Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Brinker International – The stock plummeted around 12% after the Chili’s parent issued a weaker-than-expected profit forecast for the full year and reported disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings . The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share, below the StreetAccount consensus estimate of $1.72 per share. Brinker also expects earnings per share between $4.35 and $4.75 for fiscal 2025, below the consensus estimate of $4.78. Victoria’s Secret – Shares surged more than 16% after the retailer announced the appointment of former Savage X Fenty CEO Hillary Super as the company’s CEO, effective Sept. 9. The company also provided preliminary second-quarter results, with adjusted operating income and adjusted diluted earnings per share coming in at a range above prior guidance. Flutter – The stock jumped more than 9% after the FanDuel parent reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue. Flutter posted $3.61 billion for the period, which is above the StreetAccount consensus forecast of $3.4 billion. The sports betting company also raised its full-year guidance. Kellanova – Kellanova jumped 7.7% after it agreed to be acquired by snackmaker Mars in a deal valued at about $36 billion, or $83.50 per share in cash. The deal — which comes after Kellogg late last year split into two public companies, Kellanova and WK Kellogg — is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Alphabet – The stock moved around 3.5% lower after Bloomberg News reported , citing people familiar with knowledge of the discussions, that the Department of Justice is considering breaking up the megacap tech company. If the DOJ moves forward with the plan, the company’s Android operating system and Chrome browser could be targeted for divestment. Arm Holdings – The British chip designer’s U.S.-listed shares popped 4.3% after Intel sold its 1.18-million stake. The move comes amid a focus on restructuring and cost cutting for Intel, whose shares slipped 2.2% in midday trading. Cardinal Health – The stock moved more than 5% higher after the health care company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. Cardinal earned $1.84 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $59.87 billion. According to analysts polled by StreetAccount, the company was expected to earn $1.73 a share on revenue of $58.64 billion. Cardinal also raised its full-year earnings guidance. Starbucks — The coffee chain’s shares fell around 4%, a day after the stock surged 24.5% following the announcement that it’s replacing its current CEO with Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol. The stock was also upgraded at several firms, including Deutsche Bank and Stifel, on the news. Illumina – The biotech stock gained 2.2% after being upgraded to buy from hold at TD Cowen. The firm said Illumina’s recent guidance reset and management change can help move shares higher. Nu Holdings – Shares of the Brazilian digital banking platform popped 4% after Nu reported second-quarter results that exceeded expectations. Adjusted net income of $563 million topped the FactSet consensus estimate of $460.3 million. Revenue of $2.85 billion also came in above the expected $2.57 billion. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Sarah Min, Pia Singh and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Procter & Gamble — The stock fell 0.8% after reporting weaker-than-expected revenue. The household goods maker posted $21.74 billion in revenue while analysts polled by LSEG had estimated $21.91 billion. The company attributed the miss to lower demand in China. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.93 topped estimates of $1.90 per share. Netflix — Shares popped 6.3% after the streaming giant exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations. Netflix reported earnings per share of $5.40 on revenue of $9.83 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast earnings of $5.12 a share on revenue of m $9.77 billion. The company also saw its ad-supported membership tier jump 34% quarter-over-quarter. CVS Health – Shares tumbled 11% after the drug store chain announced longtime executive David Joyner has replaced Karen Lynch as CEO. CVS also guided for third-quarter adjusted earnings between $1.05 and $1.10 per share, less than the $1.69 a share expected from analysts polled by Fact Set. WD-40 — The maintenance product maker’s shares fell 4% after a disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share, versus FactSet consensus forecasts of earnings of $1.34 per share. Full-year earnings guidance between $5.20 and $5.45 per share also came in short of estimates for $5.69 per share. Western Alliance Bancorp — The regional bank stock dropped more than 4%. Despite posting a top-line beat of $823 million in revenue versus LSEG analysts’ estimates for $808 million, net interest income fell 3% in the third-quarter. American Express — Shares of the credit card company ticked down 3.4% on a mixed earnings report. Revenue of $16.64 billion fell short of the LSEG consensus forecast for $16.67 billion. However, earnings of $3.49 per share topped forecasts of $3.28. Apple — The tech giant advanced 2% after Bloomberg reported that iPhone sales in China jumped 20% year-over-year in the first three weeks of sales. Coherent — The semiconductor materials stock tumbled more than 5% after B.Riley downgraded shares to neutral from buy, citing limited upside potential after shares soared 142% in 2024. SLB — Shares dipped 1.7% after Schlumberger posted third-quarter revenue that fell short of estimates. Revenue of $9.16 billion fell below the $9.25 billion LSEG consensus forecast. On the other hand, adjusted earnings of 89 cents per share topped the 88 cents earnings per share expectation. Intuitive Surgical — The stock added more than 6% after the maker of the da Vinci surgical robot beat on both top and bottom lines in the third quarter. Intuitive Surgical earned $1.84 per share on $2.04 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had predicted earnings of $1.63 per share on $2 billion in revenue. Ally Financial – The digital bank stock fell nearly 1% despite earnings beating analysts’ estimates in the third quarter. The company announced adjusted earnings per share of 95 cents on $2.1 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had called for 52 cents earnings per share and revenue of $2.03 billion. Crown Holdings — The consumer goods packaging company ticked up more than 4% after raising its full-year guidance. Crown Holdings is guiding toward adjusted earnings per share falling between $6.25 and $6.35 per share. Analysts had expected $6.15 earnings per share, per FactSet. Adjusted earnings topped estimates in the third quarter, while revenue came in line with forecasts. Comerica — Shares of the mid-sized bank ticked up nearly 1% after a stronger-than-expected report for the third quarter. Comerica generated $1.33 in earnings per share on $534 million of revenue, compared to $1.17 per share and $527.9 million of revenue expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Net income for the bank was down year over year. — CNBC’s Pia Singh, Sarah Min, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox contributed reporting
Barrons Roundtable discusses reports that Gen Z members are aggressive about wanting to retire.
Gen Z is the youngest generation of adults today, but with many struggling to make ends meet, a growing proportion say they do not expect to retire and few are socking away money to do so.
A new report from the TIAA Institute and UTA’s NextGen Practice found that a greater share of these adults age 27 and below do not anticipate retiring – at least in the traditional sense – after prior data showed nearly half of young adults either don’t want to retire, don’t believe they will be able to afford to, or are not thinking about it at all.
Gen Z as a whole has a very different view of retirement than previous generations, and a growing proportion of young adults say they do not plan on retiring at all. (iStock / iStock)
What’s more, just 20% of Gen Z respondents of working age say they are saving for retirement at all. While planning for retirement is important for everyone, saving for the future is critical for this generation that is projected to live past 100 years old. Yet, a higher cost of living could be impacting their ability to do so.
The study found that almost one-third of Gen Z (29%) are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with most of their money going to funding their basic needs, making it increasingly difficult for them to achieve financial milestones like homeownership while saving for their financial futures.
“Thirty-six percent of respondents cited high debt or low income as the primary reason they are not saving for retirement,” Surya Kolluri, head of the TIAA Institute told FOX Business. “Gen Z is spending more on essentials than previous generations.”
Inflation is weighing on Gen Z’s finances more than prior generations, data shows. (iStock / iStock)
Kolluri said it is true that Gen Z is bearing the brunt of inflation more than the generations that preceded them, noting that as of this year, the annual inflation rate for Gen Z was half a percent higher than it was for other generations at the same age.
But Kolluri pointed to some positive findings in the data, too. He said that while only 1 in 5 reported saving for retirement, 66% of those who are saving for retirement are doing so through 401(k)s.
Empower President and CEO Ed Murphy discusses retirement planning on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
There is also at least an awareness amid Gen Z’ers that it is important to save for the future. Eighty-four percent report saving a portion of their income each month (albeit not for retirement), and 57% say they have a budget that they stick to.
Kolluri noted 52% of Gen Z reported putting savings into savings accounts because they value the liquidity that supports current financial freedom.
“They do not equate saving for retirement as helping to ensure their financial freedom later in life…and ‘freedom’ is a concept that is very important to Gen Z,” he said. “They want flexibility and access to savings if and as they want.”
LONDON — Cybersecurity firm Wiz is seeking to hit $1 billion of annual recurring revenues next year, the company’s billionaire co-founder Roy Reznik told CNBC, adding that the firm will go public “when the stars align.”
Wiz makes software that connects to cloud storage providers like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and scans for everything it stores in the cloud, helping organizations identify and remove risks in their cloud environments. It was founded by four Israeli friends while they served in 8200, the intelligence unit of Israel’s army, and most of Wiz’s engineering personnel are still based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Earlier this year, the company rejected a $23-billion acquisition bid from Google, which would have marked the tech giant’s largest-ever takeover. At the time, Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said the startup was “flattered” by the offer, but would remain an independent company and aim to list instead.
Speaking with CNBC at Wiz’s new office space in London, Reznik said that the company has received offers from “many people that want to get their hands on Wiz stock” — but that, while “very flattering,” the firm still thinks it can do it alone by going public.
“We’ve already broken a few records as a private company, and we believe we can also break a few more records as an independent public company as well,” Reznik said.
Four-year-old Wiz has raised $1.9 billion in venture capital to date, including $1 billion secured this year in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital at a valuation of $12 billion.
In 2022, Wiz said it had reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), up from just $1 million in 18 months. At the time, the startup said it was “the fastest software company to achieve this feat.”
Reznik, who is the vice president of research and development at Wiz, said the firm now hopes to double from the $500 million of ARR it achieved this year and hit $1 billion in ARR in 2025, which CEO Rappaport cited as a key condition before the company goes public.
UK expansion
Wiz has been expanding its presence internationally, with a particular focus on Europe, from where it sources 35% of its revenues. Last month, the firm opened its first European office in London.
“I think the talent here is amazing, and the ecosystem is amazing,” Reznik told CNBC. “We have always been very much involved in Europe — and specifically the U.K. — and I feel like it’s a natural evolvement of Wiz to double down even more here in London and the U.K.”
The U.K. represents a major growth opportunity when it comes to cybersecurity, Reznik said, adding that recent events like the cyberattack on National Health Service hospitals and an incident affecting Transport for London have “roof topped” the level of interest in the kinds of products Wiz offers.
“The cloud market is going to reach $1 trillion over the next next few years,” Reznik, who moved from Israel to the U.K. just three months ago, told CNBC. “This year is going to be around $700 million, while security is just 4% out of that, I would say. So that makes it a $30 billion market, which is huge.”
Speaking about the U.K. market, Reznik said: “We see a lot of interest here. Many of the largest banks and retailers, are Wiz customers. But we’re also seeing a huge potential for growth.”
Wiz’s customers include online retailer ASOS and digital bank Revolut as customers in the U.K.