Hertz & Amazon, McDonald's combo meal, Intel & investors

Yahoo

18 hours ago

Market Catalysts host Julie Hyman takes a look at some of Wednesday's trending tickers on the Yahoo Finance platform: Hertz (HTZ), McDonald's (MCD), and Intel (INTC).
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Now time for some of today's trending tickers. We are watching Hertz, McDonald's, and Intel. First up is Hertz. The company reportedly planning to sell pre-owned cars via Amazon Autos. That's according to CNBC. Brooke DiPalma is still with me here. So this is really creating a ripple effect because we've got Hertz trading higher. We've got Carvana trading lower, um, as people have more ways to buy cars online.
Yeah, really interesting. This is actually Amazon's first time, or rather, Hertz will be the first fleet dealer on Amazon Autos. And so that's why you're seeing this excitement among investors right now. The stock now up nearly six percent, or nearly five and a half percent in this midday trading session. But then on the flip side, you're seeing Carvana down about 3% after Carvana's been one of those stocks that has gotten so much attention year-to-date, up more than 60%. But if you take a look at Hertz, it also has gotten similar momentum year-to-date up more than 50%. So this will really allow Hertz to sell those used cars on Amazon, which sounds like a futuristic concept to me, if you ask me. But they're going to sell brands like Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Nissan. And once again, this is pretty significant because this will be the first fleet dealer on Amazon Autos, and that is given to Hertz. And perhaps that's why you see some pressure on Carvana right now.
Yeah, those shares down about 3%. Next up, let's talk McDonald's. Shares are rising there. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the company is planning to lower the cost of its combo meals. It had to get the buy-in, Brooke, from its franchisees to do that, um, but, you know, it just emphasizes that value is the name of the game here.
Value, absolutely, is the name of the game here. And McDonald's is really hoping to regain that leadership when it comes to their value proposition. We know that this company, this fast food chain has really struggled lending share to those fine dining, fast casual restaurants that gained momentum in the middle of last year as consumers really look for their best bang for their buck. And we did see same-store sales here in the US reverse to the upside for McDonald's last quarter. They jumped about two and a half percent in the company's fiscal quarter. But customers really want more here. They want more value, more bang for their buck. And so what we know is that McDonald's and its US franchisees agreed to keep the cost of eight popular combo meals about 15% below the sum of the individual item prices. That's according to those materials viewed by the Wall Street Journal. But it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. But they also have that big value meal they've been trying to lean into. Also the return of the snack wrap, which has me excited. So right now we see investors certainly pleased as well.
Yeah, looks that way. And and finally, let's talk a little bit more about Intel. We've been talking about Intel all day. Now there's a new report from CNBC that Intel's in talks with other large investors to get an equity infusion, but at a discounted price. Now this comes amid SoftBank's two billion dollar investment, and of course, what the White House is reportedly weighing, taking some sort of stake in the company. So we've been watching those Intel shares closely. We had a discussion about this earlier. Right now, the shares, Brooke, are down by 6%.
Yeah, Intel's been quite on a ride over the past few days. It's leading the Nasdaq 100 lower. If you could see at the YF interactive, over the past three days, stocks are, Intel stock is down more than three and a half percent. And this has been quite the ride for Intel as they've gotten sort of this mixed picture as they're trying to make way into the AI revolution. We know that with that potential of the Trump administration trying to get involved, we know that Commerce Secretary Howard Lucknick said that the US government must receive an equity stake in Intel. But this is a company that has truly been on a tear year-to-date. It's up nearly 18%, not as much as the other AI players that we've seen, but there's so much back and forth over the past few days with this company stock as well.
Yeah, definitely. And um, there probably will continue to be. Thanks, Brooke. As always, you can scan the QR code below to track the best and worst performing stocks with Yahoo Finances' Trending Tickers page.