Markets Up, Yum China Beats, Avis Mixed
Market indices rallied into the green in the final minutes of the first trading day of a new week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all in the red before a final burst into the close. Only the small-cap Russell 2000 was comfortably gainful throughout the course of the session. All four indices closed the month of July in positive territory, with the Nasdaq +4% and the Russell +5%. The small-cap index led the way again today, +0.82%, followed by +0.32% from the Nasdaq, +0.16% on the Dow and +0.06% for the S&P.
Here in late trading hours, Avis Budget Group CAR, a leading rental car company, posted mixed results in its Q2 report after today’s close, with earnings of $11.01 per share easily surpassing the $9.79 in the Zacks consensus — and 12th straight quarterly earnings beat — on $3.12 billion in sales which was light the $3.21 billion analysts were expecting. Shares are up on the news, however, as the company demonstrates strong liquidity going forward. Initially a +3% bump, CAR shares are now +2% in late trading.
Yum China YUMC, the Chinese version of quick service restaurant enterprises KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and more, outperformed expectations in its Q2 financial report this afternoon. Earnings of 47 cents per share surpassed the 39 cents anticipated, and more than double the 20 cents per share in the Covid-stricken Q2 of 2022. Revenues of $2.65 billion outpaced the $2.64 billion expected, although +15% same-store sales gains were a tad disappointing for analysts, and shares are down -3.3% in the after market.
Tomorrow morning, we see the first of several labor force data points with the JOLTS survey for June, Construction Spending numbers also for June, ISM Manufacturing for July and final S&P PMI Manufacturing also for July. In addition, Uber UBER will be out with Q2 numbers ahead of the opening bell, among others. We shall see if market exuberance into August can continue the splendid July, but in Uber’s case, it’s +100% year to date. What sort of performance will be required to keep its shares elevated?
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Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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