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Hey Scoopers,
Happy Thursday! Are you ready for an exciting newsletter today?
👉 Nvidia beats fiscal Q2 estimates
👉 Salesforce stages a comeback
👉 CrowdStrike lowers its guidance
So, let’s go 🚀
Market Wrap
While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes moved marginally lower on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high.
AI darling Nvidia fell over 6%, weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, even though it beat top and bottom lines estimates in fiscal Q2 of 2025.
Economic data released on Thursday supported equities, as lower weekly jobless claims from the prior week eased recession concerns. Moreover, Q2 GDP growth was revised to 3%, up from 2.8%.
Elsewhere, in an investor note, Piper Sandler explained that it continues to favor small and mid-cap companies, particularly in sectors such as industrials, financials, technology, and healthcare.
Trending Stocks 🔥
Dollar General - Shares of the discount retailer tumbled 32% after it slashed sales and profit guidance for the full year due to softer sales trends and sluggish consumer spending.
Affirm - Shares surged 32% after the buy-now-pay-later company issued a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook for fiscal Q1. It forecast sales between $640 million and $670 million in Q1, higher than estimates of $625 million.
Best Buy - Shares of the retail giant rallied 14% after it forecast adjusted earnings to range between $6.10 and $6.35 per share in the current year, above the prior range of between $5.75 and $6.20 per share.
Dell Smashes Earnings Estimates in Q2
Shares of hardware giant Dell are up 5% in pre-market after it announced that server sales in fiscal Q2 rose 80% year over year. In the July quarter, it reported:
👉 Revenue of $25.06 billion vs. estimates of $24.53 billion
👉 Earnings per share of $1.89 vs. estimates of $1.71
While revenue rose 9%, its net income climbed 85% year over year in fiscal Q2 of 2025.
Dell has emerged as a top vendor for servers that handle AI workloads, primarily based around Nvidia chips, as demand has gained significant momentum from cloud providers.
Dell’s AI sales are part of its Infrastructure Solutions business, which rose by 38% to $11.65 billion, above estimates of $10.44 billion.
Its Servers and Networking business includes AI-based and traditional servers. The business grew by 80% to $7.76 billion, above estimates of $6.37 billion. AI server sales rose from $1.7 billion to $3.1 billion in the last three months. Dell ended Q2 with an AI server order backlog of $3.8 billion.
Comparatively, storage business sales were down by 5% at $4 billion, while the Client Solutions business saw a 4% decline in the top line.
Ulta Beauty Nosedives
Shares of Ulta Beauty are down 6% in pre-market after it missed fiscal Q2 estimates and trimmed full-year guidance due to sluggish same-store sales in the last quarter.
It was the company’s first earnings miss since May 2020 and first revenue miss since December 2020. Comparable sales in Q2 fell 1.2%, compared to an 8% increase last year and below estimates of a 1.2% growth.
Ulta Beauty attributed its falling sales to a change in store systems and the disappointing impact of promotions, in addition to cautious consumer spending and rising competition in the beauty industry.
Ulta Beauty emphasized that the scale and pace of change in consumer demand is unusual, impacting 80% of its stores.
The company expects full-year revenue between $11 billion and $11.2 billion, below its previous midpoint guidance estimate of $11.55 billion. Moreover, its midpoint earnings forecast of $23 per share was below its earlier forecast of $25.6 per share.
In the July quarter, Ulta Beauty reported:
👉 Revenue of $2.55 billion vs . estimates of $2.61 billion
👉 Earnings per share of $5.30 vs. estimates of $5.46
Earlier this month, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $266 million stake in the beauty retailer, sending the stock higher in recent trading sessions.
Down almost 40% from all-time highs, ULTA stock has returned 275% in the last ten years.
Lululemon Fails to Deliver In Q2
Lululemon shares are trading 5% higher in pre-market even after the company lowered its guidance and posted its first revenue miss in more than two years.
In fiscal Q2 of 2025, Lululemon reported:
👉 Revenue of $2.37 billion vs. estimates of $2.41 billion
👉 Earnings per share of $3.15 vs. estimates of $2.41 billion
In the current quarter, it expects:
👉 Revenue between $10.44 billion, below its previous forecast of $10.75 billion
👉 Earnings per share of $14.05, below its previous forecast of $14.37
While sales rose 7% year over year, comparable sales were up just 2%, well behind estimates of 5.9%. Moreover, comparable sales in the Americas fell by 3%.
The athleisure company forecasts the top line to grow between 6% and 7% in the current quarter, much lower than Wall Street's 9.2% growth forecast.
Like other retailers, Lululemon is seeing a slowdown in demand and is focusing on operational efficiency and cost controls.
Despite an uncertain macro environment, Lululemon's gross profit increased by 9% to $1.4 billion, indicating a margin of 59.6%. Its operating margin and operating income also increased as international sales rose 29% year over year.
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Chart of The Day
Credit card debt in the U.S. has touched a record $1.14 trillion with a default rate of 3.16%.
Around 57% of Americans rely on credit cards to make ends meet, with 18-to 39-year-olds having the highest default rates.
Meme of the Day
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. The newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.