The stock market’s closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But there’s still a lot going on that investors need to pay attention to.

I joined my colleague Jeff Yastine in today’s Market Insights to discuss a key earnings report for this week, as well as some other important developments in the financial world.

 

Many analysts have expressed concern over Netflix’s ballooning debt. But from our point of view, the key to Netflix’s future success is its subscriber growth.

 

Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) will report its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Many analysts have expressed concern over Netflix’s ballooning debt. But from our point of view, the key to Netflix’s future success is its subscriber growth.

Wednesday’s earnings report will tell us how the company is stacking up against competition such as Disney+.

If Netflix is gaining lots of subscribers despite the other streaming options available, then its revenue could easily double, triple or even quadruple in the next few years.

On the other hand, disappointing subscriber numbers could be devastating for Netflix’s stock. We saw this happen last July, when an underwhelming earnings report caused Netflix’s shares to plunge by almost 20%.

Right now, Netflix’s price is nearly identical to what it was in January 2019. Some good news on Wednesday would go a long way toward helping Netflix’s stock move higher this year.

 

President Donald Trump signed the phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal last week.

The S&P 500 Index was already up 1.3% in the days following the deal.

Jeff said: “I think it’s possible that the market will continue to look to phase 2, with perhaps anticipation that it’s signed late this summer.”

I also share my thoughts on why the trade situation in China is very different than it was just 10 years ago.

 

Bitcoin was the best-performing asset of 2019 … and no one seems to be talking about it.

The cryptocurrency soared 87% last year. In comparison, the S&P 500 rose 29%.

Many investors are flocking to bitcoin as an alternative to gold and other safe-haven assets.

Plus, the new Bakkt futures exchange is making it easier for speculators to trade bitcoin than ever before.

 

We hope you enjoy today’s holiday!

Jeff will have a brand-new article for you on Tuesday about another tech stock that’s reporting earnings this week.

 

Regards,

Ian King

Editor, Automatic Fortunes

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