🥲 Walmart’s mixed bag

Walmart had a strong quarter and a weak outlook | The eurozone perked up | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for February 22nd in 3:05 minutes. 🤩 Warren Buffett thinks you should be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. So join 7investing’s Simon Erickson for [Do Recessions Have A Silver Lining?]( on March 8th, and find out why today’s hair-raising markets could have savvy investors working up an appetite. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Walmart’s cautious outlook made investors forget its bumper results - Here’s where Buffett, Soros, and Elliott have been investing – [Read Now]( - Eurozone business activity went from strength to strength this month The Best Is Behind [The Best Is Behind] What’s Going On Here? Walmart [reported]( strong quarterly results on Tuesday, but it was the firm’s unpromising outlook that grabbed investors’ attention. What Does This Mean? The world was in a funk last quarter, but Walmart soldiered on. See, shoppers might have been shunning nice-to-haves like electronic goods, but the firm’s grocery offerings kept the aisles full of customers. And with the retail colossus cutting prices in a bid to sell off last year’s overstocked inventory, those bargains didn't just bring people through the doors: they had those doors practically swinging off the hinges. All in all, sales at US stores open longer than a year grew by 8%, which helped overall revenue and profit sail past expectations. Mind you, investors still ditched their shares initially when they caught wind of Walmart’s outlook: that underwhelming forecast suggested that annual profit could fall for the second year in a row. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: Imperiled profit. Those worries could be well-founded. Last quarter's sales were propped up by low-margin merchandise like groceries and discounted goods, which could explain why profitability took a dip. What's more, consumer savings rates are currently hovering at around half their pre-pandemic levels, meaning that customers probably won’t start splashing the cash anytime soon. Add in price hikes from Walmart's suppliers, and it’s no surprise the firm thinks its profit margins could be in danger. The bigger picture: Retail’s reeling. Walmart’s expecting trouble, and Home Depot already [has]( it in spades. On Tuesday the firm announced that it missed sales expectations for the first time since the pandemic last quarter, and predicted that its sales won’t grow at all in 2023. Putting the forecasts of the two titans together, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that retail as a whole could be a little shaky this year – which might be why an index tracking some of the biggest companies in the retail space fell when the news broke. You might also like: [How you can work out what Walmart’s stock is really worth.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=The Best Is Behind&utm_campaign=daily-global-22-02-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take You Might Be Going All-In On Stocks, But Buffett, Soros, And Elliott Haven’t Been [You Might Be Going All-In On Stocks, But Buffett, Soros, And Elliott Haven’t Been]( By Russell Burns, Analyst Retail investors have been [diving headlong into stocks]( this year. But with as many signals pointing up as down in the market, you might be tempted to [break from the pack]( and spread your money around to other assets. I took a look at what Elliott Investment Management, Soros Fund Management, and [Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway]( have been doing – and it turned out that retail investors could learn a lot from those big players’ strategies. That’s today’s Insight: [where these three investment giants have been putting their money.]( [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY INTERACTIVE INVESTOR Investing fees don’t need to be so complicated If you like keeping things simple, you could love [Interactive Investor]( – or [ii](, if you’re a regular. See, ii is known for boasting [a wide range of flat-fee investing plans](, each with a fixed monthly subscription, that have been [more cost-efficient]( for those with hefty investment pots. And now ii’s unveiled the brand-new [Investor Essentials plan](, which lets you [invest up to £30,000 for a fixed fee of £4.99]( a month – ii’s cheapest plan yet. You’ll get to pick from the [biggest range of UK and international investments]( on the market, all while enjoying the bliss of free regular investing. And get this: if you hit that £30,000 threshold, you’ll automatically graduate to [ii’s most popular plan]( for just £9.99 a month – no slaps on the hand or hidden excess fees in sight. [Simplify your investing fees with ii](. [Find Out More]( For £4.99 you get Free regular investing, additional trading fees do apply. The value of your investments may go down as well as up and international investments may also be affected by currency fluctuations which might reduce their Sterling/GBP value. You may not get back all the money that you invest. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment product or service, you should seek advice from an authorised financial advisor. Eurozoom [Eurozoom] What’s Going On Here? Data out on Tuesday [showed]( that eurozone business activity sped forward this month. What Does This Mean? Turns out the beleaguered eurozone – which borders war-torn Ukraine and was recently smacked by an energy crisis – is actually doing pretty well for itself. At any rate, that’s what was found by a monthly survey asking purchasing managers how business has been. By their account, business activity has grown at the greatest rate in nine months, whizzing past economists’ expectations to post the second-straight month of growth. That bumper performance was solely down to the services sector, which clocked up its best performance since June and offset a slight slowdown in manufacturing as factory activity dropped off. Why Should I Care? For markets: Growing, growing, gone. This data has got economists thinking the economy might grow this quarter, and it’s no surprise they’re looking on the bright side: natural gas shortages don’t look likely right now, inflation’s currently on the ebb, and consumer confidence is at its highest in a year. But that good news could have some not-so-good effects, keeping the flames of inflation hotter for longer and prompting more hikes from the European Central Bank. That chimes with what Goldman’s thinking: the firm revised its predictions earlier this week, betting that interest rates will peak at around 3.5% in June – not 3.25%. Zooming out: Pricey permits. The improving economic outlook meant that the price of [European pollution permits]( rose to [over]( €100 ($107) for the first time ever on Tuesday. That means that the carbon credits – one of the mainstays of the region’s net zero strategy – have risen fivefold in three years. And that’s not really a shocker: tumbling gas prices have spurred industry on, and the specter of more stringent climate regulations has got businesses stockpiling permits, further buoying up prices. You might also like: [Five reasons to consider European stocks now.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Eurozoom&utm_campaign=daily-global-22-02-2023&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” – Zsa Zsa Gabor (a Hungarian-American socialite and actress) [Tweet this]( Our community wants to know your name Building a good brand is hard work. So if you’re proud of the work you do, you best make sure everyone knows about it. You could start by [introducing yourself to our one-million-strong community](: they’re a global bunch of switched-on, savvy retail investors who want to take their investing skills up a notch. 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