15.1 million and $16.1 million, a 10.1% of revenues at the mid-range.
For the full-year 2022 revenues are expected to fall between $621.4 million $626.9 million, an increase of $1.5 million at the mid-point to the previous guidance.
For the full year, adjusted operating earnings are expected to fall between $102.5 million and $107.8 million, an increase of 0.2 million from the previous estimate.
The company also reaffirmed its previous operating margin guidance.
Company and Stock
Cvent Holding is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia and employs about 4,300 people.
Cvent stock declined more than 10% to $4.33 and has fallen 38% in the year so far.
Peloton Arranges $750 Million Term Loan After Losses Soar
Scott Peters
10 May, 2022
New York City
Peloton Interactive, Inc reported March quarter revenues declined 24% to $964.3 million and net loss soared eight-fold to $757.1 million.
Diluted loss per share increased to $2.27 from 3 cents a year ago.
The company is struggling with a surge in inventories as more workers return to office ending the pandemic era boom in orders.
The equipment sales declined 42% to $594.4 million but subscription revenues increased 55% to $370 million.
Gross profit fell 59% to $184.2 million after the company wrote down inventories, faced higher supply chain costs and lowered retail sale price.
Subscription revenues in the quarter are 38.4% of total sales compared to 19% a year ago and the company is accelerating its business mix repositioning to higher margin business.
Membership subscribers jumped 29% to 7.0 million and subscription revenues increased 42% to $3 million.
New subscriber growth in the quarter declined 53% to 0.195 million from 0.42 million a year ago.
Average monthly churn rate increased in the quarter to 0.75% from 0.3% a year ago.
However, the company benefited from a growing acceptance of its digital app.
Digital app subscriptions increased 10% or 114,000 to 976,000 at the end of the quarter from a year ago.
The company ended the quarter with $879.3 million in cash and cash equivalents and also has a $500 million revolving credit facility, which remains undrawn to date.
Guidance and Outlook
The company estimated fourth quarter revenues between $675 million and $700 million.
Gross margin estimated to increase to 31% from 27% in the fourth quarter a year ago.
Adjusted operating loss to fall between $115 million and $120 million compared to a loss of $45 million a year ago.
The company estimated subscriber base in the fourth quarter to increase to 2.98 million compared to 2.3 million a year ago, an increase of 28% from a year ago and 1% increase from the third quarter.
Company and Stock
Peloton is headquartered in New York City, New York and employs about 6,700 people.
Peloton stock declined as much as 18% to $11.30 and has fallen 63% in the year so far.
Movers: Appian, Cvent, Edgewell, Norwegian Cruise, Peloton, Trex, upstart
Barry Adams
10 May, 2022
New York City
Appian Corp soared 28% to $55.17 after the cloud computing company won an order from a Virginia jury to award $2.04 billion in damages from Pegasystems Inc for violating trade secrets.
Pegasystems plunged 33.6% to $43.62.
Aramark increased 0.8% to $34.51 and the food service company said March quarter sales rose 37% to $3.9 billion and swung to income of $36 million from a loss of $78 million.
The company said consolidated revenues are now at 97% and organic revenues are at 95% of pre-Covid levels.
Cvent Holding Corp dropped 19.6% to $4.31 after the event solution provider reported revenues increased 17.4% to $137.4 million and net loss increased to $31.4 million from $16.6 million a year ago.
The company guided second quarter revenues between $153.2 million and $154.2 million and lifted the full-year 2022 revenue range between $621.4 million and $626.9 million from the previous estimate between $619.6 million and $625.6 million.
Edgewell Personal Care Co plunged 17.4% to $32.62 after the company said March quarter sales rose 5% to $547.7 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 43 cents from 26 cents a year ago.
The results fell short of expectations and the company also lowered its full fiscal year 2022 earnings per share outlook to between $1.93 and $2.21 from the previous range between $2.23 and $2.51.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings increased 4.8% to $16.70 after the cruise operator said operating capacity increased to 85% and occupancy was 48% primarily linked to Omicron virus related challenges.
The cruise liner added net booking volumes and occupancy levels have increased sequentially every month and March cash flow turned slightly positive and expects the flow to be positive in the second quarter.
Peloton Interactive Inc dropped 15.7% to $11.77 after the fitness equipment maker reported March quarter revenues declined 24% to $964 million and net loss soared nearly hundred-fold to $757 million.
The company also said its cost reduction initiatives are set to achieve at least $165 million in the second-half of fiscal year 2022 and 450 million in fiscal year 2023.
Trex Company Inc increased 5.7% to %58.76 after the company reported first quarter net sales increased 38% to $339 million and net income increased 47% to $71 million or 62 cents a share.
For the second quarter, the company guided revenues between $375 million and $385 million or 22% increase at the midpoint.
Upstart Holdings Inc plunged 61% to $29.52 after the loan transaction platform provider reported March sales soared 156% to $310 million and net income more than tripled to $32.7 million.
The company lowered its annual outlook and said that the current economic environment is likely to negatively impact the business.
The company guided full-year 2022 revenues of $1.25 billion from the previous estimate of $1.4 billion
For the second quarter the company also guided revenues between $295 million and $305 million, lower than most analysts estimating above $300 million.
Vroom Inc jumped 45% to $1.58 after the used-car seller reported total revenues rose 56% to $923 million and net loss jumped on $210 million goodwill impairment charge.
The company sold on its online platform about 19,000 vehicles and guided full-year 2022 vehicle sales between 45,000 and 55,00 and liquidity between $450 million and $565 million.
U.S. Stocks Attempt Rebound, European Indexes Trade Higher
Barry Adams
10 May, 2022
New York City
Futures of the S&P 500 index increased 0.6% to 4,009.10 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9% to 12,309.55.
Stocks are attempting a rebound after six weeks of selloff that has dragged the Nasdaq deep in the bear zone and the S&P 500 index down 14% in the year so far.
Inflation jitters were in full display in Monday's trading but the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield eased after three weeks of rising.
In early trading today, the yield is down to 3.017%.
Crude oil futures eased in New York and London trading with Texas oil trading down 60 cents to $102.78 and the Brent crude down 80 cents to $105.11 a barrel.
Earnings were also in focus after the popular fitness equipment maker Peloton plunged more than 25% after the company reported larger-than-expected quarterly loss and the company tapped bank credit lines.
Vroom soared 35% in the pre-market trading after the used-car seller announced a restructuring plan. Quarterly loss soared more than four-fold to $310 million and sold 31,285 units, an increase of 21% from a year ago.
European indexes jumped as investors searched for bargains.
The DAX index in Frankfurt added 1.3%, the CAC 40 index in Paris gained 0.8% and the FTSE 100 index in London advanced 0.6%.
German bund held near 8-year high and investors worried if the rates have advanced too fast on the expectations of rate hike from the European Central Bank.
The benchmark yield has jumped to 1.03% from the low of 0.5% in mid-August.
Fraport Group declined 4% after the airport operator reported larger-than-expected loss.
Renault said it has agreed to sell more than one-third stake in its unit in Korea to China-based Geely Automotive for $200 million.
Bayer, the fertilizer and pharmaceutical company gained after reporting better-than-expected first quarter results.
Swedish Mach AB soared 26% after the tobacco products maker confirmed that it has been approached by Philip Morris with a takeover offer.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo edged down 0.6% and trimmed the day's loss after the latest household spending showed some promise.
NTT Data Corp fell as much as 7% after the company announced restructuring.
Japan Steel Works plunged 16% to 2,554 yen after the company reported that one of its units falsified product data for more than two decades.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 1.9% but the index in Shanghai jumped 1% after the Chinese government announced rent relief to small businesses struggling from a coronavirus outbreak.
The two leading indexes in Mumbai ended lower after another day of choppy trading.
The Sensex fell 0.2% or 105.82 to 54,346.85 and the Nifty index declined 0.4% or 61.80 to 16,240.05.
Broad Selloff Drags Indexes to New Lows In the Year
Barry Adams
09 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. major indexes fell to new lows in the year as jittery investors stayed away from tech stocks.
All sectors participated in today's losses led by larger declines in tech stocks.
The S&P 500 dropped 3.2% to 3,991.28 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 4.3% to11,623.25 .
Texas crude oil fell 6.5% or $7.13 to $102.64 a barrel and Brent oil fell 6% to $105.34. Natural gas plunged 12% to $7.03 per unit.
The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds eased to 3.03%.
Market indexes opened sharply lower and stayed lower near the lows except making one brief attempt to cut losses at mid-day. However, indexes lacking support quickly began the descent.
The S&P 500 index fell below 4,000 for the first-time in more than a year.
For the year, the Nasdaq index is down 27% and the S&P 500 index is down 16.8%.
Investors are awaiting the consumer price data on Wednesday and wholesale price data on Thursday.
Nervous investors are worried that the Fed is likely to lag the fast rising inflation and the elevated prices will seep in the economy through a permanent increase in wages.
Tech stocks took the brunt of selling and Apple fell 3.5%, Microsoft declined 4%, Tesla plunged 9.9%, Amazon declined 4%, Meta Platforms decreased 3.7%, and Google parent Alphabet dropped 3%.
Banks also fell on the worries that the rising interest rates may dampen economic activities.
JPMorgan and Wells Fargo dropped 2%, Citigroup, Regions Financial, and Bank of America declined 3%.
Transportation stocks also plunged. American Airlines declined nearly 8%, Delta Air plunged 7% and Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern declined more than 2%.
Energy sector also witnessed broad losses. Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp dropped more than 7%. Schlumberger plunged 11%.
Bitcoin, the crypto currency continued its slide after reaching as high as $40,000 last month and $69,000 in June 2021.
The crypto currency has fallen 15% in the previous week and declined further 5% today to $32,000 and has plunged more than 50% from its peak $69,000 in July 2021.
Sweetgreen Same Store Sales Jump 35%, Loss Widens
Scott Peters
06 May, 2022
New York City
Sweetgreen, Inc reported first quarter 2022 revenues increased 67% to $102 million and net loss expanded to $49.2 million from $30 million a year ago.
Diluted loss per share decreased to 49 cents on 109 million shares from $1.77 a year ago on 17 million shares.
The increase in loss was driven by an increase of $21.0 million stock-based compensation in general and administrative expenses.
Same store sales increased 35% consisted of a 25% increase from transactions and 10% from menu price increases.
Outlook and Guidance
For fiscal year 2022, the salad chain guided revenues between $515 million and $535 million and same store sales change between 20% and 26%.
The company also estimated restaurant level profit margin between 16% and 17% and adjusted operating loss between $40 million and $33 million.
Company and Stock
Sweetgreen, Inc headquartered in Los Angeles, California operates over 140 locations and about 550 pick-up only locations or outposts.
Sweetgreen priced its 13 million shares of public offering at $28 a share in November 2021
Sweetgreen stock had declined 36% in the year-so-far.
Movers: BioNTech, MicroStrategy, Palantir, Rivian, Sweetgreen, Uber
Barry Adams
09 May, 2022
New York City
BioNTech SE jumped 6% to $144.59 after the German biotech company reported first quarter sales tripled to 6.37 billion euros on the commercialization of the vaccine in partnership with Pfizer.
The company reiterated its 2022 revenues outlook between 13 billion and 17 billion euros and its plan to develop vaccines including Omicron-adapted booster.
Bitcoin, the crypto currency continued its slide after reaching as high as $40,000 last month and $69,000 in June 2021. The currency has fallen 16% in the previous week and extended losses 5% today and dropped to $32,000.
The cryptocurrency has fallen more than 50% from its peak of $69,000 in July 2021.
MicroStrategy may face margin calls if the bitcoin price falls below $21,000 on a loan of $250 million. The company owns about $4 billion of bitcoins.
MicroStrategy Inc fell 18% to $242.05, Coinbase Global declined 13% to $89.64, and Block (parent of Square) declined 11% to $85.13.
Palantir Technologies Inc dropped 20.8% to $7.53 after the cyber security software company reported revenues in the first quarter of $443 million and a net loss of $110 million.
The company also guided weaker-than-expected revenues in the second quarter of $470 million and hinted higher revenue possibilities on government contracts linked to the current geopolitical tensions.
Rivian Automotive Inc plunged 18.3% to $23.61 after IPO lockup period expired on Sunday. Ford Motor is also looking to sell its block of 8 million shares.
Sweetgreen, Inc declined 15% to $20.25 and extended two-day losses after the salad chain on Thursday evening reported first quarter revenues rose 67% to $102 million but net losses widened to 63% to $49.2 million from $30 million a year ago.
The company reiterated its annual 2022 revenues guidance between $515 million and $535 million.
Uber Technologies Inc plunged 8.8% to $23.78 after the company chief executive in an internal memo said it plans to cut marketing expenses and incentives reflecting 'seismic shift' in the marketplace.
Lyft Inc declined 5% to $19.47 in following the Uber announcement. The company had mentioned in the latest earnings release the need to increase its marketing spending in the current quarter.
The company said second quarter higher marketing expenses are likely to depress the adjusted EBITDA to between $10 million and $20 million from $54.8 million in the first quarter.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Resigns After Months of Violence
Arjun Pandit
09 May, 2022
New York City
Sri Lankan prime minister offered his resignation as the country's economic woes mounted and violence spread.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa sent his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and added he has dissolved the cabinet.
Prime minister also asked the president to form an all-party government and help the nation in coping with the worsening food and fuel shortages and in arranging foreign loans.
The ruling party MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala was found dead after being caught in violence between protesters.
Students have been protesting outside the Presidential palace for a month and clashes erupted with the government supporters earlier in the day.
Sri Lanka is in negotiations with China, India, and the International Monetary Fund in arranging short term loans to import oil and food and a long -term loan till the economy regains its footing and tourism rebounds.
U.S. and World Markets Extend Losses, New 3-Year High In Bond Yields
Barry Adams
09 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stock futures are sharply lower as interest rates continued their advance ahead of inflation data this week and growing worries of extended supply disruptions.
The futures of 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to a new 3-year high 3.182% and bond traders are bracing for rates to cross 3.5% in the near future.
The S&P 500 index futures declined 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite index futures dropped 2.3%.
Crude oil futures traded lower on the worries that the China demand may fall further as Shanghai lockdown is expected to be extended till the May's end and European economic activities are falling.
Over the weekend, G7 nations agreed to impose a ban on Russian oil import and offered additional financial support to Ukraine.
European market indexes declined nearly 2% on the recession worries and inflation pressures fueled by the rising prices of oil.
The DAX index declined 1.6%, the CAC-40 index dropped 2%, and the FTSE 100 index declined 1.9%.
The latest China trade data also weighed on the sentiment after April exports rose 3.9% lower than 14.7% in March and imports were barely unchanged after falling at 0.1% rate in March from a year ago.
Asian stocks opened lower following volatile trading on Friday in New York.
The Nikkei index plunged 2.2% to 26,466 after one hour of trading on the rising worries that the U.S. interest rate may rise faster than expected.
China's authorities are likely to extend lockdown conditions in Shanghai till the end of May and are stepping up mass testing in Beijing.
Coronavirus cases dropped for the nine days according to city officials in Shanghai but thousands are still infected.
Just last week, the city of 25 million residents conducted 63 million PCR tests and 126 million rapid antigen tests.
Investors will be closely watching the release of the U.S. consumer price inflation report on Wednesday.
The inflation index is expected to pick up in April 0.4% from March, ahead of the Federal Reserve's 0.2% target rate.
Japanese yen inched up to 130.86 against a dollar and the U.S. currency continued its advance against all major currencies on the rising U.S. rate expectations.
The ASX 200 index dropped 1.1% with banks and mining companies leading the losers but energy stocks gained.
Early voting in federal elections began in Australia today with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison led coalition facing voter revolt on the rising cost of living.
The election date is May 21, 2022.
Nikkei Down 2%, China Lockdown to Extend
Barry Adams
08 May, 2022
New York City
Asian stocks opened lower following volatile trading on Friday in New York.
The Nikkei index plunged 2.2% to 26,466 after one hour of trading on the rising worries that the U.S. interest rate may rise faster than expected.
Crude oil traded volatile and eased 59 cents to $111.81 a barrel in international trading after the G7 nations announced a plan to ban or phase out the import of Russian oil.
Oil declined partly on the falling demand expectations from China and falling activities in Europe.
China's authorities are likely to extend lockdown conditions in Shanghai till the end of May and are stepping up mass testing in Beijing.
Coronavirus cases dropped for the nine days according to city officials in Shanghai but thousands are still infected.
Just last week, the city of 25 million residents conducted 63 million PCR tests and 126 million rapid antigen tests.
Investors will be closely watching the release of the consumer price inflation report on Wednesday.
The inflation index is expected to pick up in April 0.4% from March, ahead of the Federal Reserve's 0.2% target rate.
Japanese yen inched up to 130.86 against a dollar and the U.S. currency continued its advance against all major currencies on the rising U.S. rate expectations.
The ASX 200 index dropped 1.3% with banks and mining companies leading the losers but energy stocks gained.
Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australian Bank fell between 0.5% and 1%.
BHP and Rio Tinto declined 1% but Woodside Petroleum and Santos gained more than 0.5%.
Early voting in federal elections began in Australia today with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison led coalition facing voter revolt on the rising cost of living.
The election date is May 21, 2022.
Sri Lanka Reinstates Emergency As Economic Crisis Drags On
Arjun Pandit
07 May, 2022
New York City
Sri Lanka imposed an emergency for the second time in five weeks as protests continued in the capital city of Colombo.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's order gives broad powers to security forces in clamping down violent protests.
"in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community," the statement released by the President's office noted.
The island nation of 22 million (2.2 crore) citizens has been struggling with shortages of food, energy, and fuel.
The nation also defaulted on its $51 billion foreign currency loan last month and is currently in negotiation with the International Monetary Fund and India.
Students have been protesting for months and demanding the resignation of the current government.
Sri Lanka's economic crisis worsened after the pandemic stopped the steady flow of tourist arrivals and supply disruptions affected the export of main crop tea and apparel.
The island nation heavily relies on tourism which generated $4 billion in 2019 with additional merchandise export of $13 billion, according to the data released by the government.
Record 2.8 million tourist arrived in 2018 but the arrivals plunged to 1.9 million following the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019, according to the statistics provided by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Tourism arrivals dropped further to 194,500 in 2021 from 507,311 arrivals in 2020 when most arrived before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic forced the airport closures in March.
With a total of 285,000 arrivals, tourism has been on the rebound in the first quarter of 2022 but still 60% below the record arrivals in the period in 2018.
With the foreign exchange reserve exhausted and the tourism industry showing no sign of rebound, the government was forced to seek loans from India and the international multilateral institutions.
For months, Sri Lankans have been struggling to access daily necessities and basic food items as the country is experiencing power cuts and fuel rationing and unable to pay for oil and food imports.
Tourist arrivals from China are not expected to rebound as the communist nation is battling the resurgent coronavirus and European tourists delay their travels.
Frequent power cuts and lack of fuel has hampered the apparel exporters in meeting their orders.
Moreover, high fertilizer prices and lack of foreign exchange has also curtailed tea production 30%.
At the close of financial markets on Friday, the Sri Lankan rupee traded at 360 in Colombo against one U.S. dollar, down sharply from the low of 175 in the last week in April 2019 just before the Easter bombings.
After Wild Swings Indexes Closed Down
Barry Adams
06 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. market indexes opened lower and quickly fell 2.4% after thirty minutes of trading.
In volatile trading, major indexes lacked direction but generally traded lower than Thursday's close.
Indexes breached the positive line briefly around 11:20 a.m. for eight minutes and again around 1:04 p.m. for less than two minutes.
Stocks fell lower in the afternoon, before turning higher just before 3:26 p.m.
At close, the S&P 500 index fell 0.56% or 23.20 points and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.4% or 173.03 points.
For the week, the S&P 500 index declined 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1%.
The U.S. stocks decline on Thursday erased more than the gains in Wednesday's trading on the worries that the Fed's response to the latest bout of inflation is not going to fall short as the labor market conditions remain tight.
The jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor released today indicated employment increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate was 3.6% matching the rate in March.
Employers added jobs for the twelfth month in a row but labor participation rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 62.2% and available labor force shrank by 363,000.
Wage gains may be easing after the jobs report showed that private sector hourly rate gains increased 5.5% in the 12-month to April, a decline from 5.6% in the same period to March.
Bausch & Lomb jumped 10% to $19.75 after the company priced its initial public offering at $18 a share, sharply lower than the expected range of $21 to $24.
UnderArmour plunged more than 19% after the apparel company reported adjusted profit of 1 cents below the estimated range between 3 and 6 cents. The company also issued a weaker-than-expected outlook.
Zillow Group fell 15% after the real estate broker reported strong quarterly results but issued weak annual outlook.
DoorDash Inc gained 2% after the delivery company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the orders delivered rose 23% from a year ago to 402 million.
Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion.
Crude oil increased $1.96 to $110.22 a barrel and the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bond increased to 3.12%.
Hungary held up the latest EU sanctions on Russian oil ban and demanded more time and money.
The union of 27 nations must agree to place any sanctions and is ready to impose its sixth round of sanctions on Russia.
In Europe, the DAX index and the CAC-40 index declined 1.6% and the FTSE index fell 1.5% after the Bank of England yesterday estimated that the elevated energy prices are pushing the U.K. economy to a sharp slowdown.
In Asian markets, the Nikkei index edged up 0.7% but the indexes in Hong Kong declined 3.8% and in Shanghai dropped 2.2%.
Markets in China were on the defensive after top Chinese leaders issued strongly worded public comments in support of the zero-Covid policy.
China's premier Xi Jinping and other top leaders reiterated strong support for zero-Covid policy and sent strongest warnings to anyone doubting the government's commitment to zero-Covid policy.
Dozens of cities in China are going through severe restrictions or lockdowns.
In a broad sell-off in Mumbai, banks led the losers and small and mid-cap indexes also dropped more than 1%.
The rupee declined 57 cents to 76.92 against one U.S. dollar.
Papa John's North America Comparable Sales Growth Plunged to 1.9%
Scott Peters
06 May, 2022
New York City
Papa John's International said first quarter 2022 revenues increased 6% to $542.7 million but net income declined 68% to $10.5 million.
Diluted earnings per share fell to 29 cents from 82 cents a year ago.
System-wide restaurant sales increased 5.2% to $1.3 billion and more than half of sales growth was driven by unit sales increase and the rest was driven by price hikes.
Comparable sales in North America increased 1.9% and 0.8% at international locations following prior year gains of 26.2% and 23.2% respectively.
Comparable sales growth turned negative and fell 1.2% at domestic restaurants owned by the company from a 23.3% surge a year ago.
North American franchised restaurant comparable sales growth declined to 2.8% from 27.1% a year ago.
In the last four quarters, the company opened 188 restaurants in international locations and 56 in North America of which 19 restaurants in the U.S. locations owned by the company and 39 franchisee owned.
In the last quarter, the company opened net new 62 restaurants and revised higher its annual target range between 280 and 320 from the previous range of 260 to 300.
The company also signed a deal with China-based FountainVest Partners to open at least 1,350 by 2040.
The company also agreed to sell its majority stake in a joint venture with 90 restaurants to a franchisee Sun Holdings with 100 locations.
Guidance and Outlook
Papa Johns is now providing a new multi-year target of 6% to 8% annual net unit growth worldwide for fiscal 2023 through 2025.
Company and Stock
Papa John's International Inc is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and operates 5,524 restaurants in 49 countries. There are about 3,354 restaurants in North America and 2,170 located at international locations.
Papa John's stock fell 6% to $89.82 after the release of earnings today and the stock has declined 34.8% in the year-so-far.
DoorDash to Finalize $8.1 Billion Wolt Acquisition in Q2
Scott Peters
06 May, 2022
New York City
DoorDash Inc confirmed the acquisition of Helsinki-based Wolt, European delivery company, announced in November 2021 for all-stock $8.1 billion is expected to close in the second quarter 2022.
The company confirmed the closure period in the latest earnings released on May 5.
With the acquisition of Wolt, the company will expand into 23 new countries in Europe including Germany, Poland, and Czechia and Kazakhstan and Cyprus.
DoorDash Inc is headquartered in San Francisco, California and employs about 8,600 people.
DoorDash stock after the earnings release increased 45 cents to $73.52 and for the year-to-date declined 49.4%.