Costco's Special $15 Dividend

And, Lennar's interest rate environment.

Today is Friday, December 15, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 63.93.

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Costco's Special $15 Dividend

Shares of Costco (Nasdaq: COST) ticked up 1.30% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the retail giant posted solid financial earnings results.

Financials: Costco reported earnings of $3.58 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $56.72 billion, both were better than expected.

Details: Net sales increased by 6.1% year-over-year.

Powering the Story: Costco is giving out a special dividend of $15 per share to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 28. Costco’s normal quarterly dividend is $1.02 per share.

Stock Price: Costco is up 39% this year, including a 5% increase in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: There are still many unknowns about Costco, including how a potential recession could limit consumer spending. There are also questions about potential membership fee increases. But for now, this special dividend is pleasing investors.

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Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI).

Notable IPOs Today: Alpha Blue Capital US Small-Mid Cap Dynamic ETF (Nasdaq: ABCS), Themes Cloud Computing ETF (Nasdaq: CLOD), Themes Global Systemically Important Banks ETF (Nasdaq: GSIB), Themes European Luxury ETF (Nasdaq: FINE).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Sip + Co (Honeycomb), Gameflip (StartEngine), BenchK12 (Wefunder), NeuraMetrix (Netcapital), Popoca (Wefunder), Rock N Roll Donut Bar (Mainvest), Reel Analytics (Netcapital), Debellation Brewing Company (Mainvest), Square Baby (Wefunder).

Notable Economic Events Today: NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Industrial Production (9:15 a.m. ET), S&P Global Services PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), S&P Global Composite PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI (9:45 a.m. ET).

Lennar's Interest Rate Environment

Homebuilder Lennar (NYSE: LEN) fell by 3.11% in after-hours trading on Thursday, despite good financial results from the company.

Financials: Lennar reported earnings of $5.17 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $10.96 billion; both were better than expected.

Details: Home deliveries in the quarter increased by 19% and new orders rose by 32%.

Yes, But: The company’s homebuilding gross margin in the past quarter faced pressure from higher interest rates. Lennar said that it will not provide full-year margin guidance at this time because “the interest rate environment is rapidly evolving.” 

Stock Price: Lennar is up 68% in 2023, including a 22% increase in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Interest rate changes are squeezing Lennar and investors didn’t like it. The stock is still strong, but the lack of a full-year margin guidance is an issue.

Hedera Jumps Due to String of Good News

The price of the cryptocurrency Hedera jumped 8% on Thursday thanks to a dose of recent good news.

Powering the Story: The Hedera Council, the network behind the Hedera coin, appointed Charles Adkins as its new president on Wednesday. The following day, the bank platform BankSocial rolled out a Hedera-compatible self-custody wallet for crypto.

Final Thoughts: Hedera is up 43% in the last 30 days, but it has a history of being volatile and tough to trust sometimes.

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