Benzinga Bulls and Bears: Carvana, Rivian, Amazon
Benzinga Senior Editor 7 hours ago
Markets
Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.
Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.
U.S. stocks ended the week lower as disappointing earnings from major technology companies, concerns about artificial intelligence spending and uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy weighed on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9%. Technology shares led the losses as investors questioned whether the returns from massive AI investments can justify the costs. Defensive and energy stocks showed greater resilience as investors shifted away from high-growth companies.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was among the week’s biggest losers, falling nearly 13% after its third-quarter results raised concerns about slowing search advertising growth, despite strong Google Cloud performance. The decline marked its worst weekly performance since 2011. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) also came under pressure as investors scrutinized its AI-related spending and cash flow. The results intensified a broader sell-off in semiconductor and technology stocks as markets reassessed the financial returns of the AI infrastructure boom.
The Federal Reserve added another layer of uncertainty after keeping interest rates unchanged, while Chair Kevin Warsh faced questions about the decision amid elevated inflation and resilient economic growth. Investors also monitored rising energy prices and geopolitical tensions, with Brent crude climbing above $117 a barrel. Treasury yields eased as stocks sold off Friday, but concerns about inflation and the possibility of further monetary tightening remained.
Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week’s most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.
The Bulls
"Carvana Stock Jumps After Q3 Results: ‘We Have Built a Powerful Machine’," by Adam Eckert, reports that Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) shares climbed after the online used-car retailer reported third-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations and record vehicle sales. Revenue rose 42% year over year to $8.04 billion, beating estimates of $7.70 billion, while earnings of 39 cents per share fell short of the 42-cent consensus forecast. Carvana sold 217,385 retail vehicles during the quarter, up 39% from a year earlier, and generated approximately $800 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company expects retail unit sales to increase sequentially in the fourth quarter and raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to the higher end of its previous $2.7 billion to $3 billion range.
"Rivian Q3 Highlights: Stock Gains on Double Beat, Updated Vehicle Delivery Guidance," by Chris Katje, reports that Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares gained in after-hours trading Thursday after the electric vehicle maker beat Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Revenue rose 38% year over year to $2.155 billion, topping estimates of $1.984 billion, while the company reported an adjusted loss of 48 cents per share, narrower than the expected loss of 72 cents. Automotive revenue increased 36% to $1.55 billion, while software and services revenue climbed 45% to $605 million. Rivian delivered 19,248 vehicles during the quarter and raised its full-year delivery forecast to 67,000–70,000 units, from a previous range of 65,000-70,000.
"Lumentum Stock Soars 17% on Marvell Takeover Talk," by Erica Kollmann, reports that Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) shares surged after reports that Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) was in advanced talks to acquire the optical components maker. A deal could be announced as soon as the following week, although no final agreement had been reached and the terms or timing could still change. Lumentum had a market value of approximately $83 billion, compared with Marvell’s roughly $221 billion, raising questions about how the transaction would be financed. Lumentum makes lasers and other optical components that help transfer data at high speeds between servers and data centers, making its technology increasingly important to AI infrastructure.
For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:
SanDisk Posts Q1 Double Beat, Announces Stock Split
Why Is Applied Digital Stock Surging on Tuesday?
The Bears
"Amazon Delivers Q3 Double Miss, AWS Growth Accelerates, Shares Drop," by Adam Eckert, reports that Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) missed Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings in the third quarter, even as its cloud-computing business posted its fastest growth in nearly five years. Revenue rose 12% year over year to $201.94 billion, below estimates of $202.31 billion, while earnings of $1.89 per share fell short of the $1.97 consensus. Amazon Web Services revenue climbed 39% to $46 billion, with CEO Andy Jassy projecting growth of more than 40% in both 2027 and 2028. However, the company’s free cash flow swung to an outflow of $42.4 billion over the trailing 12 months, largely reflecting increased spending on property and equipment, including AI infrastructure.
"Twilio Stock Tumbles on Q3 Earnings," by Adam Eckert, reports that Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) shares fell sharply in after-hours trading Thursday despite the cloud-based customer engagement company beating Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Revenue climbed 20% year over year to $1.56 billion, topping estimates of $1.51 billion, while adjusted earnings reached $1.65 per share, above the $1.47 consensus. Operating cash flow totaled $389.2 million, while free cash flow came in at $369.6 million. CEO Khozema Shipchandler said growing adoption of consumer AI is increasing demand for fast, reliable infrastructure, positioning Twilio to benefit from the trend.
"Black Friday Came Early for Chipmakers: Intel and 10 Other Stocks Are More Than 20% Off This Month," by Piero Cingari, reports that 11 semiconductor stocks have fallen more than 20% in October as Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) led a broader industry sell-off with a 45.3% decline. Intel shares plunged nearly 29% Friday after the company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, below Wall Street’s roughly $17 billion estimate, and warned that PC chip sales could fall more than 20% sequentially. The weakness also reflects rising memory costs as manufacturers shift production toward chips used in AI servers, making laptops more expensive and weighing on PC demand.
For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:
Enphase Energy Posts Q3 Double Miss, Shares Sink
Pinterest Stock Plunges After Q3 Earnings Disappoint
ServiceNow Reports Mixed Q3 Results, Shares Sink
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