The publicly traded bitcoin mining company Cleanspark has exercised its option to acquire 100,000 bitcoin mining machines from Bitmain. The firm initially secured the option last year, and the agreement has now been enhanced to include the latest S21 Pro model from Bitmain, which offers 15 joules per terahash (J/T). Bitmain and Cleanspark Seal Deal […]
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Home Depot on Thursday said it is acquiring SRS Distribution in an $18.25 billion deal, the latest and largest sign of its ambitions to drive sales by winning more business from contractors, roofers and other home professionals.
The home improvement retailer expects the acquisition to close this fiscal year, which ends in late January. It said it will finance the deal through cash on hand and debt.
Home Depot already draws half of its business from pros, while the other half comes from do-it-yourself customers. With the deal, the Atlanta-based company is making yet another push to gain the customers who tackle complex and lucrative construction jobs, particularly as homeowners pull back on DIY projects. That was one of the priorities that Home Depot leaders laid out for this year. It’s also why the company has been opening a growing network of distribution centers that can stock large quantities of items that pros need, such as lumber or shingles, and deliver them directly to a job site.
The acquisition is the largest in Home Depot’s history.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Ted Decker described the deal as “a complementary accelerator” to its efforts to attract more pros. He said the deal increases Home Depot’s total addressable market by $50 billion.
SRS Distribution sells supplies to professionals in the landscaping, pool and roofing businesses. It’s owned by two private equity firms, Leonard Green & Partners and Berkshire Partners.
The McKinney, Texas-based company has approximately 11,000 employees and 760 branches across 47 states. It also has a fleet of 4,000 delivery trucks and a dedicated salesforce that caters to the home pros, Decker said.
The acquisition adds to other recent deals that the retailer has made in the pro space. They include the approximately $8 billion acquisition of HD Supply, a national distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products in the multifamily and hospitality markets, in 2020. Last year, it also made two other acquisitions for undisclosed amounts: International Designs Group, which owns Construction Resources, a distributor of surfaces, appliances and other products that sells to home pros; and Temco, an appliance delivery and installation company.
Decker said he’s confident the deal will get approved by federal regulators, even as they increase scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions.
“With the separate customer base, different channels, different purchase occasions, we feel good that this will go through,” he said.
The acquisition is expected to be dilutive to Home Depot’s earnings per share due to amortization, but accretive in terms of cash earnings per share in the first year after the deal closes.
Home Depot has leaned into the pro business as its growth stagnates. The retailer, a major beneficiary of pandemic trends, has dealt with moderating sales as consumers take on fewer home projects and spend more on grocery bills and experiences. Over the past few quarters, customers have bought fewer big-ticket items and tackled smaller, less pricey projects.
Decker said last month on an earnings call that Home Depot would focus on opening new stores, attracting more pro sales and trying to make customers’ shopping experience more seamless.
Home Depot plans to open a dozen new stores during the fiscal year. It recently announced it will open four distribution centers that help support sales to pros.
The acquisition comes after the home improvement retailer said last month that it expects slower sales trends to continue. It said it anticipates total sales for the full year will grow about 1%, including an additional week in the fiscal year. Yet it expects comparable sales, which take out the effect of store openings and closures and do not include the additional week, to drop by about 1%.
Home Depot had a total of 2,335 stores across the U.S., Mexico and Canada as of the end of the fiscal year in late January. It has about 465,000 employees.
As of Wednesday’s close, shares of Home Depot are up about 11% this year. That’s slightly ahead of the 10% gains of the S&P 500. Home Depot’s stock closed at $385.89 on Wednesday, bringing its market value to about $382 billion.
“‘I do think that there’s this whole vibe with Apple fanboys, which I find kind of a little funny, where it’s like a lot of people just get upset if you dare to question if Apple is going to lead in a new space.’”
That was Meta
META,
CEO Mark Zuckerberg talking about his recent review of Apple’s Vision Pro during an episode of the Morning Brew Daily podcast that was published on Friday.
In his review, Zuckerberg – not surprisingly – said Meta’s Quest 3 headset is not just a better value ($499 versus $3,499) but an overall better product than Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
“I just saw the media coverage around this was just sort of breathlessly assuming that, I think because it’s Apple
AAPL,
and because it was such an expensive product, like it must be the better one in quality, even though a lot of people are saying, hey, no, you should go buy Quest 3 because it’s the better price,” Zuckerberg said on the podcast.
Apple’s Vision Pro debuted on Feb. 2. It’s the company’s first VR headset. Meta’s Quest made its debut in 2019 and its Quest 3 came out in 2023.
See also: Meta, Apple are squabbling again over advertisers
“First of all, I’m not laughing at them. I take Apple seriously,” Zuckerberg said. “I think it’s like a good company. They do good work. I’m just laying out the facts as I see them today. I’m not saying that they’re not going to improve, but hey, we’re going to improve, too. And we’re a company that moves pretty quickly, so I actually think we’ll probably move faster.”
Of course, not everyone who has tried Apple’s new headset agrees with Zuckerberg. A Wall Street Journal Technology Columnist called it “the best headset yet.”
In Zuckerberg’s review of the Apple Vision Pro, which was posted on Instagram on Wednesday, he highlighted the Quest’s weight (so it can be worn for longer periods), and its more immersive content library. He noted that Apple’s product did have higher resolution, though.
Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment.
Meta has been a top performer on Wall Street this year, with its stock rising 34.63% compared to a 4.87% decline for Apple Inc.
Read on: Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft among tech companies to sign pact combating AI-generated election trickery
Ford Motor Co., CEO Jim Farley gives the thumbs up sign before announcing Ford Motor will partner with Chinese-based, Amperex Technology, to build an all-electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, during a press conference in Romulus, Michigan February 13, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley on Thursday urged Wall Street to forget about Tesla and its FSD driver-assistance systems as the future of the auto industry, contending investors should instead focus on the Detroit automaker’s “Pro” fleet business.
Farley compared the unit, which roughly doubled pretax earnings last year to $7.2 billion, to where Deere & Co. was seven years ago. The farm equipment maker’s stock has increased by about 235% since then.
“If you’re looking for the future of the automotive industry, stop looking at FSD and Tesla. Look at Ford Pro. It’s got half a million subscribers with 50% gross margin,” Farley said during a Wolfe Research conference.
Ford Pro is made up of the automaker’s traditional fleet and commercial businesses as well as emerging telematics, logistics and other connective operations for business customers – ranging from local plumbers and electricians to massive corporations. It also includes parts and services for businesses.
Ford expects the Pro unit’s pretax earnings to increase to between $8 billion and $9 billion this year, the automaker said earlier this month. That compares with earnings expectations for the company’s “Blue” traditional business of about $7 billion to $7.5 billion and projected losses in its Model e EV business of $5 billion to $5.5 billion.
Tesla does not break out revenue or earnings from its premium driver-assistance software, marketed as its Full Self-Driving Beta, FSD or FSD Beta. Many Wall Street analysts have speculated that such software could bring in tens of billions of dollars per year by 2030.
Ford Motor, Tesla and Deere & Co. stocks over the last seven years
Ford has said it expects revenue from telematics and other nontraditional subscription services to increase to $2,000 per vehicle annually, or about $167 a month, for Ford Pro in the years ahead. Farley reiterated Thursday that 20% of Pro’s overall revenue is expected to come from such services by 2026.
Farley reiterated that Ford Pro is undervalued within the automaker. Some on Wall Street agree.
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas last week called Ford Pro the company’s “Ferrari,” referring to the extremely profitable luxury sportscar manufacturer that was significantly undervalued before being spun out of Fiat Chrysler in 2016.
“I remember a time when Fiat owned Ferrari, and I had a valuation of about $4 billion on it. Now Ferrari is worth $80 billion today, and the business was totally ignored by investors when it was part of Fiat,” Jonas said during Ford’s quarterly earnings call earlier this month. “Now Ford has a Ferrari, it’s called Ford Pro. And I think we agree, people are ignoring the cash cow.”
Jonas, a longtime Tesla bull, contended the business is being overlooked because profits from it are being siphoned to fund Ford’s “EV science project.”
Some investors may be skeptical of Farley’s comments. The Ford executive has previously discussed Ford being a growing competitor to Tesla with its vehicles and technologies, but that, in general, has largely not occurred yet.
Ford is delaying or cutting spending by billions of dollars on EVs, including domestic battery production, amid slower-than-expected adoption of its current models as well as significant losses on its electric vehicles. The company is in the middle of developing its next-generation EVs that it promises will be profitable within a year of going on sale.
Farley said Thursday that while EV demand is slower than expected for consumers, fleet customers are actually adopting all-electric vehicles faster than the company had anticipated.
The Pro operations are a major part of Farley’s “Ford+” restructuring and growth plan. The unit is led by Ted Cannis, who is considered a successful utility man within the company.
“We always had a super successful pro-business … but there was no focus on it,” Farley said. “I think people are just starting to see [it].”
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
Preorders for Apple‘s $3,499 Vision Pro headset began Thursday morning ahead of its U.S. release on Feb. 2.
The Vision Pro is Apple’s first new product category since it released the Apple Watch in 2015. Wall Street doesn’t expect Apple to sell it in the same quantities as it does its other products, such as the iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac — at least not at first.
“We believe success with the Vision Pro is less about 2024 and more about its longer-term potential,” Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said in a note to investors in December.
UBS’ David Vogt estimates Apple could generate about $1.4 billion in revenue from the Vision Pro in 2024, assuming Apple ships about 400,000 handsets. By comparison, Apple generated $43.81 billion in iPhone revenue during its fiscal fourth quarter.
The entry-level Vision Pro comes with 256GB of storage and the same M2 chip that Apple includes in some of its Macs. The company is also selling a 512GB Vision Pro for $3,699 and a 1TB model for $3,899.
It provides a “spatial computing” experience. The headset can serve as a virtual reality display that lets users watch movies, for example. Or a user can pin several different apps and screens in their view while also seeing the world around them.
Apple’s preorder website asks customers to use an iPhone or iPad with Face ID to find the best-fitting size.
The company is also offering a 12-month financing plan. The $3,499 model costs $291.58 a month with that option. Prescription lens inserts can be purchased for $149.
Apple announced the Vision Pro at its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2023.
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
iPad Mini
Source: Apple Inc.
Apple will overhaul its iPad family next year to make it less confusing for customers and to recharge slumping sales, according to Bloomberg. New versions of the iPad Pro and iPad Air are reportedly coming as soon as March.
Apple didn’t release new iPads in 2023, and sales fell 3% from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2023, after declining 8% the year before. IPad revenue in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter fell 10% year over year after Apple warned of double-digit declines in its iPad and Mac segments.
Apple reportedly wants to make it easier to differentiate between the iPad models and also plans big upgrades. Apple currently sells two sizes of the iPad Pro, the iPad Air, the 10th generation iPad, the ninth generation iPad and the iPad mini. Accessories, such as keyboards and Apple Pencils, as well as chargers, vary depending on which model you’re buying. It makes choosing an iPad more confusing than with any of Apple’s other products.
The plan is to make the iPad Pro the clear top-line model, with the Air as a middle tier and the 11th generation iPad at the bottom, according to the report. The upcoming changes to the iPad Pro reportedly include a better screen, the M3 chip, a new design and a new Magic Keyboard attachment that only works with iPad Pros.
The new iPad Air will have two screen sizes and an M2 chip, according to the report.
Apple will reportedly release an updated iPad mini and the 11th generation iPad, the latter of which will allow the company to phase out the ninth generation version that still has a home button. The report did not specify the timetable on those releases.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
2023 was anticipated to be the comeback year for Bitcoin (BTC). Experts predicted that the King of Crypto would soar to $50,000 or more, but it has only bounced back to about $26,000 since the bear market started in late 2021. Cointelegraph Markets Pro, despite the bearish trends ruling the space, has sent investors more than 150 winning alerts so far this year.
Smart investors are not sitting on the sidelines and waiting for legacy coins to pop. Instead, they rely on Markets Pro — the breakthrough AI-powered crypto trading dashboard — to spot market-moving events before they drive select crypto prices up. As a result, they had the opportunity to jump ahead of gains like 50%, 61%, 80% and even 88%.
Those gains were spotted by just one of the AI indicators — NewsQuakes™, which is considered the fastest and most actionable newsfeed in crypto — built into the dashboard to track crypto market developments known to impact prices and create “flash” breakouts within hours.
On May 5, 2023, the listing of the Pepe (PEPE) token made headlines. The popular memecoin built on the Ethereum blockchain was launched in April 2023 and quickly became one of the most traded cryptocurrencies in the market.
News of the Binance listing hit the market at around 07:00 UTC. By 12:00 UTC, the coin had grown 50.35% in just five hours. Most traders missed the move, while those with access to alerts from Markets Pro got the opportunity to take advantage of the surge.
On March 17, 2023, an announcement was made about Sommelier that made investors anticipate a potential price pop. Sommelier is a noncustodial, cross-chain platform for executing intelligent decentralized finance (DeFi) vaults that automatically invest a user’s funds based on a specific strategy.
Markets Pro picked up on the story and alerted members at 09:00 UTC. By 13:00 UTC, SOMM gained almost 62%.
OAX is a native Ethereum divisible virtual token. The OAX Foundation, whose aim is to help the DeFi and crypto financial services sector flourish, issues the token.
A breaking news story appeared on the Markets Pro “radar” on March 22, 2023 about OAX.
Near the time of the announcement, the token was trading at almost $0.29. In less than 72 hours, it surged to $0.52.
Investors with access to the Markets Pro alert had a shot at nearly 81% gains.
On June 20, 2023, an unexpected announcement was released about Flamingo Finance. According to sources, Flamingo had just entered into a partnership with O3 Labs, which allowed it to bridge to 14 Ethereum Virtual Machine chains.
The story broke at 09:00, with FLM priced at a little over $0.06. Markets Pro picked up the story and sent an alert in real time to members. A day later, the price surged to just shy of $0.12, handing investors who had access to the intel a hefty 88.15% gain.
More recently, in the past two months, Markets Pro alerted members to 45.25% gains on LOOM, 44.42% gains on POND, and 41.17% gains on Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In the past seven days, members were alerted to unusual market activity on KAS right before it took off 21.27%. In the past 12 days, a Markets Pro alert let members know about JOE right before it shot up 39.05%. In the past 13 days, an alert pointed to ARKM right before it surged 21.63%.
That’s not all. Just weeks ago, an alert was sent out for VTHO, netting 30% returns in just 15 minutes. The next alert could be going out at any time.
In crypto investing, minutes often make a world of difference. Markets Pro strives to deliver actionable news as soon as it becomes available. NewsQuakes™ are sourced from a real-time aggregation engine, collated from over a thousand primary sources every minute and analyzed by an AI algorithm to determine which news stories could impact crypto prices now. These breaking alerts are delivered without human intervention. So, they are often the fastest way for market participants to know about major events in the cryptocurrency space.
NewsQuakes™ spotted the market events that led to these and dozens more winning trades. Immediate alerts were then sent to members, so they could jump on the potential breakout tokens they liked. NewsQuakes™ is among a handful of advanced AI indicators built into the dashboard to help crypto investors and traders find winning plays.
See how Cointelegraph Markets Pro delivers market-moving data before this information becomes public knowledge.
Cointelegraph is a publisher of financial information, not an investment advisor. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile investments and carry significant risk including the risk of permanent and total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures and charts are correct at the time of writing or as otherwise specified. Live-tested strategies are not recommendations. Consult your financial adviser before making financial decisions.
All ROIs quoted are accurate as of November 3rd, 2023.
Question: I’m 68, have $1.6M in the market managed by a large firm, have no debt, own 2 properties and my wife is taking her SSA but I haven’t started yet. My investment portfolio has been flat for 18 months so I’m considering parking it all in CDs and reviewing it again in 2 years. Does this seem like a good plan? Would I benefit from hiring an adviser to help me explore other options?
Answer: You’ve got a couple questions here. First, let’s address whether you might want a financial adviser to help you (this free tool from SmartAsset can match you to an adviser who may meet your needs). Then we’ll get into whether it makes sense to park all that money into CDs: The short answer is no, but more on that later.
Have an issue with your financial adviser or looking for a new one? Email questions and concerns to picks@marketwatch.com.
Most pros will give you this piece of advice: Don’t try to time the market, and instead keep with your long-term plan if you have one. A long-term plan should reflect your retirement projections, healthcare plan, housing, insurance, transportation, legacy and more. “There are many factors to consider when making decisions about investments and there are tradeoffs between safety, security and growth. Having a long term perspective can sometimes be very beneficial with regard to framing near-term decisions,” says certified financial planner Anthony Ferreira at WorthPointe Wealth Management.
If you do not have a long-term plan, it may be prudent to hire a pro to help develop one, and invest accordingly. Consider hiring a fee-only certified financial planner. CFPs must complete extensive coursework, exams and thousands of hours of work-related experience. CFPs are also bound to a fiduciary duty, meaning they’re required to put their clients best interests first over their own, eliminating conflicts of interest. Here are the questions to ask any adviser you might want to hire, and you can use this tool to match you to an adviser who may meet your needs.
Even if you have a long-term plan, it may still behoove you to switch who is managing your money. At the large firm you’re working with, advisers may earn commissions by selling you things that may not be in your best interest. Make sure you understand how the advisers you are working with get paid. Ask other questions too. “If your portfolio has been flat for 18 months, do you know why? The large firm that is managing your money for you should be conducting reviews at least annually to explain how your portfolio has been performing and why,” says Ryan Haiss, certified financial planner at Flynn Zito Capital Management.
Bottom line: It’s worth getting a second opinion, says certified financial planner Josh St. Laurent at Wealth in Yourself. And prior to altering your portfolio, it would be best to have a professional review your portfolio and discuss your goals with you. It may be that you want to pay a one-time fee and get a one-time plan (some advisers offer this service for anywhere between $1,500 and $7,500), or it may be that you want ongoing help (many advisers charge based on assets under management (AUM) and charge roughly 1% of the assets they manage).
It’s true that 2022 was an especially tough year for both stocks and bonds, and while 2023 started off stronger, it’s still been a turbulent year. “Looking back at the S&P 500 over the last 18 months it has been flat, so it’s not surprising that your portfolio has been as well,” says St. Laurent. As of September 30, 2023, the 1 year return on the S&P 500 is 19.59%.
Even so, it’s about thinking long-term. To that end, Haiss says he would never advocate for moving all your money into CDs. “While CDs may feel safe, they are typically not appropriate for long term investments because they will lose to inflation over time. Investors have a much better chance of being successful with their investments by staying in the market instead of trying to time the market,” says Haiss.
Furthermore, it’s rarely a good idea to move all of your assets into a single asset class. “A good financial plan should include cash for shorter term spending needs and stability, income investments to provide cash flow that can be used for the future and growth investments to help you increase your wealth and offset the impacts of inflation,” says certified financial planner David Edmisten at Next Phase Financial Planning.
And CDs aren’t without their downsides. “My biggest concern about parking it all in CDs is the fact that you can’t get to it for that 2-year period. If there’s a medical emergency, a business opportunity, a trip of a lifetime or a new family member, your money will be stuck in the bank,” says St. Laurent.
Furthermore, if you leave the market for CDs, what will be your catalyst to get back in? Haiss says most people that try to time the market find themselves waiting for the market to drop. “Then, when it does, they are often too scared to buy at lower prices. Timing the market is often a lose-lose situation and you’re best suited maintaining a diversified portfolio and rebalancing at least semi-annually to take advantage of any market volatility,” says Haiss.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t put your money in CDs. “You just shouldn’t do it because the recent markets have been flat. If you were to run a financial plan based on your lifestyle and spending habits and it was plausible that you could sit in CDs for the rest of your life without running out of money, then there is nothing wrong with that,” says certified financial planner Joe Favorito at Landmark Wealth Management.
If there are any short term withdrawal needs, say less than 12 months, high yield savings accounts and CDs can be attractive given current interest rates. Still, “There are many factors to consider when making decisions about investments and there are tradeoffs between safety, security and growth. Having a long term perspective can sometimes be very beneficial with regard to framing near-term decisions,” says certified financial planner Anthony Ferreira at WorthPointe Wealth Management.
And one final thought: Though you may not keep up with inflation by having your money in CDs, it may not matter if you have enough accumulated to last your lifetime. “Investing is about growing your assets at a fast enough pace to maintain your lifestyle. It’s not about doing better than your neighbor,” says Favorito. (Looking for a new financial adviser? This free tool can match you to an adviser who may meets your needs.)
Have an issue with your financial adviser or looking for a new one? Email questions and concerns to picks@marketwatch.com.
Apple noted that only account holders in the Apple Developer Program can apply for the Vision Pro kit, which should be returned upon request.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares closed Monday trading at $192.75, up 0.42 percent from the day’s opening price. The gains had extended by approximately 0.36 percent during the after-hours trading session, thus solidifying its YTD performance of nearly 49 percent. Also, the $3 trillion valued tech company intends to work with application developers in order to wholly utilize the Vision Pro capabilities. Consequently, Apple opened applications for a Vision Pro developer kit to Apple Developer Program account holders with reputable publications.
The impressive performance YTD is partially attributed to the launch of a new product after several years dubbed Vision Pro. Notably, the Apple Vision Pro is set to revolutionize the 3D immersive industry after its planned launch in 2024 at a price of $3,499 per headset.
In addition to receiving the Vision Pro kit, application developers will also get help from the Apple team in setting up the device and onboarding. The company also announced application developers will also get check-ins with Apple experts for user interface (UI) design and development guidance in a bid to help refine their applications. Apple will also provide Vision Pro app developers with two additional code-level support requests to help troubleshoot any issues with the source code. Apple has, however, reserved the right to collect the Vision Pro device upon request.
“Availability is limited and on a first-come-first-served basis. If capacity gets full, you’ll be added to the waitlist and we’ll reach out when more spots become available,” the company noted.
Interestingly, the company has directed all the developers that will be selected not to share access to the Vision Pro gadget with family, friends, or on social media platforms. Meanwhile, the company intends to work with developers from all over the world including through its Labs available in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Apple has undeniably dominated the hardware technology market around the world, having sold billions of devices since its inception. The tech giant has consistently upgraded existing hardware devices to match up with emerging markets and technologies. For instance, the company has upgraded its iOS and smartphone hardware to catch up with the 5G network development.
As a result, Apple has seen its stock market rise exponentially through the Covid and post-pandemic seasons. According to the latest stock market data, AAPL shares gained 26 percent last year and have almost doubled the performance YTD. Having been rated by 44 analysts, the Apple stock market received an average rating of Over.
Since the company began to manufacture its in-house semiconductor chips, Apple has managed to have better control of its output with more reliable performance.
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