Chapter 1: Why did Darden decide to close Bahama Breeze restaurants?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. It's always good to be with you. Today is Wednesday, February 4th. I'm Julie Morgan. This first story has been trending. Darden Restaurants announces that it is closing Bahama Breeze.
14 of the restaurants will permanently close and the other 14 will convert into other concepts within the Darden portfolio. The company does not anticipate that the closures will have a material impact on its overall financial results.
The units slated for closure are expected to remain open through early April, while the conversions will roll out over the next year to year and a half, with affected restaurants operating until temporary shutdowns are needed to complete the remodels. Darden did not disclose which brands will replace the converted Bahama Breeze locations.
Chapter 2: What were AMD's Q4 results and how did the market react?
Bahama Breeze was created by Darden in the mid-1990s as a Caribbean-themed casual dining concept, with the first restaurant opening in 1996 on Orlando's International Drive. DRI closed Tuesday nearly 2.3% in the green. AMD is down 7.3% in pre-market action, even after reporting fourth quarter results and guidance that were well above Wall Street's forecast.
For the period ending December 27th, AMD earned an adjusted $1.53 per share, as revenue rose 34% year-over-year to $10.27 billion. Analysts expected the company to earn $1.32 on revenues of $9.65 billion for the entire quarter. Data Center revenue rose 39% year-over-year to $5.4 billion, which is higher than the $4.97 billion they were expecting.
Alex King of Sestrian Capital Research, the investing group leader for Growth Investor Pro, said the results were rock solid. He said the stock is down and he would speculate that it's because revenue growth decelerated and the guide is for further deceleration and because the semiconductor sector is very extended and is probably ripe for out-rotation of capital into something else.
Looking ahead, AMD said it expects first quarter sales to be between $9.5 and $10.1 billion, with a midpoint of $9.8 billion, which is above the $9.39 billion consensus. Walmart is in a new category.
Chapter 3: How did Walmart achieve a $1 trillion market value?
The retail giant now has a market value of $1 trillion thanks to a record high on Tuesday. Shares are up as much as 12% year-to-date, outpacing Amazon's roughly 6% gain. It builds on Walmart's 26.5% year-over-year rise, compared with a 14% increase for the S&P 500. and just 2.6% for Amazon.
In its goal to compete with Amazon, Walmart has embraced artificial intelligence, expanded its delivery capabilities to include same-day, and invested in its pharmacy business. This has translated into increased memberships with a 12% growth year-over-year and its most profitable quarter in Q2 this year. This is the top story in the Wall Street Breakfast newsletter.
A link to sign up is in the show notes section. WMT is up 0.4% in pre-market action after closing nearly 3% higher on Tuesday. I'd like to tell you about a few other articles that are trending.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Nvidia's $20 billion funding deal with OpenAI?
A group of BP investors seeks proof that the shift to oil and gas will bring value. Nvidia is reportedly set to deepen its AI ties with OpenAI via a $20 billion funding deal. And a Bitcoin-led crypto sell-off wipes out nearly $468 billion in market value, according to a report. A few items on our Catalyst watch. Shareholders with Noodles & Company vote on a proposed reverse stock split.
General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson will give comments at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Automotive Insights Symposium. And Costco will release its January sales report post-market. Now for a look at Wall Street at this early hour, Dow S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 0.6% at $63 a barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.6% at $76,000.
Chapter 5: What major market movements occurred in cryptocurrencies recently?
Gold is up 2.2% at $5,056. The FTSE 100 is up 1% and the DAX is up 0.1%. Enphase Energy is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. ENPH is up 21% after the company beat Q4 expectations despite a 10% year-over-year revenue decline. That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening.
To take full advantage of Seeking Alpha with coverage on significant stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Check out seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions. I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.