A Flight Of Fancy On A Windswept Field
Into the distance, a ribbon of sell-offs … stretched to the point of no turning back.
Great Ones, I can’t keep my eyes from the circling sky today. Tongue-tied and twisted. Just an earthbound misfit, I … by golly, by gosh, I think Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) learning to fly again!
It’s late-stage Pink Floyd, sir, but it checks out.
In a shocking turn of events, good news came out of China today for BA investors. And as such, Great Ones, we’re talking “airworthiness” today. The state of being ship-shape to soar above the clouds. Taking to the skies to fly like an eagle, eight miles high.
OK, Steve Miller Band, the flippin’ Byrds … spit it out!
See, China just declared that Boeing’s 737 Max is airworthy once more. The black eye that’s clouded BA’s optics for so long … poof! We are clear for takeoff, Great Ones.
All you Great Stuff Picks investors in BA, there’s no sensation to compare with this … suspended animation, a state of bliss!
Though, as overjoyed as I am for you BA investors — we’re going ape-$#!^ over here at Great Stuff headquarters, believe me — Boeing’s resounding rebound shouldn’t surprise you.
Remember what we said back on September 30:
Well, consider today’s news another huge step forward. As far as China’s Civil Aviation Administration is concerned, Boeing’s “corrective actions are adequate to address this unsafe condition” with its 737 Max planes that have been grounded since 2019.
And the sooner Chinese airlines get their 737 Max jets up in the air … the sooner Boeing can start selling more of these suckers.
By Boeing’s count, China alone will need 8,700 new jets over the next two decades, tallying up to $1.47 trillion in new plane sales. (I thought planes didn’t use sails? Hmmm.)
But what’s better than trillions of dollars in airplane sales? That’s right: Trillions of dollars in service revenue … all of which are now back on China’s table for Boeing to fight for. Bite me, Airbus.
Not to mention, Boeing is still making beaucoup bucks stateside from its high-value Department of Defense contracts. So domestically and worldwide, Boeing looks more runway-ready by the day.
BA shares taxied up 4% before the opening bell today — even fuselage maker Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR) shot up 9% on the news.
Combined with the broader market’s sudden updraft midday, BA didn’t let up any steam by the close … unlike literally every other time Boeing has posted great news.
Now, before we get carried away like a chair tied to balloons, Boeing isn’t completely clear of any uncertainty just yet. The Omicron freakout hasn’t exactly been kind to travel-related stocks … deserving of their fear-induced sell-offs or not.
But while the world loses its collective bowels over Omicron, Boeing remains ever-focused on the long, long-term picture.
Sure, travelers and airlines alike face a flurry of crosswinds as cases spike right around the holiday travel season … but the world still needs planes. As oversimplified as it sounds, it bears repeating for as long as BA remains Wall Street’s favorite Dow punching bag.
For as much as the market freaked out about Boeing’s 737 Max stall out, the jetmaker is still putting the pieces together to deliver more planes to the airlines that, Omicron be damned, still need to refresh their decrepit fleets.
Now that the 737 Max is all set to resume flying in China — the world’s biggest aircraft market — Boeing’s post-pandemic rebound flight is booked.
Wake Up Call! It’s Tax Time
Uhhh … what? I was literally just eating Thanksgiving dinner it seems.
I can hear you grumbling already … so I’ll make this easy. Whether you’re a prepper or a procrastinator when it comes to the IRS’s nitty-gritty, you need to check this out right now:
Instead of paying more taxes come April, there are actually many ways you could pay less tax. Asset protection expert Ted Bauman outlines these sneaky — but 100% legal — tax tips inside a comprehensive report called Slash Your Taxes.
These tax tips are anything but ordinary … and they could help you keep more of your hard-earned money.
Click here now for all the details.
Anyone else remember when Dollar General (NYSE: DG) debuted Popshelf? You know, those sleepy suburban superstores that carry home goods, seasonal décor, party supplies and other miscellaneous knickknacks meant to clutter your house?
Yeah, me either. But if you haven’t seen any Popshelf popups in your friendly neighborhood strip mall, there’s a good chance you’ll see one soon: Dollar General plans to build 1,000 more of these puppies in the U.S. by 2025.
According to the dollar store chain, Popshelf is a way for the retailer to attract new customers and drive profits. Its target demographic is older women who live at the end of cul-de-sacs and enjoy long drives in the family station wagon — not to mention bargain-hunting for new “Live, Laugh, Love” signs to hang in their foyers.
Thing is, Dollar General announced its expansion plans right after posting lackluster third-quarter earnings: While per-share earnings came in $0.07 higher than analysts anticipated, that’s way below the $2.31 per share the company reported a year ago.
Adding insult to injury, Dollar General still expects fiscal-year same-store sales to fall 2.5% to 3% … even though we’re heading into the holiday shopping season when seasonal décor and party supplies should be popping off.
So, let me get this straight. Dollar General, a discount retailer, expects sales to drop off even though everyone and their mother is worried about inflation. And in answer to this quandary, Dollar General wants to open 1,000 more brick-and-mortar stores … that sell higher-priced items?
That doesn’t make much sense to me — and it doesn’t make much sense to Wall Street either. Investors responded to the news by sending Dollar General 2% lower this morning.
All I Want For Christmas Is A Cyberquad
…and maybe a Cyberwhistle if you’re feeling extra generous.
Love him or hate him, Great Ones, you’ve gotta admit that Elon Musk has a sense of humor. First, he gave us the Cybertruck. Then, he hands us the Cyberquad and the Cyberwhistle as part of Tesla’s (Nasdaq: TSLA) new “lifestyle” lineup.
What’s next? The “Cybersurfboard?” Oh wait … I guess he already did that one.
Tesla took aim at Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) $19 Polishing Cloth by releasing its own overpriced accessory called the Cyberwhistle. Seriously. It’s a whistle. A $50 whistle that looks like it could summon a whole legion of cyber sentinels hellbent on destroying the human race. Did I mention this thing is already sold out?
And then there’s the outlandish Cyberquad — an all-electric four-wheeler for kids that’s modeled after Tesla’s yet-to-be-released Cybertruck. For the low, low, low, low price of $1,900, this too could be parked in front of your driveway, right next to your Model S.
Except … this just sold out as well. Noooooo!
You know, I have to hand it to Tesla. The minute it releases a new product — no matter how ridiculous that product is — Tesla’s fanbase gets the gimmie-gimmies and snatches it up right quick.
That’s the kind of customer loyalty that Apple can only dream of at this point. Good thing it has a handy hanky … erm “Polishing Cloth” … to wipe away those Tesla teasing tears.
Let It SNOW! Let It SNOW! Let It SNOW!
Shares of data-analytics software seller Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) shot higher this morning after the company released strong third-quarter sales and rip-roaring revenue guidance heading into the end of the year.
If you’re not familiar with Snowflake, here’s the long and short of what the company does, without all the cloudy bluster:
Basically, Snowflake is a cloud-storage company that warehouses heaping helpings of data, similar to Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) Amazon Web Services. Except, you know, Snowflake is beautiful and unique … like delicate drops of SNOW.
The company went public late last year and has yet to turn a profit. In fact, it just reported a loss of $0.51 per share. Despite that, revenue grew 110% year over year to $334.4 million, which blew past Wall Street’s expectations of $154.9 million.
Snowflake also raised its guidance to between $345 million and $350 million for the fourth quarter, well above analysts’ $315.9 million projection.
This revenue revelation — in addition to the company’s rapidly growing customer base — was enough to shake SNOW investors out of hibernation and send Snowflake more than 14% higher on the day.
Can you say: “Brr … It’s Cold In Here?” Sure you can.
Don’t worry, Great Ones — not all discount retailers are dead.
Just ask Five Below (Nasdaq: FIVE), which made its mark selling items for $5 or less … except for all those things it sells between $6 and $10. But we won’t talk about those today, no siree!
After all, we already threw enough shade Dollar Tree’s way over its mismatched branding message. But I digress.
Five Below stepped into the earnings confessional on Wednesday and was promptly rewarded for its altruism despite “challenging” supply-chain snags mucking up its merchandising. The company earned $24.4 million this past quarter compared to the $20.4 million it pulled in Q3 2020, with earnings coming in $0.07 higher per share.
Part of this revenue growth comes from the 52 new stores it opened this year — each of which fall under the traditional Five Below business model (take note, Dollar General).
Even Wall Street analysts were impressed with Five Below’s performance: “In a world with significant supply-chain disruption, FIVE is proving that it can manage through this volatility better than most,” said Jefferies analyst Randal Konik.
FIVE investors didn’t need any more encouragement than that and handily hiked FIVE stock nearly 5% higher. Now how’s that for fitting?
And with that, I’ll hand it over to you, Great Ones. Did you buy Boeing when we first recommended it? Anyone get their kid — or maybe grandkid — a Cyberquad for Christmas? How hyped are you for Popshelf to pop up in a suburban strip mall near you?
Barring all that, what else is on your mind this week? We’re less than a day away from tomorrow’s Reader Feedback, so make sure your voice is heard and write to us posthaste!
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Until next time, stay Great!
