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- 👉 The Investing Week Ahead: Bitcoin, Google, & Olympics Stocks
👉 The Investing Week Ahead: Bitcoin, Google, & Olympics Stocks
& Tesla's U.S. market share is below 50%...
Welcome to your new week.
If you need a nice podcast episode to listen to as you get things revved up this week — look no further. While Dave Ramsey is an incredibly smart pioneer of financial education, he also has some beliefs that we simply can’t get behind.
Below are the links for Spotify and Apple Podcasts — but it’s available on any platform that you use:
Let’s dive into everything you need to know for the week ahead!
Key Earnings Announcements:
Two Mag 7 stocks report this week – TSLA & GOOG – along with leaders from the technology, automotive, energy, healthcare and consumer goods industries.
Monday (7/22): Brown & Brown, NXP, Ryanair, SAP, Truist, Verizon
Tuesday (7/23): Alphabet, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Capital One, GM, Invesco, Lockheed Martin, MSCI, Phillip Morris, Spotify, Tesla, Texas Instruments, UPS, Visa
Wednesday (7/24): AT&T, Boston Scientific, Chipotle, eBay, Evercore, Fiserv, Ford, General Dynamics, IBM, ServiceNow, Stifel, Waste Management
Thursday (7/25): AbbVie,American Airlines, Barclays, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Lazard, Royal Caribbean, RTX, Southwest Airlines, Stellantis, Tractor Supply
Friday (7/26): Bristol-Myers, Centene, Charter, Colgate, Piper Sandler, 3M
What We’re Watching:
Alphabet will announce its Q2 results on Tuesday after the closing bell. Analysts are forecasting a +27% increase in earnings and a +12% rise in revenue. Over the past year, Alphabet's share price has surged +45% — outperforming the S&P 500's ~22% return.
Alphabet is also in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion — potentially marking its largest acquisition ever. This follows Alphabet's decision to step back from acquiring HubSpot (HUBS), valued at $24 billion. Significant past acquisitions for the tech giant include: Android, YouTube, DoubleClick, DeepMind, and Motorola.
Alphabet has rapidly become a leader in the AI market with innovations like the Gemma 2 model and new training methods by Google DeepMind. Google's extensive infrastructure across search, cloud, advertising, and YouTube — along with continuous innovation – drive its market strength.
Tesla (-3.7% YTD) will announce its financial results on Tuesday after market close. There are expectations of a large YoY decline in EPS due to pricing impacts and the trade war with China. Tesla delivered 443,956 vehicles in Q2 — slightly above analysts’ predictions of 439,302, but nearly -5% lower than last year’s 466,140 deliveries.
Despite a -3% dip in Tesla’s share price in 2024, it surged over 60% in the past three months — raising its market cap to around $800 billion from under $500 billion in Q1.
Tesla's Q2 production and delivery figures showed declines of -1.7% and -8.5%, while overall EV sales in the U.S. grew by +11.3% YoY. The company is also expected to touch on the Robotaxi event that was recently delayed from August to October.
Despite Tesla's leading position, its U.S. market share fell below 50% for the first time due to increased competition from brands like BMW, Cadillac, Honda, and Kia.
Analysts and Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating system both hold a cautious stance on Tesla, rating it a Hold. Barclays raised its price target to $225 from $180, citing Tesla's leadership in the EV market but acknowledging near-term headwinds.
You know how I feel. I’m holding Tesla for the LONG-TERM and couldn’t care less about price targets on this stock.
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Stock Performance, 5-Year Chart, Seeking Alpha
Investor Events / Global Affairs:
Small caps are being talked about, Trump is speaking at the Bitcoin Conference, and Paris provides a potential springboard for numerous stocks.
Revisiting the Small-Cap Rotation (IWM, IWMI)
The stock market has experienced a significant rotation, with previously lagging stocks (especially smaller ones) outperforming the Magnificent Seven tech stocks. Over the past seven days, the Russell 2000 Index of smaller stocks surpassed the S&P 500 by the largest margin since 1986 — while the Russell 1000 Value Index had its biggest lead over the growth-stock index since 2001.
The shift is of course due to Fed interest rate cuts seeming almost certain by September. Investors are now closely watching corporate earnings to determine if this rotation is a temporary blip or a sustainable shift.
The Russell 2000 index rose by +1.7% last week — extending its gains to +7.8% YTD. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell by -2%, reducing its gains to +15% YTD.
Pumped to have told all of my subscribers / followers about this nearly a month ago. IWMI is my preferred way to get exposure to small caps.
Bitcoin (BTC) Conference in Nashville
Bitcoin's price has surged by nearly +20% since early July, partially fueled by speculation that former President Donald Trump may announce the creation of a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve at the upcoming Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
BOTH of Tennessee’s U.S. Senators will also be speaking — Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn. They’ll be joining by Senator Cynthia Lummis (WY) and Representative Ro Khanna (CA).
That’s a former (and potentially future) U.S. President + at least four members of Congress that are taking the stage at the Bitcoin Conference… Imagine saying that a decade ago! Bitcoin and crypto continue to grow like a weed over time.
The U.S. government currently holds ~212,000 Bitcoins — which are worth around $15 billion.
Other notable speakers include:
Reply to this email if you’re coming to Nashville for the conference! I’ll be around!
Paris Olympics Begin
As the Paris Olympics approach, investors are eyeing five sports-related stocks. Foot Locker (FL) plans to capitalize on the event with augmented-reality experiences and in-store events despite facing competition and a challenging year. Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) is well-positioned with strong earnings and bullish sentiment from analysts, making it a top pick.
Topgolf Callaway Brands (MODG) is banking on its high-tech driving ranges to boost golf's popularity, with a potential spin-off in the future. DraftKings (DKNG) is expected to benefit from increased sports betting, including Olympic events, with analysts maintaining a positive outlook. Comcast (CMCSA) — through NBCUniversal and its streaming service Peacock — will provide extensive coverage of the Olympics, potentially boosting ad revenue and subscriber numbers.
And let’s of course not forget Nike (NKE) — the stock that’s BEGGING for an Olympics bounce.
There’s plenty of other “Olympics stocks” than the ones mentioned above, but the goal here is to change the way you are thinking. The Olympics aren’t just games — they serve as a platform for all of these companies to meaningfully increase their customer bases and gain new exposure. Let’s see who takes advantage!
Major Economic Events:
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (Core PCE) and initial Q2 GDP data could be the final assessments the Fed needs to see before cutting rates.
Monday (7/22): N/A
Tuesday (7/23): Existing home sales, S&P flash US manufacturing PMI S&P flash US services PMI
Wednesday (7/24): New home sales
Thursday (7/25): Advanced retail inventories, Advanced US trade balance, Advanced wholesale inventories, Durable-goods orders, GDP, Initial jobless claims
Friday (7/26): Core PCE index, Consumer sentiment (final), PCE index, Personal income (nominal), Personal spending (nominal)
What We’re Watching:
On Friday, the latest data for Core PCE is expected. Economists predict a +2.5% increase in June compared to the previous year — slightly down from May's +2.6% rise. On a month-to-month basis, Core PCE is expected to show a +0.2% increase, up from May's +0.1% gain.
This data release comes just days before the Fed’s monetary policy decision on July 31. The markets widely anticipate that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged — but projections show a 96% chance the Fed cuts rates by the end of its September meeting.
On Thursday, the first reading of the Q2 GDP will be released. Economists predict that the US economy grew at an annualized rate of +1.9% in Q2, an improvement from the 1.4% growth rate in Q1 — but continuing to point to the lowest growth since the contractions in the first half of 2022.
If you’re starting your investing journey or are interested in buying T-bills yielding 5% or more, consider visiting Public.com.
If you want high-quality stock research and portfolio management tools, consider signing up for Seeking Alpha.
If you want to check out the full episode list of the Rich Habits podcast, click here.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or a recommendation for any investment. The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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