Chipotle had $0.29 in adjusted earnings per share compared to $0.27 in adjusted EPS expected by analysts. Its revenue came at $2.88 billion, marking a 6.4% jump compared to the same period last year but falling short of an estimated $2.95 billion.

Arguably the most worrying thing for the investors was the same-store sales decline in Q1. Chipotle recorded a 0.4% dip while analysts estimated growth of 1.7%. This was the first quarter in which Chipotle’s same-store sales declined since 2020.

According to CEO Scott Boatwright, the poor results can be attributed to more cautious spending of Americans in an uncertain economic environment. 

“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said during a conference call with analysts.

Chipotle has now decided to lower its forecasts for 2025, projecting same-store sales growth in the low-single-digit range compared to the previous prediction of the low-to-medium single-digit range. The company still intends to open between 315 and 345 new locations by the end of the year.

Chipotle’s stock jumped by 3.57% on Wednesday to close at $48.76 per share but still remained 18.58% down year-to-date. Following the earnings report, the stock erased most of its gains and dipped by 2%.

The post Chipotle Misses on Revenue and Same-Store Sales, Stock Slides appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Nvidia’s stock, just like the entire U.S. stock market, has been hampered by the ongoing trade war caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Still, Morgan Stanley’s analyst Joseph Moore said in a recent note that he and his team consider Nvidia to be well-positioned to weather the possible challenges in the long run.

“Our view is that the microeconomic impacts for NVIDIA are fairly minimal, particularly because near-term demand remains strong and is already being mitigated; the risk is macro deterioration impacting investment financing,” Moore wrote in a note sent to clients on Thursday.

He added that the ongoing spending on AI chips, a market overwhelmingly controlled by Nvidia, and “relative supply chain flexibility” will help the company outperform “even in a higher tariff environment.”

Moore kept the “Top Pick” designation on Nvidia’s stock alongside an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $162 per share.

After tumbling as low as $94.31 per share last week, Nvidia’s stock rebounded 17.62%. It closed at $110.93 per share but still remains 19.80% down year-to-date.

The post Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Nvidia Stock as its “Top Pick” appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

BYD has already started building manufacturing plants in Szeged, Hungary, and Izmir, Turkey, that will produce 500,000 EVs per year combined. The Szeged factory is expected to open by the end of this year, while the facility in Izmir should start production in March 2026.

BYD is facing a slowing demand in its home market and sees expansion to Europe as an opportunity to increase its sales. By having another production facility in the region, the company would be able to offer cheaper EVs and challenge the domestic producers.

BYD’s executive vice president Stella Li hinted that a third factory is in play in an interview earlier this month but didn’t offer any detail about the preferred location. It is believed that the company is eyeing Western Europe, wanting to give its brand more legitimacy by positioning itself in the region with a rich automotive history.

France previously indicated that it would be open to welcoming BYD, but that doesn’t seem to be a legitimate option at the moment. The company was advised by the Chinese government to avoid investing in EU countries that supported the tariffs, with France and Italy being on the list.

While Germany is now at the top of BYD’s list of preferred locations, the decision is yet to be confirmed. Some executives remain wary of the idea due to the country’s high labor and energy costs and what is perceived to be low flexibility.

The post China’s EV Giant BYD is Considering Building a New Factory in Germany appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Walgreens and Sycamore Partners are looking to close the agreement by the end of the week with only minor issues left to be ironed out. Under the agreement, Sycamore Partners would initially pay between $11.30 a share and $11.40 a share in cash while including certain escalators that would drive the price up for shareholders if certain financial targets are reached.

Sycamore Partners reportedly plans to split up Walgreens Boots Alliance, keeping its core retail business while selling or taking public other parts of the company.

Bloomberg also reports that several credit lenders are looking to enter the deal by providing $4.5 billion of debt for funding purposes. HPS Investment Partners and Ares Management Corp. are believed to be among the interested parties.

After the news about the Sycamore Partners deal broke out, Walgreens stock rose as much as 8% before sliding down by 3.5% on Wednesday. The stock is trading at $10.66 per share, giving the company a market cap of $9.2 billion. For comparison, the company was valued at $100 billion in 2015.

The post Walgreens to Go Private in a $10 Billion Deal appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Coinbase made the announcement in a release posted on their website, saying that the “SEC staff has agreed in principle to dismiss its unlawful enforcement case against Coinbase, subject to Commissioner approval.”

“We’ve always maintained that we were right on the facts and the law, and today’s announcement confirms that this case should never have been filed in the first place. This is a victory not just for Coinbase, but for our customers, the United States, and individual freedom,” the release stated.

Back in 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, arguing that the digital assets traded on the platform constituted “unregistered securities” and could result in financial harm for the users. It was one of several cases that saw the SEC take on major crypto companies.

However, the SEC is now changing course under new crypto-friendly leadership. The agency is in the process of amending its regulations and reviewing past lawsuits with the intention to seek settlements.

Coinbase stock traded higher early on Friday before dropping by 8.27% by the end of the day to close at $235.38 per share. The company’s shares have been down since the start of the year after improving by as much as 70% at the beginning of December.

The post Coinbase Expects SEC to Drop Its Lawsuit Against the Crypto Exchange appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The company’s earnings in Q4 barely met the expectations from analysts, coming at adjusted $2.80 per share. However, the revenue declined compared to the same period last year and missed the Wall Street estimates. McDonald’s reported revenue of $6.39 billion while analysts expected $6.44 billion.

McDonald’s recorded a 0.4% growth in global comparable sales versus a forecasted 0.41% drop. However, the chain’s performance in the United States, its biggest market, has greatly missed the mark.

The comparable sales in the U.S. have declined by 1.4% compared to 0.4% slide expected by analysts. It marked the company’s worst decline in almost five years. McDonald’s managed to “slightly” improve traffic in its stores thanks to a variety of deals and discounts, but the customers didn’t spend as much as expected.

January is expected to be another challenging month for McDonald’s despite the company’s efforts to boost sales with budget friendly McValue menu. However, experts are still convinced that the company will manage to make up the ground later in 2025. Out of 21 Wall Street analysts tracked by TipRanks, 13 have “Buy” or equivalent rating on McDonald’s stock while nine have “Hold” or equivalent rating.

McDonald’s stock jumped by 2.62% in pre-market trading on Monday compared to the previous close price of $294.30 per share.

The post McDonald’s Reports Worse-Than-Expected Q4 Earnings Amid Drop in Sales appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Last week, DeepSeek presented its free-to-use AI model, DeepSeek-R1, which generated a massive buzz and rose to the top of the App Store charts over the weekend. The company says it developed the model in just two months at a cost of $6 million and that DeepSeek-R1 has on-par, if not superior, capabilities to similar models from U.S. companies like OpenAI and Meta.

 This prompted a widespread debate about the valuation of AI-centric companies and the amount of funds that tech giants are dedicating to developing AI technology. Investors responded with a sell-off that sent the shares of Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon plunging.

Nvidia, which controls up to 90% of the AI chips market, has taken the biggest hit and was down more than 11% in premarket trading.

“DeepSeek shows that it is possible to develop powerful AI models that cost less,” Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee, told Fortune. “It can potentially derail the investment case for the entire AI supply chain, which is driven by high spending from a small handful of hyperscalers.”

The post Tech Stocks Drop as China’s Startup DeepSeek Emerges as a Challenger to U.S. AI Dominance appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The CPI increased by 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the last month of 2024 compared to a 0.3% jump in November while putting the 12-month inflation at 2.9%. Economists predicted a 0.3% jump and 12-month inflation of 2.9%.

However, the core CPI, which excludes volatile prices of food and gas and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, has been favorable and came below expectations. It saw a jump of 0.2% and came at an annual rate of 3.2%, while economists expected a 0.3% increase and an annual rate of 3.3%.

The CPI report had a positive effect on the stock market, which rebounded following a sluggish start of the week. Benchmark S&P 500 improved by 107 points or 1.83% to close at 5,949.91, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced 703.27 points or 1.65% to close at 43,221.55, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 2.45% or 466.84  for a 19,511.23 points close. 

Experts believe that the CPI numbers won’t change the Fed’s intention to pause with rate cuts but should calm any concerns about interest rates going up.

“Today’s CPI may help the Fed feel a little more dovish. It won’t change expectations for a pause later this month, but it should curb some of the talk about the Fed potentially raising rates,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, told CNBC. “And judging by the market’s initial response, investors appeared to feel a sense of relief after a few months of stickier inflation readings.”

The post Consumer Price Index Rises in December, But Shows Encouraging Trend appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Collins said that she believes the latest employment data and lingering inflation call will result in fewer rate cuts than previously expected.

“Over time, it will be appropriate for some more easing, but perhaps somewhat less than I might have thought back in September,” Collins said. “Taking the time to really patiently assess the data holistically — to be analytic and patient — seems to me very likely to be appropriate as we think about policy going into 2025.”

Collins explained that the Fed officials might adopt a faster pace in case inflation shows further signs of cooling down. But if the data is inconclusive, the Fed will likely elect to stand pat.

However, she is optimistic about the labor market, where the data is more favorable.

 “On the labor market side, there were more concerns for me earlier about potential fragilities. Those concerns have eased,” she added.

The Fed slashed its benchmark rate to 4.25% to 4.5% during its December meeting. At the time, the officials said they would wait to see further improvement in inflation data before making their next move. Additionally, they forecasted just two rate cuts in 2025 compared to projections of four rate cuts from the September meeting.

The post Boston Fed President Susan Collins Supports Fewer Rate Cuts in 2025 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Chipotle had $0.29 in adjusted earnings per share compared to $0.27 in adjusted EPS expected by analysts. Its revenue came at $2.88 billion, marking a 6.4% jump compared to the same period last year but falling short of an estimated $2.95 billion.

Arguably the most worrying thing for the investors was the same-store sales decline in Q1. Chipotle recorded a 0.4% dip while analysts estimated growth of 1.7%. This was the first quarter in which Chipotle’s same-store sales declined since 2020.

According to CEO Scott Boatwright, the poor results can be attributed to more cautious spending of Americans in an uncertain economic environment. 

“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said during a conference call with analysts.

Chipotle has now decided to lower its forecasts for 2025, projecting same-store sales growth in the low-single-digit range compared to the previous prediction of the low-to-medium single-digit range. The company still intends to open between 315 and 345 new locations by the end of the year.

Chipotle’s stock jumped by 3.57% on Wednesday to close at $48.76 per share but still remained 18.58% down year-to-date. Following the earnings report, the stock erased most of its gains and dipped by 2%.

The post Chipotle Misses on Revenue and Same-Store Sales, Stock Slides appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Nvidia’s stock, just like the entire U.S. stock market, has been hampered by the ongoing trade war caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Still, Morgan Stanley’s analyst Joseph Moore said in a recent note that he and his team consider Nvidia to be well-positioned to weather the possible challenges in the long run.

“Our view is that the microeconomic impacts for NVIDIA are fairly minimal, particularly because near-term demand remains strong and is already being mitigated; the risk is macro deterioration impacting investment financing,” Moore wrote in a note sent to clients on Thursday.

He added that the ongoing spending on AI chips, a market overwhelmingly controlled by Nvidia, and “relative supply chain flexibility” will help the company outperform “even in a higher tariff environment.”

Moore kept the “Top Pick” designation on Nvidia’s stock alongside an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $162 per share.

After tumbling as low as $94.31 per share last week, Nvidia’s stock rebounded 17.62%. It closed at $110.93 per share but still remains 19.80% down year-to-date.

The post Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Nvidia Stock as its “Top Pick” appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

BYD has already started building manufacturing plants in Szeged, Hungary, and Izmir, Turkey, that will produce 500,000 EVs per year combined. The Szeged factory is expected to open by the end of this year, while the facility in Izmir should start production in March 2026.

BYD is facing a slowing demand in its home market and sees expansion to Europe as an opportunity to increase its sales. By having another production facility in the region, the company would be able to offer cheaper EVs and challenge the domestic producers.

BYD’s executive vice president Stella Li hinted that a third factory is in play in an interview earlier this month but didn’t offer any detail about the preferred location. It is believed that the company is eyeing Western Europe, wanting to give its brand more legitimacy by positioning itself in the region with a rich automotive history.

France previously indicated that it would be open to welcoming BYD, but that doesn’t seem to be a legitimate option at the moment. The company was advised by the Chinese government to avoid investing in EU countries that supported the tariffs, with France and Italy being on the list.

While Germany is now at the top of BYD’s list of preferred locations, the decision is yet to be confirmed. Some executives remain wary of the idea due to the country’s high labor and energy costs and what is perceived to be low flexibility.

The post China’s EV Giant BYD is Considering Building a New Factory in Germany appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Walgreens and Sycamore Partners are looking to close the agreement by the end of the week with only minor issues left to be ironed out. Under the agreement, Sycamore Partners would initially pay between $11.30 a share and $11.40 a share in cash while including certain escalators that would drive the price up for shareholders if certain financial targets are reached.

Sycamore Partners reportedly plans to split up Walgreens Boots Alliance, keeping its core retail business while selling or taking public other parts of the company.

Bloomberg also reports that several credit lenders are looking to enter the deal by providing $4.5 billion of debt for funding purposes. HPS Investment Partners and Ares Management Corp. are believed to be among the interested parties.

After the news about the Sycamore Partners deal broke out, Walgreens stock rose as much as 8% before sliding down by 3.5% on Wednesday. The stock is trading at $10.66 per share, giving the company a market cap of $9.2 billion. For comparison, the company was valued at $100 billion in 2015.

The post Walgreens to Go Private in a $10 Billion Deal appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Coinbase made the announcement in a release posted on their website, saying that the “SEC staff has agreed in principle to dismiss its unlawful enforcement case against Coinbase, subject to Commissioner approval.”

“We’ve always maintained that we were right on the facts and the law, and today’s announcement confirms that this case should never have been filed in the first place. This is a victory not just for Coinbase, but for our customers, the United States, and individual freedom,” the release stated.

Back in 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, arguing that the digital assets traded on the platform constituted “unregistered securities” and could result in financial harm for the users. It was one of several cases that saw the SEC take on major crypto companies.

However, the SEC is now changing course under new crypto-friendly leadership. The agency is in the process of amending its regulations and reviewing past lawsuits with the intention to seek settlements.

Coinbase stock traded higher early on Friday before dropping by 8.27% by the end of the day to close at $235.38 per share. The company’s shares have been down since the start of the year after improving by as much as 70% at the beginning of December.

The post Coinbase Expects SEC to Drop Its Lawsuit Against the Crypto Exchange appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The company’s earnings in Q4 barely met the expectations from analysts, coming at adjusted $2.80 per share. However, the revenue declined compared to the same period last year and missed the Wall Street estimates. McDonald’s reported revenue of $6.39 billion while analysts expected $6.44 billion.

McDonald’s recorded a 0.4% growth in global comparable sales versus a forecasted 0.41% drop. However, the chain’s performance in the United States, its biggest market, has greatly missed the mark.

The comparable sales in the U.S. have declined by 1.4% compared to 0.4% slide expected by analysts. It marked the company’s worst decline in almost five years. McDonald’s managed to “slightly” improve traffic in its stores thanks to a variety of deals and discounts, but the customers didn’t spend as much as expected.

January is expected to be another challenging month for McDonald’s despite the company’s efforts to boost sales with budget friendly McValue menu. However, experts are still convinced that the company will manage to make up the ground later in 2025. Out of 21 Wall Street analysts tracked by TipRanks, 13 have “Buy” or equivalent rating on McDonald’s stock while nine have “Hold” or equivalent rating.

McDonald’s stock jumped by 2.62% in pre-market trading on Monday compared to the previous close price of $294.30 per share.

The post McDonald’s Reports Worse-Than-Expected Q4 Earnings Amid Drop in Sales appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Last week, DeepSeek presented its free-to-use AI model, DeepSeek-R1, which generated a massive buzz and rose to the top of the App Store charts over the weekend. The company says it developed the model in just two months at a cost of $6 million and that DeepSeek-R1 has on-par, if not superior, capabilities to similar models from U.S. companies like OpenAI and Meta.

 This prompted a widespread debate about the valuation of AI-centric companies and the amount of funds that tech giants are dedicating to developing AI technology. Investors responded with a sell-off that sent the shares of Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon plunging.

Nvidia, which controls up to 90% of the AI chips market, has taken the biggest hit and was down more than 11% in premarket trading.

“DeepSeek shows that it is possible to develop powerful AI models that cost less,” Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee, told Fortune. “It can potentially derail the investment case for the entire AI supply chain, which is driven by high spending from a small handful of hyperscalers.”

The post Tech Stocks Drop as China’s Startup DeepSeek Emerges as a Challenger to U.S. AI Dominance appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The CPI increased by 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the last month of 2024 compared to a 0.3% jump in November while putting the 12-month inflation at 2.9%. Economists predicted a 0.3% jump and 12-month inflation of 2.9%.

However, the core CPI, which excludes volatile prices of food and gas and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, has been favorable and came below expectations. It saw a jump of 0.2% and came at an annual rate of 3.2%, while economists expected a 0.3% increase and an annual rate of 3.3%.

The CPI report had a positive effect on the stock market, which rebounded following a sluggish start of the week. Benchmark S&P 500 improved by 107 points or 1.83% to close at 5,949.91, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced 703.27 points or 1.65% to close at 43,221.55, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 2.45% or 466.84  for a 19,511.23 points close. 

Experts believe that the CPI numbers won’t change the Fed’s intention to pause with rate cuts but should calm any concerns about interest rates going up.

“Today’s CPI may help the Fed feel a little more dovish. It won’t change expectations for a pause later this month, but it should curb some of the talk about the Fed potentially raising rates,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, told CNBC. “And judging by the market’s initial response, investors appeared to feel a sense of relief after a few months of stickier inflation readings.”

The post Consumer Price Index Rises in December, But Shows Encouraging Trend appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Collins said that she believes the latest employment data and lingering inflation call will result in fewer rate cuts than previously expected.

“Over time, it will be appropriate for some more easing, but perhaps somewhat less than I might have thought back in September,” Collins said. “Taking the time to really patiently assess the data holistically — to be analytic and patient — seems to me very likely to be appropriate as we think about policy going into 2025.”

Collins explained that the Fed officials might adopt a faster pace in case inflation shows further signs of cooling down. But if the data is inconclusive, the Fed will likely elect to stand pat.

However, she is optimistic about the labor market, where the data is more favorable.

 “On the labor market side, there were more concerns for me earlier about potential fragilities. Those concerns have eased,” she added.

The Fed slashed its benchmark rate to 4.25% to 4.5% during its December meeting. At the time, the officials said they would wait to see further improvement in inflation data before making their next move. Additionally, they forecasted just two rate cuts in 2025 compared to projections of four rate cuts from the September meeting.

The post Boston Fed President Susan Collins Supports Fewer Rate Cuts in 2025 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.