Walmart shot past expectations | Alibaba missed expectations, but raised hopes | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for May 19th in 3:14 minutes. ð¼ Old-school tradingâs all well and good. But if you join The Trading Pitâs Christoph Radecker and Illimar Mattus for [A Guide to Prop Trading]( next Thursday, you'll find out how prop trading can help you give the pros a run for their money. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Walmartâs down-to-earth offerings brought in results that were out of this world
- Hereâs how Bard and ChatGPT compare in analyzing stocks â [Read Now](
- Alibabaâs results didnât earn it any admirers â but its tantalizing breakup plans kept investors circling Walleyâs World [Walleyâs World] Whatâs going on here? US retail juggernaut Walmart blew past expectations on [Thursday](, with sales taking off last quarter. What does this mean? Big retailers Target and Home Depot reported some uneven results this week, and that meant all eyes were on fellow retailer Walmartâs update on Thursday morning. Expectations were already riding pretty high â after all, the Bentonville titanâs got a knack for scooping up customers from pricier stores into its budget-friendly food aisles. And the supersize firm didnât disappoint: Walmart went right ahead and overshot folksâ hopeful predictions, with first-quarter sales growth of 7.4% in stores open a year or more. Thatâs pretty impressive, especially considering Targetâs flat sales and Home Depotâs sales dropoff. Plus, Walmartâs e-commerce sales were up 27% â which could have the old âWalmartâs the new Amazonâ chorus back in full force again. Why should I care? Zooming in: Shrinking stock. Whether a sign of the times or something more sinister, "shrink" â thatâs retail speak for stealing â has become a gnawing issue for some retailers. Just ask Target. The firmâs bracing for retail crime to snip a hefty $500 million from its profit this year, throwing a wrench in its efforts to get margins back to pre-pandemic levels. Target executives reckon itâs an industry-wide problem, but it doesnât seem to be rattling other retailers quite as much: after all, it got very little air time on Walmartâs post-earnings conference call. The bigger picture: The bare necessities. Walmartâs stock is closing in on an all-time high right now, thanks to the everyday bargains that have been flying off its shelves. See, while selling pricier merchandise has been a sweat-inducing endeavor lately, the basics have been raking in the cash. Thatâs given a lovely little boost to firms that arenât in retail too, like Procter & Gamble and McDonaldâs. But the tide may yet change: if consumers regain confidence and start to splurge, some popular defensive stocks just might take a beating. You might also like: [How to improve your US stock returns, using two top-performing tools](. Copy to share story: [/walleys-world]( ð [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question:
Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Walleyâs World&utm_campaign=daily-global-19-05-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take
ChatGPT Vs Bard: Which Can Better Analyze A Stock? [ChatGPT Vs Bard: Which Can Better Analyze A Stock?]( [Photo of Reda Farran] Reda Farran, Analyst A few months back, I wrote about six smart ways you can use ChatGPT to [analyze a stock](. Since that time, a more advanced, paid version of ChatGPT (called [GPT-4]() was released. And then, not wanting to be left behind, Google upgraded [Bard]( â a generative AI chatbot meant to be the companyâs answer to ChatGPT â and expanded its availability worldwide. So it got me thinking: which of the two now-enhanced chatbots is [more capable]( of helping investors out? Thatâs todayâs Insight: [six ways to use AI to analyze a stock, a side-by-side comparison of ChatGPT and Bard.]( [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY SWISSQUOTE Your portfolio: your values Youâve probably heard the phrase â[business is business](â before. But the idea that companies can â and should â behave badly [in favor of profit]( is old news. Itâs 2023, and investors like you donât have to stand for that anymore. You have values, and [your portfolio should follow suit]( â while earning you returns. Thatâs where Swissquote comes in. The platform lets you choose stocks to invest in based on [environmental, social, and governance scores](. That way, you can check whether your values line up [before you buy in](. You can filter for areas you want to support â human rights, anybody? â and exclude those you donât. So youâll be backing causes you care about and [building your wealth]( at the same time. Plus, right now youâll get [up to â¬500]( when you fund or transfer your account. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Up A Blind Ali [Up A Blind Ali] Whatâs going on here? Alibabaâs underwhelming results, out on Thursday, [suggested]( the firmâs hit a dead end â but its listing plans could help it reverse. What does this mean? Chinaâs economy might be dusting itself off, but spending on physical goods (real, tangible things) seems to be on an extended sabbatical â and thatâs stoking fears that the countryâs long-awaited consumer spending boom could still be miles off. That cold spell might explain why Alibaba â which earns most of its money from Chinese commerce â saw single-digit revenue growth again last quarter, falling just shy of analystsâ estimates. But itâs not all woe: Alibaba thinks online commerce is starting to shake off the cobwebs now, with a healthy appetite for fashion and healthcare products helping domestic momentum speed up in March. Why should I care? Zooming in: A bumper breakup. Investors have been perched on the edge of their seats ever since Alibaba announced itâs splitting into six distinct business units. And thatâs no wonder: this shift could make the individual segments more nimble â potentially turbo-charging growth, and maybe even triggering a share rebound. That prospect meant analysts were pretty gung-ho when the firm announced a spin-off plan for its $12 billion cloud business, the nationâs biggest: after all, thereâs every chance the venture could be a success, especially if the booming demand for Tongyi Qianwen, Alibabaâs answer to ChatGPT, is anything to go by. For markets: The Big Long. Chinese stocks are in a bit of a freeze right now, with investors getting cold feet as the countryâs rebound slows: in fact, average [foreign trading volumes]( are currently less than a tenth of Januaryâs record highs. But some true contrarians are backing the country. Filings out this week [showed]( that Michael Burry â the man who accurately predicted the global financial crisis â has seriously upped his bets on Alibaba and JD.com. You might also like: [Chinaâs population is shrinking and creating opportunities for AI.]( Copy to share story: [/blind-ali]( ð [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question:
Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Up A Blind Ali&utm_campaign=daily-global-19-05-2023&utm_source=email) ð¬ Quote of the day "Heroing is one of the shortest-lived professions there is." â Will Rogers (an American vaudeville performer) [Tweet this]( Calling all fintechs, founders, and fed-up execs You probably know that content can be a game-changing way to [keep customers engaged](. But you might not know that the Finimize API can bring a world of [expert writing and audio]( to your platform right away â for a fraction of what producing it in-house would cost. With access to our [entire content library](, we've made sharing our world-class analysis, news, and educational content with your customers a total breeze. Millions of [engaged investors]( already get smarter with Finimize every day: now your customers â and your [engagement rates]( â can level up too. [Book A Demo]( ð Finimize Live 𥳠Coming Up In The Next Week... All events in UK time. â
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ð [Modern Investor Summit 2023](: 12pm, December 5th & 6th ð¯ On Our Radar 1. Robo-designâs storming publishing. This best-selling fantasy novel is[decked out in AI art](. 2. âBarbie Venusâ. Italians are irate about their countryâs [newest mascot](. 3. Service with a smile. Desperate folk are pulling out all the stops to [give themselves dimples](. 4. The primate pirouette. Apes like to spin in circles [to get high](. 5. Normal breakups can be messy. But when [bands split up](, all hell really breaks loose. â¤ï¸ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend. You stay classy, {NAME} ð Weâd love to hear your thoughts. [Give feedback]( Want to advertise with us too? [Get in touch]( Image Credits: Image credits: Artsiom P shutterstock | Midjourney Preferences: [Update your email]( or [change preferences]( [View in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( from all Finimize Emails ð´ Crafted by Finimize Ltd. | 280 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4AG All content provided by Finimize Ltd. is for informational and educational purposes only and is not meant to represent trade or investment recommendations. You signed up to this mailing list at finimize.com or through one of our partners. © Finimize 2021 [View Online](