The new week begins with a fresh slate of earnings reports, and a little bit of positive momentum from the previous week. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5% higher by week’s end. The question on Monday will be whether that momentum will be enough to overcome the news of poor Chinese economic data out earlier today.
Among the companies making news this past weekend are two tech giants and a chain retailer: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), LendingClub Corp (NYSE:LC) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).
Here’s what’s shaking with these companies:
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Tim Cook & Co. now have to worry about investor reaction to any piece of news (and rumors) having to do with the iPhone 7, and the latest bit on that front is a report that says the iPhone 7 will lack an anticipated piece of technology.
The upcoming iPhone 7 will be without the “Smart Connector” — a bit of hardware that “enables the Lightning port to deliver both power and data simultaneously.”
The example given by Forbes’ Gordon Kelly:
“With the iPad Pro this means third party keyboards don’t require batteries or charging — they just work the moment they are plugged in.”
If true, this would be yet another disappointing bit of news concerning the iPhone 7. Last month, a KGI report claimed that a new redesign wouldn’t be coming until the iPhone release in 2017 — which means it wouldn’t be for this year’s new iPhone.
AAPL shares are trading flat in premarket action.
LendingClub Corp (LC)
LendingClup shares are getting hammered following news that co-founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche is stepping down amid a loan deal that was not entirely above-board.
Per an LC press release, Laplanche’s “resignation followed an internal review of sales of $22 million in near-prime loans to a single investor, in contravention of the investor’s express instructions as to a non-credit and non-pricing element, in March and April 2016.”
While the company said “the financial impact of this $22 million in loan sales was minor,” the board viewed the violation of LendingClub’s practices as “unacceptable.”
The news helped overshadow an earnings report that saw first-quarter operating revenues rocket 87% higher, and adjusted EBITDA soar 137%.
LC shares were off 27% in Monday’s premarket trading.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT)
Walmart is shoring up its stores … with greeters.
WMT is believed to lose about 1% of U.S. revenue to theft by customers and employees alike. To stem the tide of this $3 billion outflow, Walmart is bringing the familiar greeter position back to its stores, as well as testing out “asset-protection customer specialists” in 300 of its U.S. stores.
These “specialists” will check receipts — a practice used at Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) and some Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) locations.
Greeters were a mainstay at Walmart ever since the 1980s, but in 2012, the chain moved this position to assist in other parts of the store.
Walmart shares finished Friday trading up 1.6%, and are trading slightly higher in Monday’s premarket trade.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
