Stocks open lower, Boeing rises as CEO set to depart

Live4 updates

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  Mon, March 25, 2024 at 6:33 AM PDT

  Stocks open lower to start shortened trading week, Boeing shares rise on CEO departure

  Stocks opened lower on Monday to start out the last week of the month and quarter. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.3% while the the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined 0.6%, led by a slide in technology stocks.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped 0.2%, dragged by shares of Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL).

  Boeing (BA) shares rose more than 3% after the plane manufacturer announced CEO Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of the year. The industrial giant is in the middle of a safety crisis which began in early January after a panel blew off a 737 MAX 9 plane during an Alaska Air flight.

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  Mon, March 25, 2024 at 5:15 AM PDT

  One investment bank throws a dart at Foot Locker

  Foot Locker (FL) has had a brutal 12-months.

  Weak sales. Weak margins. Rough outlooks. The reasons for all of this are varied, from changing sneaker preferences (think more demand for chunky dad shoes as opposed to athletic sneakers) to Nike (NKE) execution issues to Foot Locker’s own operational challenges.

  All in, the stock is down 36% in the past year — and it’s deserved (just take a look at the company’s latest earnings presentation for support).

  Despite this, EvercoreISI’s Michael Binetti is tossing a dart at the stock rebounding. He upgraded his rating to out-perform this morning, citing:

  • A new loyalty program launch by mid-year.

  • A new digital app in North America by mid-year.

  • An aggressive store refresh plan — two-thirds of Foot Locker stores to be updated by 2025.

  • A significant acceleration in innovation/newness across all athletic brands.

  • Nike pivoting back to growth ahead of the Olympics.

  Appreciate the analysis, but FL remains a show me story.

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  Mon, March 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM PDT

  Behind the scenes on Chipotle

  I still remember meeting Brian Niccol in 2016.

  At the time, he was the CEO of Yum! Brands (YUM) owned Taco Bell. I was in my early 30s still trying to figure out a reporter role and also looking for ways to save money (in part because I wasn’t making much in said role!) — that included eating dinner at Taco Bell.

  I met Brian in a hotel conference room after he presented at an investor day. Despite being a young guy with a ton of success on his resume, I found Brian to be humble and insanely knowledgeable about the fast-food industry. I came away thinking Brian would be a game-changer as CEO of a stand-alone business.

  Eight years later, Brian is still the same guy I met despite even more success on his resume as CEO of Chipotle (CMG). Here is my new exclusive chat with Brian now on Yahoo Finance. We touched on a lot in our 25 minute phone chat, but my main takeaway is that Chipotle shareholders remain in a good place because someone like Brian is at the helm backed up by the equally impressive CFO in Jack Hartung.

  A couple takeaways from the interview:

  • Big focus by Chipotle on pushing it to the limit on new restaurant openings over the next three years.

  • New tech will arrive to more Chipotle locations with an eye toward improving profit margins.

  • Brian Niccol isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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  Mon, March 25, 2024 at 4:30 AM PDT

  Where investors see the bubbles

  As we enter the final week of trading in a relatively hot March for various asset classes, investors remain on bubble watch.

  A new survey from Deutsche Bank that dropped this morning still shows investors perhaps worried about how fast bitcoin and tech stocks have come on.

  Makes sense as tech stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA) has surged 19% this month on AI hype and bitcoin is up by 9%!