Fundamental Analysis Stories

Apple Air Pods came out a little more than a year ago, providing people a wireless way to listen to music, podcasts, and take calls hands free. This year, they seem to be just as popular as many stores have sold out and Apple won’t have any more in time for Christmas. Maybe a surprise to many as these were not that popular of a product for awhile. A few months after their initial release, people wanted them and stores were selling out.

Targets latest attempt to compete with Amazon is the acquisition of the grocery delivery company Shipt. This deal will cost $550 million and allow Target to ship food same day, which directly competes with Amazon and their acquisition of Whole Foods. Retail has been a difficult sector to pull profits from this year, but companies similar to Target have their grocery businesses to worry about as well. 2018 is when the service is scheduled to go live, but we’ll hear more in the coming weeks.

Streaming devices continue to grow in popularity as people look to cut the cord and find less expensive alternatives. Roku offers products that all people to stream Netflix, YouTube, and other channels millions use on a daily basis. Over the last month, the stock has soared, matching or beating many price targets set by investment banks.

With Bitcoin nearing a record $10,000 per coin, many people are comparing this movement to that of the tech bubble of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. If you take a quick glance at any chart, you will notice the price of Bitcoin has moved in a parabolic manner, which many investors know could be an omen of what is to come. For those unaware, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is used to pay for goods and services, as well as being traded. The technology behind a cryptocurrency, blockchain, is what people are excited about.

Big box retailer Best Buy is preparing for the biggest single day in retail. Best Buy is an electronics store that sells anything from batteries to large screen televisions. For those familiar, this space faced troubles with Radio Shack and Circuit City, both falling to bankruptcy. This is attributable to online sales increasing, but despite the increase in e-commerce, Best buy has been able to survive.

Simon Property Group is a company that purchases real estate, most notably retail real estate including malls and shopping centers. Retail has been struggling these last several quarters and many fear it still could fall even lower. The biggest day in retail is rapidly approaching and it may be a time to monitor investments that are related to this category. The reason property is in focus in this article is with all of the stores going bankrupt, you want to ensure that the companies owning retail real estate are properly diversified and able to handle the slow down.

As the financial system grows and evolves, the way we process payments changes with it. From cash, to checks, to debit cards, we have found more efficient ways to process payments. Popular names in this space include Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal. Square is a mobile payment system that allows people to accept payments via phones and other devices. However, that is not the reason the market is now watching Square closely. News has come out that the company is testing the ability to accept and process Bitcoin payments, which adds another notch to the viability of the cryptocurrency.

“I’m not surprised at the investor reaction”, CEO John Flannery stated in relation to the markets reaction to the company’s dividend cut and performance. General Electric produces many different items including appliances and parts used in everyday life. A few short days ago, the company came out with results that were less than stellar, along with the news of cutting the dividend.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast food restaurant that prides itself on using clean foods, locally grown ingredients and meats. Offering this option on a simple menu and quick service continues to be the backbone of this company. However, recent times have proven to be difficult, as people have claimed the food chain is making them ill or the facilities themselves are unsanitary.

Snap Inc., the name responsible for the social media platform Snapchat is in trouble as their latest numbers were below estimates and this has investors looking the other way. For those unfamiliar, this social platform works by sending images that eventually disappear. You can even post Snapchat stories that stay posted for 24 hours for your friends to see. These features have been mirrored on Instagram and Facebook, which Facebook owns Instagram, but many say that is not the reason for their issues with Snap Inc.