Today is Wednesday, August 16, 2023.
The Early Bird Index today is 56.65.
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Cava's First Earnings Report
Cava Group (NYSE: CAVA) reported strong financial results on Tuesday with a surprise profit, sending shares of the restaurant brand up by 9.51% in after-hours trading.
Financials: Cava reported earnings of 21 cents per share in the past quarter and revenue of $171.1 million; both were better than expected.
Details: Revenue increased by 62.4% in the quarter, with same-restaurant sales growing by 18.2%. The company’s average unit volume reached $2.6 million, up from $2.4 million in the prior year quarter.
Powering the Story: Even though Cava opened 16 new restaurants, bringing its total number of restaurants to 279, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased.
Stock Price: Since going public in June, Cava is up 21%.
Final Thoughts: Cava is doing well, although there are some concerns about how a fast-casual restaurant can continue to grow if there’s a recession.
Notables
Notable Earnings Today: Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Target (NYSE: TGT), Zim (NYSE: ZIM), Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS), JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF), TJX (NYSE: TJX), Tencent (OTCMKTS: TCEHY), Paycor (Nasdaq: PYCR), Kimball Electronics (Nasdaq: KE), Performance Food Group (NYSE: PFGC), Avnet (Nasdaq: AVT), StoneCo (Nasdaq: STNE), Zenvia (Nasdaq: ZENV), OneConnect Financial Technology (NYSE: OCFT), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM), Brinker International (NYSE: EAT).
Notable IPOs Today: 99 Acquisition Group Inc. Unit (Nasdaq: NNAGU).
Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Heroic Public Benefit Corporation (Wefunder).
Notable Economic Events Today: Building Permits (8:30 a.m. ET), Housing Starts (8:30 a.m. ET), Industrial Production (9:15 a.m. ET), Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 a.m. ET), FOMC Meeting Minutes (2:00 p.m. ET).
Why Altcoins Fell on Tuesday

Photo by Traxer / Unsplash
Altcoins, which are alternative cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin, suffered a terrible drop in price on Tuesday afternoon.
Price: Solana, Uniswap, Chainlink, and Dogecoin all dropped over 4% on Tuesday. Polygon declined by 6%.
Powering the Story: The altcoins reacted to the news on Tuesday afternoon that crypto platform Binance was suddenly shutting down its payments service. There was also a reaction to economic news that suggested prolonged higher interest rates.
Final Thoughts: Tuesday’s sudden drop shows that altcoins are among the most volatile assets for investors.
H&R Block Raises Dividend
Shares of H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) climbed by 6.65% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after reporting mixed financial results.
Financials: H&R Block reported earnings of $2.05 per share in the past quarter, which was better thane expected. But revenue only reached $1.03 billion; which was below estimates.
Powering the Story: The company announced it is increasing its dividend by 10%.
Final Thoughts: Shares of H&R Block are basically flat this year. This marks the second quarter in a row that the company reported revenue below estimates.

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Trends to Watch
We Nu It: Nu Holdings Ltd Reports Strong Financial Performance in Second Quarter of 2023 (Best Stocks)
We’ve Been Here Before: Bitcoin price action is beginning to mirror BTC’s 2015-2017 pre-bull market cycle (Cointelegraph)
Banking on Fear: US bank stocks fall on prospect of tougher oversight, more downgrades (Reuters)
Bearish Again: Michael Burry, of ‘Big Short’ fame, just bet $1.6 billion on a stock market crash (CNN)
Euro Win: Europe’s first spot bitcoin ETF is going live (Blockworks)
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