Markets
markets
Matt Phillips

The US economy is jacked up on unlimited breadsticks

Wednesday’s stock market freak-out aside, the real US economy — which largely consists of consumers buying stuff — looks pretty darn strong at the moment.

Q3 GDP was just revised up to a 3.1% annual rate, thanks in part to even more robust consumer spending than previously thought. And if that’s not enough for you, just look at Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants, whose shares are soaring after reporting better-than-expected quarterly numbers and boosting its full-year sales outlook.

Darden Shares Jumps as Outlook Signals Diners Are Returning

Darden Shares Jumps as Outlook Signals Diners Are Returning

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markets
Max Knoblauch

Beta Technologies climbs after Transportation Sec. Duffy posts a “Love Island” meme about his flight in electric aircraft

Air taxi maker Beta Technologies climbed by 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted a video about his recent flight in the company’s electric aircraft.

The Department of Transportation announced Duffy’s Beta flight on Monday, writing that he’d become “the first Transportation Secretary in American history to fly in an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.”

Late Tuesday, Duffy posted another video referencing the flight, writing, “🔥A HOT NEW AIRCRAFT ENTERS THE VILLA👀”

Air taxi rivals Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation were each down about 1.4% in premarket trading. All three companies are participating in the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. All three are also down at least 10% year to date heading into market open on Wednesday.

Tom Jones
hedge of glory
41m
A New York bar is using Kalshi to offer patrons free drinks during the first Knicks Finals game

Sentences are being written that have never been written before.

NBA: MAY 31 NBA Finals Preview - New York Knicks
markets
Helena Cheng

Macy’s rises on Q1 earnings, revenue beat, and raised full-year outlook

Macy’s shares are rising Wednesday morning after the department store giant exceeded Wall Street expectations for Q1 and management lifted the company’s full-year guidance.

Key numbers:

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.13 (compared to analyst estimates of $0.04).

  • Revenue of $4.7 billion (estimate: $4.6 billion).

Macy’s raised its guidance for the full fiscal year and now projects full-year net sales between $21.5 billion and $21.75 billion, up from the previous range of $21.4 billion to $21.65 billion. Adjusted earnings per share also got an upgrade to between $2.00 and $2.20, compared to the prior view of $1.90 to $2.10.

Macy’s Q1 comparable sales increased 3%, exceeding the company’s guidance. The standout performer was Bloomingdale’s, where comparable sales surged 10.2%, capturing its seventh straight quarter of growth. Meanwhile, beauty and skin care retailer Bluemercury also posted a robust 6.4% comparable sales gain.

The company ended the first quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.3 billion and had $2.0 billion of available borrowing capacity under its asset-based credit facility. Through its quarterly dividend, Macy’s returned $50 million in cash to shareholders in the first quarter of 2026.

“We’re off to a strong start to the year, exceeding expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter as our Bold New Chapter strategy continues to build momentum,” Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Macy’s, said in a statement. “Customers are responding — driving comparable sales growth at Macy’s and another standout quarter at Bloomingdale’s, underscoring its leadership in modern luxury.” Spring’s “A Bold New Chapter” turnaround strategy, which was announced back in 2024, relies heavily on luxury expansion and store optimization to attract affluent consumers.

markets
Nate Becker

GameStop pops as Q1 revenue, profit rise and retailer authorizes $2 billion of stock buybacks

GameStop shares popped after-hours, as the company authorized a $2 billion stock buyback and posted a blockbuster fiscal first-quarter profit aided by unrealized gains on its options exposure to eBay stock. 

Here are the numbers from the retail trader favorite: 

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.30, up from $0.17 a year earlier and above the $0.16 estimate of… precisely one analyst.

  • Revenue of $835.3 million, up 14% from a year earlier.

  • A $2 billion stock buyback authorization, which is equivalent to about one-fifth of the company’s market cap.

  • A whopping $268 million unrealized gain because of its options exposure to eBay stock that it bought as it attempted to buy the online retailer. That led to a record quarterly net income of $389.6 million.

  • The highest first-quarter operating income ever, at $143.3 million — a number not aided by the gain in eBay stock, but rather by higher revenue and improved margins. 

Shares rose 7.1% after-hours.

The buyback authorization is a particularly interesting development for GameStop, which less than two years ago issued billions of dollars’ worth of shares as it took advantage of surging stock prices. 

Of course, it’s worth noting that the buyback authorization can be used in piecemeal fashion for the next three years, so any potential buybacks don’t have to happen any time soon — or at all.

markets
Jon Keegan

GitLab shares soar on earnings and revenue beat

Shares of GitLab soared over 8% in after-hours trading after the company’s quarterly results beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue.

For FY2027 Q1, the code development and security platform posted:

  • Revenues of $264.2 million (estimate: $254 million).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.23 (estimate: $0.21).

In a press release, GitLab CEO Bill Staples wrote, “The agentic era is creating structural tailwinds for GitLab, and Q1 showed it clearly with accelerating platform activity and promising traction from GitLab Duo Agent Platform.”

As AI eats the software development world, platforms for human coders like GitLab are facing some existential threats. Last month, GitLab shares dropped after it announced a restructuring plan, slashing its country footprint by 30%, and today it confirmed that 350 team members would be cut. The company said it expects the restructing to be complete by the end of FY 2027.

Shares of GitLab were down about 15% year to date heading into the report.

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