Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading. Walmart – The retail giant gained about 4% after posting fiscal third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s estimates. Walmart also boosted its guidance as customers buy more than groceries. Lowe’s — The home improvement retailer’s shares fell 1.7%. Although the company reported a top- and bottom-line beat in the fiscal third quarter, it estimates sales will fall year over year. Lowe’s forecasts comparable sales to drop from 3% to 3.5%, slightly better than the 3.5% to 4% decline it previously anticipated. Super Micro Computer — The server maker soared around 26% after announcing BDO as its new auditor. The news came after Ernst & Young stepped down last month. Super Micro also provided a plan to the Nasdaq on how it will stay in compliance with exchange’s rules. Symbotic — The automation technology company surged 28.5% after beating expectations for revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter. Revenue came in at $576.8 million in the fourth quarter, well above the $470.2 million figure penciled in by Wall Street. Symbotic also offered strong current-quarter top-line guidance. AeroVironment — The stock dropped 5% after the defense contractor announced it was acquiring BlueHalo in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.1 billion. AeroVironment said the deal will “usher in the next ear of defense technology” for the company. BioNTech — Shares gained 1.9% after Evercore ISI upgraded the German biotechnology company to outperform from in line. Evercore ISI said the “chaos” following President-elect Donald Trump’s election of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to the Department of Health and Human Services is a buying opportunity for investors. Nvidia — Stock in the artificial intelligence darling and market bellwether advanced about 1.5% in premarket trading. Nvidia is set to report third-quarter results on Wednesday, and investors will be paying particularly close attention to demand for the company’s Blackwell chip . — CNBC’s Sarah Min, Samantha Subin, Hakyung Kim, Sean Conlon, Brian Evans and Michelle Fox contributed reporting
Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Netflix — Shares soared more than 13% after the streaming giant surpassed 300 million paid memberships . Netflix also beat fourth-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines, and it raised its revenue expectations for the full year 2025. United Airlines — Shares popped more than 3% after United Airlines’ fourth-quarter results came in better than expected. The airline operator posted adjusted earnings of $3.26 per share on revenues of $14.70 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $3.00 on revenues of $14.47 billion. The company also issued a strong forecast for first-quarter earnings. Interactive Brokers Group — Shares jumped about 3% after the brokerage posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Interactive Brokers reported adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $1.42 billion in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.86 on revenues of $1.37 billion. Seagate Technology — Shares gained 1% after Seagate Technology surpassed second-quarter expectations, with adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $2.33 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.88 on revenues of $2.32 billion. Capital One Financial — Shares dipped 0.5% after Capital One missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations, reporting $10.19 billion compared to the LSEG consensus estimate of $10.21 billion. On the other hand, adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share topped the anticipated $2.82 earnings per share.
David Einhorn, President at Greenlight Capital, speaking at the 14th CNBC Delivery Alpha Investor Summit in New York City on Nov. 13th, 2024.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn thinks speculative behavior in the current bull market has ascended to a level beyond common sense.
“We have reached the ‘Fartcoin’ stage of the market cycle,” Einhorn wrote in an investor letter obtained by CNBC. “Other than trading and speculation, it serves no other obvious purpose and fulfills no need that is not served elsewhere.”
A crypto token called “fartcoin” exploded in popularity as the re-election of Donald Trump unleashed a storm of animal spirits on Main Street. The meme coin is now edging towards a $2 billion market value, surpassing many U.S.-listed companies.
More meme coins have emerged since the inception of fartcoin. President Donald Trump launched $TRUMP, a meme coin built on the Solana platform. Its market cap over the weekend climbed past $14 billion. The coin at one point was down more than 20% over the past 24 hours, but it has since cut its losses to around 3%. Trump’s wife Melania also unveiled a coin.
“Nothing stops the launch of many more tradable coins,” Einhorn said. “Perhaps we are leaving the Fartcoin stage of the market and entering the Trump (and Melania) memecoin stage. It’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen next, but it feels like it’s going to be wild.”
Einhorn’s letter comes as investors drive equities higher, buoyed by expectations of lower taxes and deregulation from the second Trump administration. On Tuesday, the day after the inauguration, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 400 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
Shorting leveraged bitcoin ETFs
Greenlight took advantage of the craziness around crypto during the fourth quarter by betting against some popular ETFs linked indirectly to bitcoin.
The two funds the firm focused on were the T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) and the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (MSTX). Those funds use derivatives to try to achieve two-times the daily returns of MicroStrategy, a software company that has turned itself into a bitcoin treasury vehicle in recent years.
The funds have at times struggled to achieve that goal due to MicroStrategy’s volatility and little supply of the derivatives most easily used to get the leveraged returns.
The letter said Greenlight took short positions against those funds during the quarter, partially offset by owning MicroStrategy stock in an arbitrage trade that was a “material winner.”