Wall Street news and trends

Microsoft’s Q2 AI Business Soars but Cloud, Guidance Disappoint
Earnings // January 30, 2025

Microsoft reported robust growth in artificial intelligence (AI) demand for the second quarter, with gains seen throughout its Copilot and Azure operations and propelling revenue and earnings past Wall Street expectations. But non-AI business for its cloud division, Azure, disappointed Wall Street because it came...

Bank Stocks Surge on Earnings and Lead CE 100 Up 2.9%
Connected Economy // January 20, 2025

Earnings season is officially here, led, as ever, by big banks – and this time around, a 9% surge in the “Bank” pillar pulled the CE 100 Index 2.9% higher in a strong weekly showing. Generally speaking, management was sanguine about the state of the...

Wall Street Braces for Nvidia’s Trillion-Dollar Earnings Report
artificial intelligence // November 20, 2024

All eyes are on Nvidia as the AI juggernaut prepares to release what could be the most consequential tech earnings of 2024. Bloomberg reported that the chip giant’s stock could move about 8% in either direction following the results, potentially shifting its market value by...

Sezzle Doubles After Earnings and Leads CE 100 Index 6.3% Higher
Connected Economy // November 11, 2024

Earnings, earnings everywhere — and for connected economy stocks in the CE 100 Index, roaring ahead almost in lockstep, the week was a good one. Indeed, two sectors of the CE 100 — the Live segment and the Pay and Be Paid pillar — surged...

Interviews & Exclusives
Bank Stocks Surge on Earnings and Lead CE 100 Up 2.9%

January 20, 2025
Earnings season is officially here, led, as ever, by big banks – and this time around, a 9% surge in the “Bank” pillar pulled the CE 100 Index 2.9% higher in a strong weekly showing. Generally speaking, management was sanguine about the state of the consumer and about credit metrics — as their spending across […]

Sezzle Doubles After Earnings and Leads CE 100 Index 6.3% Higher

November 11, 2024
Earnings, earnings everywhere — and for connected economy stocks in the CE 100 Index, roaring ahead almost in lockstep, the week was a good one. Indeed, two sectors of the...

Consumers Cool on Spending Even as Inflation Slows

February 29, 2024
The headlines Thursday (Feb. 29) trumpet the fact that inflation rose in January at the rate most people expected — by 3% month on month. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)...

Wall Street’s Caution and Downgrades Anticipate Student Loans’ Pinch on Consumer Spending

September 18, 2023
Just a few weeks from now, federal student loan payments resume, ending a moratorium that had been in place since the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020. And...

Quick Reads
Banks See Lukewarm Lending in Spite of Wall Street Rally

January 31, 2025
Steady-to-declining interest rates. Inflation under 3%. A relaxed attitude to regulation in D.C. As the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) points out in a report Friday (Jan. 31), these are all factors that suggest the banking sector should be optimistic. However, the report adds, many lenders still have lukewarm expectations for a big part of their business: loaning […]

Nubank Defends Lending Practices as Late Payments Jump

September 05, 2024
Lending practices at Brazil’s Nubank reportedly have Wall Street analysts uneasy. As Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Sept. 5), the lender — Latin America’s largest — is enjoying rapid growth, with around 60% of Brazilian...

AI Firms Seek Big Tech Rescues as Enthusiasm Wanes

August 06, 2024
Character.AI and Google. Adept AI and Amazon. Microsoft and Inflection. What do these companies have in common? As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (Aug. 6), they’re all part of a new trend in the artificial intelligence (AI) field:...

Meta’s AI Spending Plans Leave Investors Unnerved

April 25, 2024
Wall Street investors are reportedly uneasy about Meta’s multi-billion-dollar artificial intelligence (AI) plans. The company’s stock fell 15% in early trading Thursday (April 25), Bloomberg News reported, despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts...