Evercore ISI says this beat-down fintech stock can stage a recovery rally
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
If You'd Invested $1,000 in Block (XYZ) 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Key Points Spoiler alert: It wouldn't be more. Block has diversified over the years, but not in a particularly disciplined or clever way. 10 stocks we like better than Block › In its relatively brief life as a publicly traded company, Block (NYSE: XYZ) has gone through several transformations. It's been a near pure-play transaction processor, then a burgeoning financial services company, then a major institutional investor in cryptocurrency. Through these changes, the once-impressive growth rates of its core businesses cooled off in the early part of this decade. Since then, the stock has been something of a laggard. Blocked A $1,000 outlay on Block half a decade ago would have withered to $524 as I write this, which, as far as financial sector stocks go, is underwhelming. Every one of the so-called "big four" U.S. banks has done far better, as has the benchmark S&P 500 index. One major problem is that the great motors of Block's growth in the early years slowed notably as they matured. At one point, the company's foundational point-of-sale terminals seemed like they were mushrooming into every corner coffee shop and bistro. Since then, though, the company hasn't managed to poach many larger businesses as clients. It did plunge enthusiastically into Bitcoin, and today the cryptocurrency is a cornerstone of its business. This hasn't really moved the needle on overall fundamentals, however. In spite of its popularity, widespread adoption of the crypto is years away at best. Meanwhile it remains a clunky asset to buy, let alone use to pay for most goods. New map wanted? I think that after contracting crypto fever, Block essentially lost its way. It became something of a Bitcoin hound like many investors (and not a few companies), to the detriment of the parts of its business that were working, even if not growing hotly. These days, I think that Block is an investment only for Bitcoin fans. While that's certainly not a bad stance to take given the cryptocurrency's impressive rise -- hopefully it won't be crashing anytime soon! -- I think there are better ways to profit from the digital coin and better fintech stocks to own. Should you buy stock in Block right now? Before you buy stock in Block, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Block wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025 Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Block. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If You'd Invested $1,000 in Block (XYZ) 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
Stocks are headed into their weakest stretch of the year. Here's how much top forecasters think the market could fall.
It's been a strong summer for stocks, but investors are about to enter what is historically the worst period of the year for the market. The period from late July to mid-October is a tough stretch, with August and September often seeing the worst of the volatility. The S&P 500 has dipped by an average 0.6% in August over the last 35 years, according to an analysis from the financial services firm StoneX. That's only slightly better than September, in which the S&P 500 has shed nearly 1% on average since 1990. "August has historically been a month where stock market volatility rises," the firm wrote in note, adding that the VIX, the stock market's fear gauge, has climbed by an average eight percentage points during the month since 1990. Concerns of a looming pullback have been creeping into sentiment on Wall Street, with more forecasters warning of a stock market correction in recent weeks. Here's what strategists think could be coming for the market, and how much they think stocks could drop in the coming months. Evercore ISI: up to a 15% drop Screengrab via Bloomberg Evercore ISI has one of the most bearish views among Wall Street firms. The investment bank's research arm thinks the S&P 500 could be headed for as much as a 15% correction in the coming months. That implies the benchmark index falling to around 5,400 from its current level. In a recent note to clients, Julian Emanuel, the firm's chief equity strategist, pointed to lofty valuations in stocks. Investors, meanwhile, could be getting overconfident and too wrapped up in the fear of missing out, he said, adding that his year-end target for the S&P 500 was 5,600. "FOMO has begun," Emanuel wrote. "Stocks have overdiscounted the potential for continued good news." Stifel: Up to a 14% drop Stifel said it saw the market dropping as much as 14% before the end of the year. The firm said on Monday that valuations in the benchmark index look "very extended," comparing the excitement for stocks to the euphoria at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Stifel has also been warning of stagflation in the US economy, a dreaded scenario where inflation remains hot while growth slows. That situation is often thought of as even worse than a typical recession, as higher prices prevent the central bank from cutting interest rates to give the economy a lift. "The lesson of history is that it is usually a sudden economic slowdown, which is what we forecast for 2H 2025. Slowdowns come in different forms and this one is stagflation, which is already noticeably slowing consumer spending," strategists wrote. Morgan Stanley: Up to 10% drop Bloomberg TV Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief investment officer, said he saw as much as a 10% correction coming for the benchmark index. That's largely because the impact of tariffs will continue to flow through the economy and affect corporate earnings, he said, which could spark a modest pullback in the S&P 500. "As we've been saying, the third quarter is probably the quarter of risk, where you'll see some of this flow through to the cost of goods sold. I don't think this is a massive correction," Wilson told Bloomberg last month. In a separate note in August, a team of strategists led by Wilson added that fears of hotter inflation in the US could cause the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer, another factor that's expected to be bearish for stocks. Still, the bank remains optimistic about the market over the long term. Wilson said Morgan Stanley planned to buy any pullback in the market, thanks to an overarching bullish backdrop for stocks. "I think the pullbacks will be short and shallow. Maybe there'll be another surprise, another test of some kind that will be something more severe. But I really can't see more than a 5%-10% correction," he added. Wells Fargo: Up to a 10% drop The S&P 500 dropping as much as 10% would be reasonable, according to Scott Wren, the chief market strategist at Wells Fargo. Speaking to CNBC this week, Wren said he expected more volatility in the overall market, and pointed to several factors that could drive a decline in the benchmark index. Uncertainty stemming from President Donald Trump's tariffs. Economists have said the full effect of tariffs has yet to be seen in the economic data. The deadline for the US-China trade deal has also been extended for another 90 days, meaning higher tariffs on China remain an unknown hanging over the market. Inflation is creeping higher. Consumer prices grew 2.7% in July, in-line with expectations, but the overall inflation rate remains higher than it was several months ago. Growth concerns. GDP came in at 3% for the second quarter, but growth for the first half of the year overall was weaker than levels seen in 2024. "When you look back over the history, the long history of the S&P 500, you have a 10% pullback on average about every 10-and-a-half months," Wren added. "If we saw 5-10%, 7-10% I think that'd be pretty reasonable after the run we've had." Wren said his year-end target for the S&P 500 was 6,400, implying that stocks would be about flat for the rest of the year.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
European Q2 corporate profit outlook improves further
By Javi West Larrañaga and Marleen Kaesebier (Reuters) -The outlook for European corporate health has considerably improved, the latest earnings forecasts showed on Tuesday, showing a continued rise after the extension of the U.S.-China tariff truce and the EU-U.S. trade deal. European companies are expected to report 4.8% growth in second-quarter earnings, on average, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. That is above the 3.1% rise analysts had expected a week ago. Market sentiment has steadily improved in recent weeks, after the European Union struck a framework deal with the United States in July and the U.S. and China extended their tariff truce for another 90 days on Monday. Following U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on all countries in February, second-quarter earnings expectations of STOXX 600 companies had gone from a 9.1% year-on-year increase right before the announcement to a 0.7% fall before the signing of the U.S.-EU deal. They have considerably increased in the weeks since Brussels and Washington agreed on the 15% import tariff on most EU goods, half the threatened rate. The consensus forecast for second-quarter revenue has also continued to improve, the LSEG report showed, with analysts now expecting a 1.3% fall compared to a 2.0% drop last week. Out of ten sectors in the European benchmark index, four are expected to see a year-on-year improvement in quarterly earnings. The technology sector is expected to have the highest growth rate at 26%, followed by healthcare, financials and industrials. Earnings of Danish wind turbine maker Vestas later this week could show how European renewable companies are dealing with tariffs and the increased uncertainty in the United States. On Monday, wind farm developer Orsted asked shareholders for $9.4 billion to cope with Trump's hostility to wind power. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
