Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Walmart — The big-box retailer saw shares jump nearly 5% to hit a record after the retail giant topped fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. The retailer also hiked its outlook again as it saw growth in e-commerce and improvements in sales outside of the grocery aisles. Super Micro Computer — The server maker surged 29.2% after announcing BDO as its new auditor to replace Ernst & Young, which stepped down last month. Super Micro also provided a plan to the Nasdaq on how it will comply with the exchange’s rules. Lowe’s — The home improvement retailer dropped more than 3% after saying it expects sales to decline in 2024 . That guidance overshadowed a better-than-expected third-quarter report. Kraft Heinz — The packaged food company dipped about 1% after a Piper Sandler downgrade to neutral from overweight. The investment firm said Kraft Heinz is struggling to turn around a retail sales decline, including in its Lunchables brand, and that the potential role of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the upcoming Trump administration could be a risk. Insmed — Shares rallied more than 8% after the drugmaker terminated a $500 million equity sales agreement with health-care investment bank Leerink Partners. Viking Holdings — Shares declined 1% even after the travel company exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter estimates. Viking posted adjusted earnings of 89 cents per share on revenue of $1.68 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet forecast earnings of 84 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.67 billion. The company also reported strong advance bookings for the 2025 season. Symbotic — The automation technology company soared 26.2% after topping revenue estimates in the fiscal fourth quarter. Revenue came in at $576.8 million in the fourth quarter, beating the $470.2 million estimated by analysts, per FactSet. Symbotic also offered strong current-quarter top-line guidance. H & R Block , Intuit — The tax filing companies both fell after The Washington Post reported that President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency commission is looking toward a new mobile app for filing taxes. Intuit shares pulled back 5.4%, while H & R Block declined 7.4%. — CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Sarah Min, Alex Harring, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, testifies during the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing titled “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress,” in the Dirksen Building on Nov. 30, 2023.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday sued the operator of the Zelle payments network and the three U.S. banks that dominant transactions on it, alleging that the firms failed to properly investigate fraud complaints or give victims reimbursements.
The CFPB said customers of the three banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — have lost more than $870 million since the launch of Zelle in 2017. Zelle, a peer-to-peer payments network run by bank-owned fintech firm Early Warning Services, allows for instant payments to other consumers and businesses and has quickly surged to become the biggest such service in the country.
“The nation’s largest banks felt threatened by competing payment apps, so they rushed to put out Zelle,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “By their failing to put in place proper safeguards, Zelle became a gold mine for fraudsters, while often leaving victims to fend for themselves.”
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Novo Nordisk – Shares plunged more than 19% after the Danish pharmaceutical giant reported disappointing late-stage trial results for its experimental weight loss drug, CagriSema. Rival obesity drug maker Eli Lilly rose more than 6% following the results. FedEx – Shares jumped 8.5% after FedEx announced a spinoff of its freight business . Elsewhere, the company said earnings per share for the fiscal second quarter came in at $4.05, excluding items, while analysts polled by LSEG anticipated just $3.90. On the other hand, the company saw $21.97 billion in revenue for the quarter, under the consensus forecast of $22.10 billion. Nike – The athletic apparel retailer’s stock sank more than 7%. Nike topped Wall Street’s already low expectations but showed a decline in revenue and earnings year over year. The company’s CEO also said that Nike’s turnaround plan could take longer than anticipated. Mission Produce – The stock advanced more than 10% following the avocado producer’s better-than-expected results for the fiscal fourth quarter. U.S. Steel – The steel producer shed 6% after issuing weak fourth-quarter guidance. For its current quarter, U.S. Steel expects a loss between 25 cents to 29 cents per share. On the other hand, analysts polled by FactSet had expected a per-share profit of 22 cents. Tesla – Shares fell nearly 5%, extending the almost 1% loss seen in the previous session. The stock is coming under pressuring during the overall market sell-off as investors take profits on some of the big election winners. Occidental Petroleum – The stock gained around 2% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it purchased shares of the energy company . Meanwhile, shares of Sirius XM and VeriSign – two other names that Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had purchased shares of – were up more than 1% and down 0.2%, respectively. Micron Technology – The chipmaker fell 2.9%, extending its slide one day after Micron posted its worst day since March 2020. The move comes after Micron posted disappointing second-quarter guidance . Trump Media – The stock lost more than 5% on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump transferring his entire stake of the company’s shares to a revocable trust . The stock’s fall also comes after a House Republican spending deal backed by the former president to avert a government shutdown failed Thursday night . Starbucks – The coffee giant slipped about 1%. Baristas in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle are set to strike Friday morning , demanding better wages and schedules. The Workers Union, which represents baristas at 525 Starbucks stores, said walkouts could escalate nationwide by Christmas Eve. Crypto-linked stocks – Shares of MicroStrategy and Coinbase each declined about 5.5%, continuing their slump as bitcoin prices fall from their highs . Robinhood shares shed 6%. The cryptocurrency has had an aggressive sell-off since the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cautioned fewer rate cuts next year, which hit equity and crypto markets. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Sarah Min, Pia Singh, Lisa Kailai Han and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
Warren Buffett poses with Martin, the Geico gecko, ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3rd, 2024.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Warren Buffett went on bit of a shopping spree in the stock market before Christmas, picking up shares of Occidental Petroleum among others during a swift December sell-off.
Berkshire Hathaway purchased additional 8.9 million shares in the Houston-based energy producer for $405 million through transactions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, pushing its stake above 28%, according to a regulatory filing late Thursday night.
During the same time frame, the Omaha-based conglomerate also bought about 5 million shares of Sirius XM for around $113 million as well as about 234,000 shares of VeriSign for roughly $45 million. These two stakes are much smaller in size, so these transactions could be made by Buffett’s investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
All told, Berkshire bought over $560 million worth of stocks over the last three sessions.
The 92-year-old legendary investor appeared to have taken advantage of a broad market pullback that made these stocks much cheaper.
Occidental shares have dropped more than 10% this month, bringing its 2024 losses to 24%. The energy company, once known for being founded by legendary oilman Armand Hammer, is Berkshire’s sixth-biggest equity holding. Buffett has ruled out a full takeover.
Occidental Petroleum
The sell-off in Sirius XM has been more dramatic. The New York-based satellite radio company is currently in its six-day losing streak, falling 23% this month and 62% this year.
Berkshire started hiking this bet after billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media completed its deal in early September to combine its tracking stocks with the rest of the audio entertainment company. Now, Berkshire’s stake has risen to about 35%. SiriusXM has been grappling with subscriber losses and unfavorable demographic shifts.
Internet name VeriSign has also had a rough year with its stock down 6% in 2024, significantly underperforming the tech sector. Berkshire first bought the tech stock in 2013 and hasn’t adjusted the stake in years.