Big Banks Open Earnings Season

Today is Monday, October 17, 2022.

New to this newsletter? Sign up here.

Big Banks Open Earnings Season

Earnings season kicked off in full gear late last week with several big banks reporting financial results.

Quick Recap: It was a mixed bag for the big banks. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) beat estimates on earnings and revenue. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) missed its estimates.

Preparing for the Worst: Despite the mostly positive results, the banks see a recession in the near future. JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo stored extra cash in the quarter just in case there are potential loan defaults, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Not So Fast: While the big banks are strengthening their cash reserves, they also noted that consumer spending is still strong. This is good for the banks, of course, but it is also good for other stocks that are dependent on consumer spending.

Numbers: Similar to other sectors, it’s been a rough year for financial companies. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund, which tracks the industry, is down over 21% this year.

Final Thoughts: We’ll see how other banks are doing financially when they report earnings this week. This includes regional banks that will shed more light on the state of the consumer.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Marten Transport (Nasdaq: MRTN), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE: SFBS), BNY Melon (NYSE: BK), Sono-Tek (Nasdaq; SOTK), Guaranty Bancshares (Nasdaq: GNTY), MainStreet Bancshares (Nasdaq: MNSB), CrossFirst Bankshares (Nasdaq: CFB), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS).

Notable IPOs Today: N/A.

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Tradefluence (StartEngine), Gumbo to Geaux (Honeycomb), iatrixAir (Netcapital), Shepherd Park Children’s Academy (SMBX), Color+Light (StartEngine), Securlinx (StartEngine).

Notable Economic Events Today: NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (8:30 a.m. ET).

Quant’s Surprisingly Strong Week

The price of the cryptocurrency Quant jumped over 4% on Sunday, capping off a week when the cryptocurrency grew 24%.

Catalyst: More buying and more talk about Quant on social media seem to be fueling the increase. There are rumors that scammers might be inflating the price, but there’s no proof of that yet.

Final Thoughts: This recent increase is an all-time high for Quant’s price against Bitcoin. Quant has overshadowed other cryptos this week.

Equity Crowdfunding Spotlight: Pureboost

Briefly describe your business. Pureboost is the #1 clean energy drink mix. Sold in Target, Costco.com, and Walmart, Pureboost is also the #1 category leader on Amazon. Pureboost has generated $17.5M in revenue and has delivered 15M servings to happy customers nationwide.

What are the terms of the investment for your campaign? Pureboost is raising a priced equity seed round. The terms of the deal, including the valuation and price per share, can be viewed on Wefunder.

What makes your startup special? Pureboost’s founders include a former professional athlete/Harvard MBA, Yale JD, and leaders in the nutrition space—including one that built a nutritional drink company to $1.2B in sales. Collectively, the founders have 10 exits among them.

Trends to Watch

Ignoring Reality: Bitcoin and Stocks Took a Gut Punch; the Builders Hardly Noticed (CoinDesk)

Giving Up: Comcast Pulls Plug On G4 TV, Ending Comeback Try For Gamer-Focused Network (Deadline)

Important Week: Netflix and Tesla stocks are not having a good year, but here comes a chance to turn it around (MarketWatch)

Another Critic: Big Short Michael Burry Says Facebook Is In Big Trouble (The Street)

The Power of Retail Investors: Retail investor boom could accelerate blockchain startup growth (VentureBeat)

Thank you for reading!

Forward to a friend and tell them to sign up here.

Be social: Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

Want more investing tips? Listen to the podcast.

Questions or comments? Hit reply to reach out.