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Luke Kawa

One measure of GameStop options positioning is the most bullishly tilted since 2024’s meme stock mania

Ahead of GameStop’s earnings on Tuesday, one measure of options market positioning is the most bullishly tilted since Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, was building up a massive bet on the company in the second quarter of last year, kicking off a frenzy in the stock.

The open interest in GameStop calls is 3.62x higher than the open interest in puts as of Friday.

What’s driving this? Well, mainly that put activity has gone dormant: open interest in bearish contracts is lingering near its 2023 lows (which were the lows for the past decade). Meanwhile, open interest in calls has been grinding higher, but is only about one-third of its Q1 2021 peak.

It’s not a lock that this positioning is straightforwardly bullish, as calls can be bought or sold to open. But given GameStop’s history as a meme stock darling, it’s a fairly safe assumption that’s the case. Aside from the 2021 mania, most spikes in call open interest relative to puts have occurred during, or just ahead of, big run-ups in the stock.

For this week’s expiry in particular, that ratio of calls to puts is even higher, at 3.85. These derivatives tied to earnings are quite pricey. The implied one-day change following the report is plus or minus about 12.3%. GameStop hasn’t moved that much following either of its past two earnings reports, though it did in the two prior to that.

If you’re more fundamental than flow inclined, there aren’t many analysts putting out earnings estimates for the company. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to come in at $0.09 on revenues of $1.478 billion, with adjusted net income of $33.45 million for its holiday quarter.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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Rocket Lab deal lifts space stocks

Shares of Rocket Lab are surging after announcing an $8 billion acquisition of satellite communications operator Iridium Communications, helping lift a broader basket of space-related stocks as investors piled back into the sector.

Planet Labs, AST SpaceMobile and Redwire all traded higher alongside Rocket Lab, extending gains in an industry that has drawn enhanced investor attention in recent months in light of the strategic importance that governments place on space and satellite communications infrastructure.

In a presentation, Rocket Lab’s management called the purchase “a shortcut” for its satellite communications business.

Under the terms of the agreement, Iridium shareholders will receive $27 in cash and Rocket Lab stock, valuing Iridium at $54 per share. Backed by a $3.6 billion bridge loan committed by Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo, Rocket Lab absorbs Iridium’s globally licensed spectrum and an active base of 2.5 million subscribers.

Rocket Lab has also remained one of the most active launch providers in the sector. The company completed its 12th launch of the year last week, maintaining one of the highest launch cadences among commercial space companies.

Today's rally helps offset a brutal stretch for the group. Rocket Lab shares had fallen over 35% over the prior month, while Planet Labs stock was down more than 40% and AST SpaceMobile stock was down around 30% over the same window.

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Jake Lahut

Comcast shares rise on news of NBCUniversal spinoff deal

Comcast rose on the news that the telecom behemoth is spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky from its cable portfolio. 

Comcast initially jumped up to 17% in early trading, with the deal leaving management to focus on its core verticals of cable, wireless, and business services. 

NBCUniversal and Sky will form a new publicly traded company, similar to Versant Media, the holding company of CNBC and MS NOW that Comcast officially spun off in January. Bravo, one of the most lucrative properties that remained at Comcast, will remain part of NBCUniversal in the deal. The Universal theme parks and studios will also come with the new spinoff entity, along with Telemundo and Peacock.

Mike Cavanagh, the co-CEO of Comcast, will become the CEO for NBCUniversal, according to CNBC. 

The spinoff will be completed in about a year, according to a Comcast company statement. Its shareholders will also own shares in NBCUniversal, according to the same statement.

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