TSMC headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The semiconductor manufacturer’s products lie at the heart of everything from automobiles to smartphones.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, July 18
1. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance attacked Wall Street in his speech Wednesday night at the Republic National Convention. Donald Trump’s running mate said the presidential hopeful “won’t cater to Wall Street.” He also blamed China for flooding the U.S. economy with “cheap foreign goods” and fentanyl.
2. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, delivered a great quarter — second-quarter revenue of $20.82 billion vs. consensus $20.23 billion — and guide up on artificial intelligence demand. Will it matter? Semiconductor stocks took a beating Wednesday on news that the Biden administration may clamp down even harder on chip exports to China, while Donald Trump’s comments to Bloomberg Businessweek raised question about his support for the longtime U.S. ally should be be elected in November. TSMC is a major supplier for Club stocks Apple and Nvidia, among others.
3. TD Cowen raised its price target for Microsoft to $495 from $470 and kept its buy rating. Will it stop the rotation out of Big Tech? Two other analysts raised their price targets, too. Investors should stay long on shares despite its recent decline.
4. In case you missed our July monthly meeting on Wednesday, here’s a rapid-fire update on all 34 stocks in the portfolio. This time around, we also looked at how stocks would fare if Donald Trump wins a second presidency in the fall. I also discussed why identifying the right stocks to own under Trump isn’t so easy to do.
5. United Airlines reported second-quarter EPS that beat analysts’ estimates, but missed on sales. In addition, the airline’s third-quarter forecast came in short as an oversupply of flights drags down fare prices. Management claims capacity will not be a problem in August. I do not feel reassured.
6. Suddenly Johnson & Johnson is loved and price targets lifted. Its MedTech unit will get better. I think it is all part of the rotation out of tech stocks and into other parts of the market.
7. TD Cowen says Hub Group might be weakening, downgraded shares to a hold from a buy. Enterprise software. Everyone hates it. Too rich. The firm expects Hub to see a positive pricing inflection in the second half of 2025 at the earliest.
8. Joel Anderson goes to pet food retailer Petco to be its new CEO, right after he left Five Below in shambles. Anderson stepped down as CEO of Five Below on Tuesday after a decade at the discount retailer.
9. Truist defends Meta Platforms, says ad spending growth remains consistent. The social media company has been under attack from Trump. It is not a Trump stock. The analysts defends Alphabet, too. Will it work? Both stocks are also victims of the recent market rotation.
10. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is analyzing options, including a break-up plan, to rescue the media giant’s sinking share price, reports the FT. I have no idea what he’s doing. Splitting studio and streaming? The stock is moving, up 6% on the news.
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