 |
|
|
|||||
Shares of Costco (COST) fell more than 7% in midday trading on Friday after the wholesale retailer reported mixed second-quarter earnings results, missing profit estimates but beating on revenue, as the company braces for the impact of tariffs and inflation on consumer spending. The tariffs are very fluid right now, so its hard to give any predictions about what we can do, but our people are well-equipped to deal with anything coming our way, and we have great partnerships with our suppliers, CEO Ron Vachris said during the companys earnings call. Our people are nimble and ready to go. Costcos Q2 revenue came in at $63.72 billion, slightly beating analyst estimates for $63.11 billion. Meanwhile, same-store sales jumped slightly from 6.38% to 6.8%, beating forecasts for an increase of 6.4%, and e-commerce came in at an increase of 20.9%. However, adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.02, missing estimates of $4.11. And while overall same-store sales were up, the company missed estimates in Canada and other international markets. One advantage Costco has over some other retailers is its popular membership, whose fees make up more than 70% of its operating profits. Costco raised those fees last year for the first time since 2017; a basic Gold Star individual membership now costs $65, while an Executive membership is between $120 and $130. Another good sign: Costco announced it expects to open 12 new stores across the nation in 2025, including seven locations in March and April. Here’s a list of those seven locations: Brentwood, CA Genesee County, MI Highland, CA Prosper, TX Sharon, MA Weatherford, TX Stuart, FL In addition, Vachris said the company plans to open two locations in Canada and four other international locations in the coming six months. According to Costco’s website, two of those international stores will be in Minami-Alps, Japan, and Ardeer, Australia. Costco currently operates 897 warehouses, with a majority of those in the U.S. and Puerto Rico (617). Other locations include Canada (109), Mexico (41), Japan (36), U.K. (29), Korea (19), Australia (15), Taiwan (14), China (7), Spain (5), France (2), and one each in Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden.
Category:
E-Commerce
By now, most people know not to trust everything they see on TikTok. But scams on the platform are becoming increasingly sophisticated, thanks to deepfake technology. A new report from Media Matters for America, published this week, identified multiple TikTok accounts using deepfake influencers and fake storytimes to promote wellness products to unsuspecting users. These accounts appear to be part of an affiliated network, using the same content format and often promoting exactly the same products with little to no scientific backing. One now-deleted TikTok account, which had over 245,000 followers, amassed more than 4.1 million likes promoting its secret to perfect hair. Hawking a batana oil to increase hair growth (link in bio), the account featured a number of videos of an influencer claiming to be the wife of Koreas highest paid plastic surgeon, a former Victorias Secret model, and a gynecologist. She claimed this batana oil was the secret to her long luscious hair, despite there being no research to back this up. The secret, in fact, is deepfake technology. A reverse image search by Media Matters strongly suggests that the women in these videos were AI-generated. The same influencerposed identically, in the same outfitappeared in multiple videos promoting different brands and products. Fake influencers are not the only trick scammers are adopting. Wellness trends travel fast on TikTok, often gaining momentum through word of mouth and personal anecdotes. Scammers have caught on to this and are now exploiting popular formats like the #storytime trend, which has 36.9 million posts on TikTok, to market their products. My wife and I have spent three years trying to conceive after getting married without success, reads a slide from one account that was spotlighted in the Media Matters report. I felt guilty, helpless and ashamed for not giving her the family we dreamed of. The slides that follow detail the couples struggle and eventual polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis. These videos likely resonated with many viewers. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the leading causes of infertility, affecting approximately one in 10 women of childbearing age, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Determined to help her I found this supplement on Amazon that thousands swear by, the final slide reads. She started taking it, and for the first time in years, her cycle became regularwere finally hopeful again. Of course, the supplement in question is conveniently linked in bio. Women with PCOS are often the prey of scams promising miracle cures via dubious supplements. But they are not the only ones. “Whoever or whatever created these accounts is trying to capitalize on the internets obsession with wellness,” writes Media Matterss senior investigative researcher Olivia Little. “Nearly every username contains some combination of wellness buzzwords, and the accounts exclusively hawk health and beauty products. As deepfake technology becomes ever more sophisticated, consumers must remain ever more skeptical of what is being sold to them online.
Category:
E-Commerce
Trading could soon be very different on the Nasdaq stock market if the stock exchange gets its way. Thats because Nasdaq president Tal Cohen has announced the exchanges plans to introduce 24-hour trading to the platform in the near future. The move to 24-hour trading would represent a seismic shift for the Nasdaqand present opportunities and challenges to investors, businesses, and the media who cover them. Heres what you need to know. Nasdaq proposes 24/5 trading In a blog post published today, Nasdaq president Tal Cohen has proposed what is colloquially called 24/5 tradingthe ability to trade stocks and other securities on exchange 24 hours a day for five days a week. In the blog post announcing Nasdaqs intention, Cohen calls the potential move a pivotal moment of modernization for the exchange. We are excited to share that Nasdaq has begun engaging with regulators, market participants and other key stakeholders, with a view of enabling 24-hour trading five days a week on the Nasdaq Stock Market, he wrote, noting that 24-hour trading could expand wealth-building opportunities and broaden investor access. However, the Nasdaq operates in a highly regulated industry, so it cannot unilaterally decide to offer 24-hour trading. Not only does it need to get regulatory approval, but it must also ensure that it and its technology and financial partners that enable millions to trade securities on its platform have it within their means to facilitate a switch to 24-hour trading. The U.S. equities markets process millions of messages per second, and every incremental changewhether in trading rules or the guardrails that protect investorsrequires seamless industry-wide coordination, thoughtful planning, testing, and coordinated implementation, Cohen noted. A harmonized and aligned approach across all markets is key to avoiding operational complexity and ensuring a seamless customer experience.” While Cohen didnt explicitly state the companys new proposed 24-hour trading hours, given that they would be five days a week, the new trading period would likely run from 12:01 a.m. on Monday to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Eastern Time (ET). Currently, the Nasdaq trades from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Monday to Friday, like other major U.S. markets. The Nasdaq also currently offers extended trading hours. Premarket trading runs from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET, and post-market trading runs from 4:00 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday. If the Nasdaq gets approval for its new 24/5 trading schedule, it will add an additional eight hours to every trading day. Who does 24/5 trading benefit? Well, one of the biggest beneficiaries, of course, is Nasdaq. The exchange makes its money by charging fees for the services it provides with each trade. The more trades being made, the more money Nasdaq stands to make. But Nasdaq would argue that a move to 24/5 trading will benefit investors in general, who would be able to trade any time they want during the five-day workweek. However, another big benefit would be to a specific type of investor: those who live internationally, especially those in Asia. Due to time differences, many investors in Asiaat least retail investorsare typically off work or sleeping for the night when American exchange activity is at its height. For example, there is a 14-hour time difference between Japan and New York. By switching to a 24/5 trading schedule, investors in Asia would have more access to U.S. markets during their normal waking hours. Attracting more investment to our markets presents a compelling opportunity for both the U.S. and global economy, Cohen wrote. It is therefore incumbent on us to enhance access for those operating across different time zones.” Companies and the media may find 24/5 trading challenging Of course, while Nasdaq and international traders might find 24/5 trading beneficial, other entitiesincluding the companies whose shares trade on the Nasdaq and the media who report on themcould find the move challenging. Companies, especially the ones found on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, like Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, and more, like to control when investors receive news about them, as much as they can, anyway. The reason for this is that news, especially when it’s first disseminated, can make a stocks price swing wildly in one direction or another. This is why many companies report their earnings before or after regular market hours. Retail investors typically dont trade in those hours, which helps mitigate any large-scale fear- or greed-based selling or buying when news hits. If stocks are traded 24/5, companies lose this bufferwhich could lead to increased trading volatility. If this change happens, every CEO or CFO will have to be extra careful what they say during earnings calls, as any statementcorrectly interpreted or notcould lead to instant trading volatility. And for the media covering Nasdaq companiesand the markets in generalwell, they will no longer be able to call it a night after 4 p.m. If the Nasdaq is trading 24/5, that means U.S. financial news is now happening 24/5, and investors are going to want real-time analysis and updates. When does Nasdaqs new trading begin? Currently, theres no definitive date for Nasdaqs 24/5 trading sessions to begin because the change needs to be approved by regulatorsand Nasdaq needs to get the buy-in from its partners and the companies that trade on its exchange. However, if everything goes as Nasdaq would like, Cohen says the company anticipates 24/5 trading to begin in the second half of 2026. Nasdaq, Inc. shares (Nasdaq: NDAQ) are currently down less than 1% to around $75.56 in early morning trading after the news was announced.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||