Ok....all the positivity today is getting CRAZY. US Mortgage Rates Fall to 6.3%, Boosting Purchase Activity https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-mortgage-rates-fall-6-121725119.html
I am getting tired of posting.....there is just too much...GOOD NEWS. US signs collaboration agreements with Japan and South Korea for AI, chips and biotech https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-signs-collaboration-agreements-japan-135002885.html
Remember my posts over the past months about the GOLDEN ERA....the best investing environment I have ever seen right now. We are really seeing it right now. It is happening in....REAL TIME.
REALITY CHECK.....HD and COST are RED today. MSFT is now RED today. Do I care......no. Am I concerned about HD and COST....NO. They will be just fine. As money runs into tech....they are being left behind in the FRENZY. BUT....they will be just fine over the longer term. AND....I am happy to own them to balance out my big tech risk. it takes them longer but as money flows....they will BOOM. They are BOTH companies with AMAZING management and totally DOMINANT in their business area. I patronize both.....and I like what I see as a consumer when I am in their stores.
LOL....so many people are trying to check their accounts today...I cant even get logged into Schwab right now. I consider that a .....GOOD THING.
I finally got in. Even with four stocks RED today....I STILL have a very big gain. Not as big as Monday and Tuesday.....as MSFT.....is RED, waiting for after the bell earnings....along with HD and COST. BUT...it is another really good day for my account so far.....NOW....lets see how we do over the next FOUR HOURS.....an eternity.
ANOTHER....really BIG gain for me today. And a beat of the SP500 by....1.82%. This has got to be one of my best weeks ever. Today for me....GOOGL....+$25.....NVDA....+$6....PLTR....+8.50. AMAZING....as I wait to see the earnings for MSFT.
WOW...earnings in early: Microsoft earnings are out – here are the numbers https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/29/microsoft-msft-q1-2026-earnings-report.html Microsoft's cloud surge lifts revenue above expectations https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsofts-cloud-surge-lifts-revenue-200455297.html "Total revenue rose 18% to $77.7 billion, beating expectations of $75.33 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG." "Microsoft reported blockbuster growth in its cloud-computing business on Wednesday that pushed its quarterly revenue past Wall Street estimates, showing businesses are still splurging on artificial intelligence services despite fears of a bubble." LOOKS like a BIG BEAT....but shares are DOWN after hours. WTF? It is also a great confirmation of AI as their cloud computing drove the numbers. Of course they are in the middle of an AZURE outage right now....with the shares down by over 3% in the after-markets.
NOW.....GOOGL. Alphabet beats quarterly revenue estimates on strong ad, cloud demand https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-beats-quarterly-revenue-estimates-200517405.html MORE strong cloud demand.....and: "Google-parent Alphabet beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as both its core advertising business and cloud computing unit showed steady growth. Shares of the company rose 6% in extended trading. The company reported total revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $99.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG."
With BOTH MSFT and GOOGL we are seeing BIG impact of AI in the cloud computing numbers. As to META....which i do not own....so do I care....only a little: Meta Q3 earnings miss on EPS, stock plummets more than 6% https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta...eps-stock-plummets-more-than-6-161207837.html Not sure they are getting much return for the BILLIONS they have spent recently POACHING talent from poor APPLE and others in the tech world. I have no interest in owning META.
AND the FED: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 0.25% for second straight meeting, 2 officials vote against move as shutdown challenges mount The newest Fed governor, Stephen Miran, preferred a 0.50% cut. Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid wanted to hold rates steady. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fede...e-as-shutdown-challenges-mount-143206541.html As expected with another one to come in December.
This has got to be part of the reason for the drop after-hours in MSFT on a day that cloud services.....AI....was a big winner in their earnings BEAT. Microsoft Azure, 365 outage impacting businesses globally starting to ease https://www.reuters.com/technology/...housands-users-downdetector-shows-2025-10-29/
Tomorrow....Thursday....we cap off the day with AMZN and AAPL reporting after the close. SHOW ME THE MONEY.
Market INSANITY at work: Microsoft slides even as Q1 results top expectations https://seekingalpha.com/news/4510333-microsoft-slides-even-as-q1-results-top-expectations "Seeking Alpha analyst Vinay Utham said the results were “very strong,” as both the top and bottom lines topped Wall Street estimates. “I find the EPS beat, in particular, to be really impressive,” Utham wrote in an email. “I am extremely impressed with the growth seen in Azure, which came in at 40% (and 39% in constant currency).”"
This headline says it all: Microsoft stock's slide post-earnings reflects 'fickle' market https://finance.yahoo.com/video/microsoft-stocks-slide-post-earnings-214330154.html Fickle and.....STUPID. A very nice BEAT.
Perhaps as soon as the second quarter of 2026.....but probably more likely 2027. Exclusive-OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-openai-lays-groundwork-juggernaut-232125990.html
Thanks, W. No, I am not seeing others around me doing the same thing. It’s very rare to meet anyone here who invests in stocks. I’ve tried talking to friends and family, but there’s very little interest. Everyone has the same reaction: “Too risky for me!” I do have one friend who’s started investing. She considers individual stocks too risky, but she puts a little into an S&P ETF each month. She’s doing well and is glad she started. It’s funny because I have plenty of friends who take their finances seriously and are very good with money. They like to save, and they spend their time searching for the best savings rates—switching banks just to get an extra 0.25% APR. I think the best savings rates in the U.K. right now are around 4.5%. People just don’t want to expose their money to market risk.
I took a class in college I believe it was called "Engineering Economics" or something along that line. My big takeaway from that is the time value of money. Inflation is always eroding away at your buying power/net worth. At 4.5% bank rates they should be maintaining but certainly not growing to any sizable extent. I have yet to find a more powerful tool for growing wealth with essentially no effort.
Thanks for the report Lori. I dont know how you do it....you are a very STRONG PERSON......to be able to invest when surrounded by friends, family, co-workers and community members that do not invest and are afraid of risk. RESPECT....to you. Here we live in an investing environment...so it is easy for us to do so. I assume that in England and in the EU most people still have a pension of some sort of pension.....yes/no? It sounds like most people there are like it was here in the USA before the 1980's/1990's. Up to about the 1980's to 1990's the vast majority of people here did not own stocks or funds. The elimination of pensions in the private business world...outside of government workers....has made stock and fund ownership here a requirement to have any sort of decent retirement. RG or anyone else outside the USA....feel free to chime in. In your country....are you unusual in owning stocks or funds? Do most people still have a pension?
YES.....unfortunately....much of what passes for investing is simply genetic...brain and chemical.....driven behavior. Add in emotions and you have most people set up for disaster....especially the young with little to no education regarding investing or life experience. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Fad to Fad It seems living beings aren’t the only things to leave this world as they entered it. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...entary/ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust-fad-to-fad
