Today is Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 64.80.

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Hey Early Birds,

Just a quick heads up – we're taking a short breather between Christmas and New Year's to recharge our investment mojo and come back swinging in 2024!

🗓️ Break Dates: December 25th, 2023 - January 1st, 2024

We'll be back in your inbox right after New Year's, ready to kick off another exciting year of investing insights.

Wishing you a fantastic holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

Cheers,

Steven and The Early Bird Team 🐦🚀

FedEx Sees "Uncertain Demand"

FedEx (NYSE: FDX) fell by 9.79% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the transportation and shipping giant reported lousy financial results.

Financials: FedEx reported earnings of $3.99 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $22.2 billion; both were lower than expected.

Details: Operating income for FedEx Ground grew due to lower costs and higher volumes. FedEx Freight also saw an increase in operating income.

Yes, But: FedEx Express dragged the company down. The operating income dropped and the operating margin was half of what it should have been. The unit faced lower revenue and volume during the quarter.

Quote: “FedEx has delivered an unprecedented two consecutive quarters of operating income growth and margin expansion even with lower revenue, clear evidence of the progress we are making on our transformation as we navigate an uncertain demand environment.” - CEO Raj Subramaniam.

Outlook: The company lowered its guidance for the full year and now expects revenue to decline.

Sympathy Pains: Shares of UPS (NYSE: UPS) also declined by 2.93% in after-hours trading.

Stock Price: FedEx was up 57% this year before these results.

Final Thoughts: FedEx is a harbinger of the overall economy. The company’s demand problem could be a sign of a large economic problem.

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Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), BlackBerry (NYSE: BB), Winnebago (NYSE: WGO), MillerKnoll (Nasdaq: MLKN), Toro (NYSE: TTC), Live Ventures (Nasdaq: LIVE).

Notable IPOs Today: WisdomTree Bianco Total Return Fund (Nasdaq: WTBN), Alpha Blue Capital US Small-Mid Cap Dynamic ETF (Nasdaq: ABCS).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: LOADED (Honeycomb), Sonoma Pizza Co (Honeycomb), Aries (StartEngine).

Notable Economic Events Today: United States Current Account (8:30 a.m. ET), Existing Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET), CB Consumer Confidence (10:00 a.m. ET), Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 a.m. ET).

NEAR Protocol's Big 2023 Rally

The cryptocurrency NEAR Protocol surged by 17% on Tuesday, hitting its highest price of the year and becoming the latest altcoin to rally.

Details: A big reason behind NEAR Protocol’s recent rally is because of the excitement from airdrops, which is when wallets get new coins for free.

Price: NEAR Protocol is up 100% this year, including a 33% increase in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: These altcoin rallies seem random because they are 100% random. Every day in the past month, it seems like a random altcoin gets a chance to jump higher.

AMD Suggests Rejecting “Mini-Tender” Offer

Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD) told its investors to reject a "mini-tender" offer by TRC Capital for 1 million AMD shares because the offer was “below-market.”

Price: AMD is up 118% this year, including a 15% increase in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: AMD is having a great year and it makes sense for them to oppose that “mini-tender” offer. Will the good times continue for AMD?

Trends to Watch

Management Shakeup: Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu to lead Taobao and Tmall e-commerce business in latest reshuffle (CNBC)

Getting Down to Business: BlackRock, Nasdaq, SEC Met Regarding Bitcoin ETF (CoinDesk)

Like Nothing Changed: Meet the New Economy, Just Like the Old Economy (Wall Street Journal)

Breach: Xfinity hack affects nearly 36 million customers. Here's what to know. (CBS News)

No Deal: Figma’s C.E.O. Laments Demise of $20 Billion Deal With Adobe (The New York Times)

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