Meta's "Mishandled" Policies

Plus, J.B. Hunt's sales decline.

January 17, 2025

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Today is Friday, January 17, 2025.

The Early Bird Index today is 80.04

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Meta's "Mishandled" Policies

Is Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META), the parent company of Facebook, having any regrets about some of its recent company policy changes?

Background: Meta recently ended its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies and got rid of its content fact-checking unit. Both decisions caused backlash from the public.

Powering the Story: The Information reported on Thursday that Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told company staff on Tuesday that it may have “mishandled” parts of the recent changes to its human resources and content moderation policies and plans to “correct” some of those changes. 

  • Meta has not responded to the report.

Early Bird’s Nest Egg Gains: Meta's recent changes to its content moderation and human resources policies could potentially have negative impacts on the company. This includes reduced user engagement, creator backlash, and concerns from advertisers.

Final Thoughts: Despite the controversy, Meta’s stock is up 2% since the new year.

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Notables

Notable Earnings Today: SLB (NYSE: SLB), Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST), Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC), State Street (NYSE: STT), Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG), Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS), Independent Bank (Nasdaq: INDB), Sify Technologies (Nasdaq: SIFY), Wipro (NYSE: WIT).

Notable IPOs Today: QXO, Inc. (NYSE: QXO), Diginex Limited Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: DGNX), Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. VII Unit (Nasdaq: HVIIU), LogProstyle Inc. (Nasdaq: LGPS).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: A Heart 2 Help (Netcapital), Diverse Athlete Placement (Netcapital), Holofit By Holodia (Wefunder), Over The Top Ladder (Netcapital), Resound (Wefunder), NetSpeek (Wefunder), Sunnoo (Netcapital), To’ak Chocolate (Wefunder), Zaftig Brewing Company (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).

J.B. Hunt's Sales Decline

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (Nasdaq: JBHT) fell 11.22% in after-hours trading on Thursday after posting bad financial earnings results.

Financials: J.B. Hunt reported earnings of $1.53 per share in the past quarter, which was lower than expected. Revenue was in line at $3.15 billion.

Powering the Story: It was an across-the-board decline as overall revenue fell 5%. Intermodal revenue dropped 2%. There was also a 22% decline in load volume in Integrated Capacity Solutions.

Stock Price: J.B. Hunt’s stock started the year with an 8% increase. These bad results have put an end to those gains.

Final Thoughts: Could J.B. Hunt’s poor results shed some light on problems throughout the broader economy? After all, as freight shipping goes, so does the economy.

Hedera Hashgraph’s New Upgrade

The price of the cryptocurrency Hedera Hashgraph jumped about 11% on Thursday after enabling a new mainnet upgrade. 

Final Thoughts: Hedera Hashgraph is up 350% (wow!) in the last 12 months.

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The contents of Early Bird are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. They do not constitute trade or investment recommendations and they are not financial or legal advice. Readers are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for personalized guidance regarding their financial or legal situations.