BBY - Best Buy Co., Inc.
| Previous Close | 67.59 |
| Open | 68.00 |
| Bid | 66.70 x 1000 |
| Ask | 66.72 x 800 |
| Day's Range | 66.51 - 68.37 |
| 52 Week Range | 47.72 - 81.66 |
| Volume | 2,265,822 |
| Avg. Volume | 2,746,689 |
| Market Cap | 17.599B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.67 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 12.07 |
| EPS (TTM) | 5.53 |
| Earnings Date | Nov 18, 2019 - Nov 22, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 2.00 (2.96%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-09-18 |
| 1y Target Est | 75.08 |
- Yahoo Finance
Sega gives people a good reason to visit GameStop
Sega hopes nostalgia will lure gamers to buy its new Genesis Mini console.
- Zacks
Tariffs Cast a Pall Over Retail: 5 Stocks on Alert
The List 4 tariffs sparked concerns for the retail sector and American consumers making everyday goods expensive. Some retailers lowered outlooks for the current year due to the tariff woes.
- InvestorPlace
Wait for More Clarity on Macy’s Stock
It has been a rough few years for mall retail stalwart Macy's (NYSE:M) and M stock. Once the center of the American retail landscape by virtue of being at the center of every mall in America, Macy's has since become increasingly less relevant in the American retail landscape it used to dominate.Source: Shutterstock You can thank e-commerce for that. Long story short, e-commerce disrupted the traditional retail world, Macy's failed to adapt quickly enough, and is now left with a bunch of stores that aren't as busy as they used to be, and an e-commerce business that isn't as big as it should be. * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip The numbers speak for themselves. Over the past five years, Macy's revenues have dropped 10%, Macy's operating profits have dropped 50%, and Macy's stock has dropped 70%.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsWill the slide ever end? Maybe. There is a potential path forward here wherein Macy's sales and margin stabilize, leading to a breakout rally in M stock. But, this path lacks visibility at the current moment. Instead, the most likely path forward here is continued weakness in the numbers and in shares.The implication? Don't count out Macy's stock yet, but don't count it in, either. Instead, monitor the stock from the sidelines, and see how things progress over the next few quarters. Macy's Stock Could Breakout HigherThere is a potential pathway wherein Macy's stock soars from current levels, and that pathway was outlined in an investor presentation management gave at the Goldman Sachs Annual Global Retail Conference in early September.The strategy is simple. Use technology to optimize the supply chain, and lower logistics expenses. Leverage data to reduce promotional activity, and grow gross margins. Refresh stores to be more tech-savvy and less labor-dependent, thereby reducing labor expenses and stabilizing sales. Increase usage of private label brands, so as to create a differentiated product value prop which also helps stabilize sales trends.To be sure, doing all of that is a tall order. But it's doable. And, if management does manage to do all of that, Macy's stock could explode higher from here.Here are the numbers: Net revenues are around $25 billion and dropping. Best case scenario, better product SKUs, a more attractive store presentation, and heavier usage of private label brands drives sales stabilization over the next several years. At the same time, gross margins -- which are at 39% and dropping -- improve as promotional activity becomes smarter and less prevalent, and the supply chain becomes more efficient. Labor expense reduction pulls out unnecessary SG&A dollars, and the opex rate somewhat stabilizes around 36%.Fast forward to 2025. Macy's could be looking at $25 billion in revenues, with 39% gross margins and a 36% opex rate. Ultimately, that makes right around $3 in EPS seem doable by then. Even if you throw just a conservative 10-times forward multiple on that $3 EPS estimate, that implies a 2024 price target for M stock of $30 -- almost double today's price tag. Secular Challenges Remain for M StockThe problem with the bull thesis on Macy's stock today is that secular challenges cloud visibility towards a $30 price tag for M stock.What are those secular challenges? First and foremost, it appears the retail world has moved on from Macy's. Right now, the consumer environment is as healthy as possible -- low unemployment, big wage gains, low rates, good credit, etc. Yet, Macy's reported comparable sales growth of just 0.3% last quarter. That's awful considering the backdrop, and it is broadly indicative of the fact that while consumers are spending money, they aren't spending money at Macy's.Second, Macy's is in a tough position where it may be tough to become relevant again. Other retailers have clear and differentiated value props. Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), for example, is the premium fashion mall retailer. Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), meanwhile, has off-price, off-mall appeal. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) gives customers quasi-necessary, in-store advice on the latest tech gadgets.What is Macy's differentiated value prop? Tough to say. They are somewhat stuck in the middle ground between premium fashion and off price, and don't really offer customers all that much that is unique to Macy's. Until they do, it could be tough for Macy's to improve traffic trends.Third, management is all about reducing promotional activity. That's a smart move. But, right now, it looks like promotions are the only thing driving traffic into Macy's stores. Thus, reduced promotional activity could have a materially negative impact on sales, which could result in continued profit erosion despite margin improvement.Big picture: there are still big secular challenges here, none of which have been have been fixed, yet. Until they do get fixed, it is probably best to avoid M stock. Bottom Line on M StockThe retail environment has changed dramatically over the past several years, as customers and sales have migrated in bulk into the digital channel. Some traditional retailers will survive this migration. Some traditional retailers will not.Right now, Macy's is having a tough time convincing investors that it will wind up in the first group. Until they do, it's probably best to avoid M stock despite its home run potential in the long run.As of this writing, Luke Lango did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip * 7 Dow Titans Breaking Higher * 5 Growth Stocks to Sell as Rates Move Higher The post Wait for More Clarity on Macy's Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks
Zacks.com featured highlights include: Anixter International, CVS Health, AmerisourceBergen, AECOM and Best Buy
Zacks.com featured highlights include: Anixter International, CVS Health, AmerisourceBergen, AECOM and Best Buy
- Zacks
Keurig Adds Coffee-Maker Line, New Facility to Create Jobs
Keurig (KDP) opens production and supply-chain facility in Allentown, PA, which should add 400 jobs. Further, it expands the coffee-maker line, with the launch of the K-Duo portfolio.
- Zacks
5 Stocks in the Limelight After Recent Broker Rating Upgrade
Broker opinion acts as a valuable guide for investors while deciding their course of action on a particular stock.
- InvestorPlace
GameStop Stock is On a Path That Leads to Nowhere
GameStop (NYSE:GME) had another terrible week in a year where the retailer has had a lot of terrible weeks. A close look at GameStop stock looks like proof of the adage, "if you don't know what path to take, you already know where you're going"… which, in this case, is likely nowhere.Source: Shutterstock GME's second quarter earnings report on September 10 failed to meet already-low expectations. Not surprisingly, GME stock fell 10% the next day. For the year, GameStop stock is down 65% and over 70% since hitting its high for the year on January 18. Investors are Saying its 'Game Over'GME stock is cheap, despite all attempts at a rally. Even after its disappointing earnings report, GameStop stock has remained above its 20-day moving average with an RSI in the mid-50's. Unfortunately, the last time GME featured this combination of a stock price above its moving average and an RSI at this level was in January. The stock collapsed shortly thereafter.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAnd what tells an even grimmer story for GME stock is that there have been only five trading days this year that saw the stock trade with significant volume. On four of those five days, the volume has been predominantly selling volume with the lone exception seen on August 22. These Stories Seem to Have the Same EndingThe last of our local video stores closed recently. I had been in the store about four months early. The only reason I went there was to find a few titles that were not on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). Walking through the store with cut rate prices and a shopper experience out of the 90s, I couldn't help but wonder how it was still in business. I guess my question got answered. * 10 Stocks to Sell in Market-Cursed September Now let's fast forward to last month and the release of Madden 20. I bought it for my son as an off-to-college gift. Ironically, we bought it at GameStop, but only because it was sold out at another store. We actually had to drive into the strip mall to check if it was still open. Walking into the GameStop, I had that deja vu all over again from the video store. A cluttered shopping experience and that "hmmm" of just how was it staying in business. Oh, and the clerk couldn't find me in their system. GME's Failing Business ModelThe move to digital made renting movies from a store, and the hardware required to play them, obsolete. The same thing is happening to GameStop. More gamers are downloading online titles directly to their console. The middleman is not necessary. True, the company will still have some relevance. The new gaming consoles arriving in 2020 will still have disk drives, ensuring that popular titles will still require a disk.But GameStop lost the exclusivity of its stores as retailers like Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) entered the market. The company had a brief resurgence when it began selling high-margin, pre-owned video games. But sales of those games are also falling -- upending a strategy to be one of the few places that buy video games -- and the retailer is not going to be able to rely on new hardware sales, even with the new gaming consoles. Management Pledges a New PathFacing investor pressure, management has plans for GameStop to blaze a new path. On the post-earnings conference call, CEO George Sherman said the company was going to be embracing esports in a big way, saying he hopes the company's stores will become an experience for gamers. "We are committed to creating a social and cultural hub of gaming within each GameStop store, online and within the digital environment," he told analysts. * 10 Battered Tech Stocks to Buy Now I wonder if management is committed to that path. After the disappointing earnings report there was talk about "de-densifying" its footprint (i.e., up closing as many as 200 stores) and taking other efficiency measures, such as a stock buyback program and eliminating its dividend (which it did in June), as a path back to profitability. What's Next for GME Stock?I can see a situation where GameStop becomes a major sponsor for esports events, as Zacks suggested. It does have a strong cash position and as long as management is not using the cash on a dividend, why not? But I'm less sure if the "store as a hangout" model works.Gamers today are comfortable -- more comfortable in fact -- playing their friends or strangers online in the privacy of their own home. Having gamers go to a GameStop to watch other people compete, or even to game themselves, would be kind of like watching a movie at a video store. But that's not taking a bold new path, it's trying to landscape the path they're on, and that doesn't lead anywhere I want to touch as an investor.As of this writing, Chris Markoch did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Big IPO Stocks From 2019 to Watch * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession * 7 Stocks to Buy Benefiting From Millennial Money The post GameStop Stock is On a Path That Leads to Nowhere appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Bloomberg
Why Vinyl, Books and Magazines Will Never Go Away
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Vinyl records, paper books, glossy magazines – all should be long dead, but they’re refusing to go away and even showing some surprising growth. It’s probably safe to assume that people will always consume content in some kind of physical shell – not just because we instinctively attach more value to physical goods than to digital ones, but because there’ll always be demand for independence from the huge corporations that push digital content on us.According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl album sales grew 12.9% in dollar terms to $224 million and 6% in unit terms to 8.6 million in the first half of 2019, compared with the first six months of 2018. Compact disc sales held steady, and if the current dynamic holds, old-fashioned records will overtake CDs soon, offsetting the decline in other physical music sales. Streaming revenue grew faster for obvious reasons: It’s cheaper and more convenient. But people are clearly not about to give up a technology that hasn’t changed much since the 1960s.In 2018, hardcover book sales in the U.S. increased by 6.9%, paperback sales went up 1.1% and eBook sales dropped 3.6%. The number of print magazine titles published in the U.S. rose to 7,218 from 7,176, according to the Association of Magazine Media. That’s more magazines than the U.S. had in 2009. For all the havoc the digital revolution is wreaking on newsrooms, people are still starting new titles – and 96% of the magazine industry’s subscription revenue still came from the print editions, with digital providing the rest.One explanation could be that, as Ozgun Atasoy from the University of Basel and Carey Morewedge from Boston University wrote in a paper based on a series of experiments, people are more willing to buy physical goods than equivalent digital ones, and they’re likely to pay a higher price for them. Offered an easy choice, people would rather have a vinyl LP than its digital image in the cloud somewhere; it’s just that the choice isn’t there most of the time. Atasoy and Morewedge wrote that the effect is mostly explained by “psychological ownership”: It’s hard for people to feel they own something they can’t physically touch.They wrote, however, that other, unidentified factors were also at play, since psychological ownership didn’t fully explain the difference in people’s willingness to pay for the two kinds of products. I think Michael Palm from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill put a finger on those factors in a paper published earlier this year. He suggested that physical vs. digital, or new vs. old, could be a less relevant differentiation point than corporate culture vs. independent culture.The record industry got rid of vinyl fabrication when CDs appeared. Big store chains stopped selling LPs. But small producers and record stores that also function as community centers have kept the culture and the format alive. Now, the big companies see a commercial potential again – but they’re ordering vinyl records from independent producers, who can’t always keep up with the orders, and distributing to small stores, not just to giant chains like Best Buy, which are also stocking vinyl records again.“To combat the corporate incursion into vinyl markets, some independent labels are vertically integrating and beginning to manufacture as well as distribute and sell their own records,” Palm wrote. “The stakes of vinyl’s future involve the viability of an independent supply chain for popular music, and these stakes are raised in a media landscape dominated by online access to content controlled by corporate gatekeepers.”A similar logic applies to books. According to the American Booksellers’ Association, independent bookstores’ sales went up about 5% in 2018. These stores are where people hang out, discuss their discoveries, receive recommendations and advice. They are also where the products of small publishing houses can get more attention than they do in major bookstores or on Amazon.The increase in the number of print magazines also isn’t occurring thanks to major launches by big industrial publishers. There’s space in this industry for niche publications that want intimate contact with readers, not a tiny share of the attention squandered on the internet. The Association of Magazine Media claims the average time to read an issue of a magazine published in the U.S. is almost 50 minutes. A magazine is the same kind of alternative to Instagram or Twitter as a vinyl record is to Spotify or Apple Music.This may be the last line of defense for old content formats – a line they could be able to hold forever: The preserve for independent creation, manufacturing and distribution in a world that belongs to giant corporations that mass-produce content and mass-distribute it through the cloud. The old-new dichotomy may well turn out to be misleading; there's nothing “old” about trying to go beyond the mass market.To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
U.S. Consumer Debt Surges on Jump in Credit-Card Balances
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer borrowing swelled in July by the most since late 2017 as Americans carried larger credit-card balances to fund both everyday and online purchases.Total credit rose by $23.3 billion from the prior month, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, Federal Reserve figures showed Monday. Revolving debt outstanding increased by $10 billion, also the most since November 2017, while the growth of non-revolving credit was little changed from a month earlier.Key InsightsThe surge in borrowing indicates Americans, supported by higher wages, were feeling confident enough about their financial situation to continue borrowing and spending. The economy, beset by weakness in manufacturing, housing and capital investment, remains highly dependent on the U.S. consumer to keep driving the expansion. The gain in revolving debt includes purchases made during Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Day event, which the company said surpassed sales from the previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Other retailers, like Walmart Inc. and Best Buy, offered competing discounts as well. At the same time, bigger credit-card statements may indicate households feel they are overextended and may become more tentative about spending.Data out last week showed sustained job growth, higher- than-expected wage gains and a labor market that continues to draw more people off the sidelines and into the labor force. Persistent strength in the jobs market could help support further consumer borrowing.The gain in revolving credit outstanding, which includes credit card debt, followed a $186 million drop in June.Non-revolving debt outstanding advanced $13.3 billion after rising $14 billion. Such debt includes loans for school and cars. Get MoreTotal credit expanded at an annual rate of 6.8% in July, after growing about 4% the month prior.Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected the credit gauge would rise by $16 billion.Lending by the federal government, which is mainly for student loans, rose by $3.7 billion before seasonal adjustment.The consumer credit report doesn’t track debt secured by real estate, such as home mortgages.(Adds bullet on Amazon’s Prime Day, graphic.)\--With assistance from Chris Middleton.To contact the reporter on this story: Reade Pickert in Washington at epickert@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince GolleFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Investopedia
6 Discount Retailers That Can Win The Tariff Wars
Investors favor these retail stocks as companies shift supply chains in response to China-related tariffs.
- Motley Fool
Why Best Buy Stock Lost 17% in August
Investors weren't excited about the latest fiscal year outlook from the retailer's management team.
- Motley Fool
3 Top Value Stocks to Buy in September
There are value stocks that may be staring you straight in the face.
- Simply Wall St.
If You Had Bought Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Stock Five Years Ago, You Could Pocket A 99% Gain Today
Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. Buying under-rated businesses...
- Yahoo Finance
Trump just shredded some big retail stocks with his new China tariffs
Investors in apparel stocks just got a beat down because of President Trump's intensified trade war with China.
- American City Business Journals
Bright Health hires former interim Best Buy CEO as president; co-founder Rolfing has left
Insurance startup Bright Health has hired George "Mike" Mikan, a former UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive who was also once interim CEO at Best Buy Co. Inc., as its new president and vice chairman. He's joining CEO Bob Sheehy in the Office of the CEO.
- InvestorPlace
Don’t Worry, the Near Term Pain in Best Buy Stock Will Pass
Shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) plummeted in late August after the consumer electronics retailer pointed to signs of slowing top-line momentum in its second-quarter earnings report. It's probably not a reason to dump Best Buy stock, though.Source: Shutterstock Best Buy missed revenue and comparable sales estimates in Q2. Management also delivered a below-consensus revenue and comp guide for Q3, while cutting its full-year revenue and comp guide to below-consensus marks. The rationale? A lot of uncertainty surrounding the trade war and its impact on consumption trends in the back-half of 2019. Investors freaked out. Best Buy stock dropped 10%.This pain is temporary. Zooming out, the big picture fundamentals supporting Best Buy remain favorable. The valuation is dirt cheap. And, the trade war headwinds which are complicating results today, will cool off over the next few months and quarters.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAs such, the recent big plunge in Best Buy stock price is a one-off issue. This weakness will pass. When it does, it will be replaced secular strength. Trade War Complications Will EaseThe heart of the recent sell-off in BBY stock is the trade war. * 7 Best Tech Stocks to Buy Right Now Long story short, the trade war is having an adverse impact of global economic expansion. That is resulting in slowing consumption trends. Those slowing consumption trends are causing Best Buy to put up weaker-than-expected comparable sales numbers, both domestically and internationally.Management doesn't have much clarity as to when all this trade war noise will end. Thus, they are guiding for comps to remain relatively depressed into the end of the year.One way of looking at this is that so long as trade war volatility sticks around, Best Buy will struggle to impress with its top-line results, and BBY stock will remain weak. But, the other way of looking at this is that if the trade war cools down, Best Buy will get back to firing off impressive comps, and BBY stock will rebound in a big way.At the current moment, I think the latter is far more likely.China is playing the long game with trade. U.S. President Donald Trump isn't the type of guy to surrender. Thus, there won't be any trade war resolution anytime soon. But, China is also very keen on keeping its economic expansion alive and well, and U.S.-China trade accounts for a sizable 5% of China's GDP - so China doesn't want things to get too ugly on the trade war front.Meanwhile, Trump is going into an election year, so it's in his best interest to keep trade tensions subdued (and the U.S. economic expansion alive) for the time being.Consequently, it seems likely that while the trade war isn't going away anytime soon, trade tensions between the U.S. and China should materially cool over the next few weeks. As they do cool, consumer confidence globally will regain momentum, and Best Buy's top-line numbers will rebound - as will BBY stock. Big Picture Fundamentals on Best Buy Stock Are SolidZooming out, the big picture fundamentals underlying Best Buy stock remain favorable and point to a healthy upside over the next few quarters and years.Best Buy just reported its tenth consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales growth. That is two and a half years of positive comps. During those two and a half years, Best Buy has developed into an omnichannel giant in the consumer electronics space.That is, not only has Best Buy built out a robust ecommerce business, but the company has also leveraged its huge physical real estate footprint to offer things which online-only players have a really tough time offering - like product Q&A, professional installation services, big-ticket appliance and home theater sales, etc.As Best Buy has leaned into these alternative offerings, the company has increasingly differentiated itself in the eye of the consumer. The numbers speak for themselves. Again, ten straight quarters of positive comps. On top of that, sales, margins, and profits have all moved higher over the past few years, too.This growth trend will persist. The consumer electronics space is a secular growth one, since the world is becoming more and more digital every day, and consumers are dedicating more and more of their wallet share to buying these consumer electronics products. Best Buy is a distinguished and leading player in that space with attractive and defensible attributes.Net net, Best Buy projects as a steady revenue and profit grower over the next few years. At just 11-times forward earnings, Best Buy does not seem priced for that growth. This disconnect ultimately implies that the long term upside potential in Best Buy from current levels is compelling. Bottom Line on Best Buy StockI say buy the dip. Near term pain will stick around for a little while longer, but not much longer. Trade war tensions should cool over the next few months.That cooling should recharge the global consumer heading into the holiday season. That recharging should flow into big holiday numbers for Best Buy, the likes of which should spark a healthy recovery rally in Best Buy stock from today's dirt-cheap levels.As of this writing, Luke Lango was long BBY. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Best Tech Stocks to Buy Right Now * 10 Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy * 8 Precious Metals Stocks to Mine For The post Don't Worry, the Near Term Pain in Best Buy Stock Will Pass appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Yahoo Finance
Best Buy just proved that a recession is not coming soon
Let the lease-to-own begin at Best Buy.
- Thomson Reuters StreetEvents
Edited Transcript of BBY earnings conference call or presentation 29-Aug-19 12:00pm GMT
Q2 2020 Best Buy Co Inc Earnings Call
- Motley Fool
Appliances and Services Drive Another Quarter of Growth at Best Buy
Best Buy's market share gains in major appliances and initiatives to drive growth in services are paying off for the company.
- Yahoo Finance
Trump just raised your taxes
Here's a list of the major product categories subject to a new 15% tax.
- Bloomberg
Trump Stays Defiant Before Tariffs, Lashing ‘Weak’ Critics
(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump showed no sign that he’s going to back down from new tariffs on more than $110 billion in Chinese imports -- set to take effect within hours -- even as talks are set to continue.“They’re on,” Trump told reporters on Friday before heading to Camp David, the. U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland. Face-to-face talks between Chinese and American trade negotiators scheduled for Washington in September are still happening “as of now,” he said.“We’re going to win the fight,” Trump said. On Saturday Trump tweeted about Democrats -- he singled out Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan -- “wanting to give up on our very successful Trade battle with China.” The president also took credit for low gasoline prices, “just like a Tax Cut.” U.S. stocks on Friday moved between gains and losses as investors weighed the effects of more import tariffs on American households. U.S. consumer sentiment slumped to the lowest level of Trump’s presidency. The University of Michigan’s final sentiment index fell to 89.8 in August from a previously reported 92.1 and 98.4 in July, data showed Friday.The U.S. is starting a 15% tariff on about $110 billion in apparel, footwear and other Chinese imports Sunday, with same duty on the balance of almost $300 billion in toys, phones and laptops and other products delayed until Dec. 15. Trump is also increasing the levy already in effect on $250 billion in other Chinese goods to 30% from 25% starting Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.China has vowed additional tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. goods, including soybeans, automobiles and oil, with some taking effect Sunday and the rest Dec. 15 in retaliation.Earlier Friday, Trump blamed American companies for their inability to deal with a trade policy he said is aimed at reining in “unfair players.”“Badly run and weak companies are smartly blaming these small Tariffs instead of themselves for bad management,” Trump tweeted Friday. “And who can really blame them for doing that? Excuses!”In a separate Twitter post on Friday, he took aim at the Federal Reserve again, writing that “we don’t have a Tariff problem (we are reigning in bad and/or unfair players), we have a Fed problem.”Trump has repeatedly attacked the central bank, blaming policy makers for the dollar’s strength and harming the economy by raising interest rates and then moving to cut them too slowly.Several prominent American companies in recent days have tied weaker performance to trade frictions.Shares of American Outdoor Brands Corp. plunged 22% on Friday after the maker of Smith & Wesson handguns cut its forecast to include $5 million in costs for tariffs on Chinese imports.Best Buy Co. fell 8% on Thursday after delivering sluggish sales and trimming its outlook for the year, citing consumer uncertainty in the second half of the year along with the complications that tariffs create. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sank 15% on Thursday after trimming its sales outlook and flagging the impact of tariffs on its profit margin.Business BlameWhile it’s unclear who Trump is responding to in his criticism of businesses that blame their problems on tariffs, the largest U.S. business lobby this week urged him and Chinese President Xi Jinping to withdraw from the new tariffs and return to talks in good faith to end the escalating trade war.“At this moment of uncertainty, it is critical that our leaders take decisive steps to bolster the economy and avoid actions that could turn talk of recession into reality,” Thomas Donohue, chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a Washington Post opinion piece Thursday.Other American industry groups were also critical of the escalation.A coalition of more than 150 trade associations made a last-ditch plea to postpone the duties, saying they “come at the worst possible time” and that holiday purchases will still be affected.Despite the worsening trade tensions, a large majority of the American companies that are members of the U.S.-China Business Council said they’re committed to China over the long term and don’t plan to leave, according to a survey the group released Thursday.(Updates with Trump tweets in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Murray in London at brmurray@bloomberg.net;Alyza Sebenius in Washington at asebenius@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Benzinga
Barron's Picks And Pans: Activision Blizzard, Best Buy, Coca-Cola, Microsoft And More
This weekend's Barron's cover story offers a look at biotechnology companies developing cutting-edge drugs. Other featured articles discuss the outlook for stocks and bonds in the fall and how to play ...
- Bloomberg
Amazon to Expand TV Business Across Much of Europe
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is angling for a larger share of European television viewers.The company plans to introduce Fire TV to a handful of new markets and expand its footprint in existing ones such as the U.K. and Germany, according to people familiar with the situation. Amazon will detail its plans, including deals with media companies, at an event in Europe next week, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing an initiative that hasn’t been announced yet.Amazon’s Fire TV is the service that viewers use to stream catalogs of shows and movies belonging to Netflix and Amazon itself on their TVs. The company declined to comment.With more and more viewers canceling their cable subscriptions, Amazon wants Fire TV to become the de facto cable box of the internet era. The company offers a suite of products: a Fire TV set-top box, a stick that can be hooked up to a TV and an operating system that can be embedded in smart TVs from third-party manufacturers.Amazon uses Fire TV to boost usage of its Prime Video app, which is one of the biggest streaming services in the world because it’s bundled with the Prime shopping subscription service, which has more than 100 million users. The company also use Fire TV to gather viewer data that it can sell to advertisers. Advertising on internet-delivered video services is one of the fastest-growing categories in the world.Amazon is the second-biggest player in online TV operating systems and set-top boxes after Roku Inc., which created the market. Both companies say they have tens of millions of user accounts, and outside analysts say they control about 70% of the market combined. Roku leads with almost 40%.But neither company has established a large foothold outside North America. Roku has expanded to Mexico and much of Western Europe, but still derives almost all of its users and sales from its home country.Amazon last year cut a North American deal with Best Buy to sell TVs made by Insignia and Toshiba with Fire TV baked in. Those models aren’t available in European markets, where Amazon’s presence is generally limited to sales of various versions of the Fire TV Stick.To contact the reporters on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net;Matt Day in Seattle at mday63@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Robin AjelloFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Benzinga
A Look At Benzinga Pro's Most-Searched Tickers For August 30, 2019
This most-searched list is a feature included in Benzinga Pro's Newsfeed tool. It highlights stocks frequently searched by Benzinga Pro users on the platform. Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA ) shares were ...
- Benzinga
Follow Through: Trade Optimism Keeps Wall Street's Spirits High
In the last trading session before a U.S.-holiday weekend, investors appear to be optimistic a day after some of the trade tensions between China and the United States seemed to thaw a little. With the trade war between the world’s two largest economies arguably the single biggest thing on market participants’ minds, it seemed to come as a relief when, according to CNBC, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce said China firmly rejects escalation of the trade war and is willing to negotiate with a “calm attitude.” And President Trump said talks had taken place Thursday and more are scheduled.
