Coffee With Greta: Jobs Report Boost

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DJIA Futures: +154 (+0.4%)

SPX Futures: +25 (+0.5%)

NASDAQ Futures: +88 (+0.6%)

Good morning friends!

Futures are rising as traders hope higher unemployment will keep the Fed from hiking rates further.

Let’s get right to it!

Unemployment Rate Rises

U.S. job growth was stronger than expected in August while the unemployment rate rose unexpectedly. 

The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs last month vs 170,000 expected. 

The unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.6%, the highest since February 2022. 

Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to dip to 3.5% in August.

Traders are hoping that will be a good sign for the Fed that the labor market is cooling. 

The labor force participation rate increased to 62.8%, the highest since February 2020. 

Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% monthly and 4.3% year over year, below estimates for 0.3% monthly and 4.4% annually.

The jobs report also included downward revisions to previous months.

June was revised lower by 80,000 to +105,000 and July was revised down by 30,000 to +157,000.

Lululemon Beats Expectations, Boosts Outlook

Lululemon (LULU) shares are up 2.4% ahead of the open after beating Q2 expectations and raising its full-year guidance. 

Here’s how the athletic apparel retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: 

• EPS: $2.68 vs $2.54 expected
• Revenue: $2.21 billion vs $2.17 billion expected

Sales jumped 18% year over year with comparable sales rising 11% vs 12.1% expected. 

Lululemon’s gross margin during the quarter was 58.8% vs 58.5% expected. 

The company forecast Q3 EPS between $2.23 and $2.28 on revenue of $2.17 billion to $2.19 billion, in line with estimates.

Lululemon expects full-year profits to be between $12.02 and $12.17 per share vs previous guidance of $11.74 to $11.94. 

The company also sees full-year sales between $9.51 billion and $9.57 billion, up from $9.44 billion to $9.51 billion previously. 

Dell Rallies On Earnings Beat

Dell (DELL) shares are rallying 12.4% in premarket trade after sharply beating Q2 expectations on the top and bottom line. 

Here’s how the PC maker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: 

• Adjusted EPS: $1.74 vs $1.10 expected
• Revenue: $22.9 billion vs $20.9 billion expected

Revenue was down 13% from a year ago but up 10% from Q1 and stronger than the company’s own forecast. 

Dell reported $3.2 billion in cash flow from operations vs analysts’ estimates for a $465 million loss. 

The company’s PC business, the Client Solutions Group, reported $12.9 billion in revenue vs $12.1 billion expected. 

That was up 8% from the first quarter. 

The company’s vice chairman and COO said, “With a better demand environment and strong execution, we delivered extraordinary Q2 results. We continue to focus on the most profitable segments of the market where we have a leading position.”

Dell forecast fiscal Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.45 on $22.5 billion to $23.5 billion in revenue. 

That topped analysts’ estimates for $1.37 EPS on $21.7 billion in revenue.

The company sees full-year profits of $6.30 per share on $89.5 billion to $91.5 billion in revenue. 

Analysts were forecasting full-year earnings of $5.56 per share on $86.9 billion in revenue.

In Case You Missed It

• Shopify (SHOP) shares rallied 10.8% on Thursday after the company struck a deal with Amazon (AMZN). Shopify will offer Amazon’s “Buy with Prime” program to merchants on the site. This will allow merchants to add the Prime logo and offer Amazon’s quick delivery service options on their Shopify storefronts. Members of Amazon Prime will be able to checkout on Shopify sites using their Amazon accounts. AMZN shares close 2.2% higher on the news.