S&P/TSX composite down as oil moves lower, U.S. stock markets mixed
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 22.05 points at 27,893.94.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 49.28 points at 44,960.54. The S&P 500 index was down 15.79 points at 6,452.75, while the Nasdaq composite was down 73.54 points at 21,637.13.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.45 cents US compared with 72.43 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 39 cents US at US$62.64 per barrel.
The December gold contract was up US$6.10 at US$3,389.30 an ounce.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Retail Earnings Loom: What Can Investors Expect?
Walmart WMT shares have been standout performers this year, handily outperforming not just the broader market indexes and peers like Target TGT but also the likes of Amazon AMZN and many members of the Magnificent 7 group. With the company on deck to report quarterly results on Thursday, August 21 st, it will be interesting to see if the stock can maintain its momentum after the results. The chart below shows the year-to-date performance of Walmart shares (green line, up +11.7%) relative to the Mag 7 group (blue line, up +15.6%), the S&P 500 index (red line, up +9.9%), Amazon (orange line, up +5.3%) and Target shares (bottom line in the chart, down -22.8%). We have also added Home Depot (HD) to the chart, as the home improvement retailer is also reporting results on Tuesday, August 19 th. We should keep in mind, however, that the performance pecking order shifts once the starting point of this chart shifts to April 8 th, when the market bottomed following the tariff-induced sell-off. While Target and Home Depot are laggards in the market's rebound from the April 8 th lows as well, Walmart lags behind the Mag 7, Amazon, and the S&P 500 index in that time period, as the chart below shows. Walmart shares' relatively subdued performance in the market's rebound from the April 8 lows reflects the company's low-beta status and defensive orientation. Today's Walmart has a big and growing digital operation, but the company's merchandise continues to be heavily indexed towards groceries and other essential and must-have necessities. This orientation towards essentials, coupled with Walmart's well-earned reputation for low prices, provides the company's results with a high degree of cyclical stability, hence the stock's defensive attributes. We should note, however, that a big contributing factor to Walmart's stock market momentum over the last few years reflects its ability to gain market share among higher-income households. Driving those gains has been a combination of higher-income households trading down to Walmart in response to the effects of inflation and also the ease of using the company's e-commerce abilities. Walmart has consistently reported market share gains across all income categories in recent quarterly releases, particularly in the high-income category. We expect further gains on that front in this quarterly report as well. Results likely benefited from pulled-forward demand in anticipation of tariffs, particularly in specific categories, such as electronics. Growth in e-commerce and steadily lower losses in that business, coupled with gains from third-party fulfillment and advertising, are some of the other areas that will benefit results this quarter. The e-commerce business in the U.S. is now profitable, and management views it as a significant contributor to earnings for the year. E-commerce accounts for an estimated 15% of total ex-gasoline sales at present, which management expects to eventually increase to more than double that level over time. Concerning tariffs, management noted earlier in the year that roughly two-thirds of U.S. sales were from domestically-sourced products, which gave them a degree of insulation from the tariffs issue compared to others. A significant part of this is Walmart's grocery business, which accounts for almost 60% of its sales, unlike Target, where groceries make up a much smaller portion of the revenue mix. Management has reiterated its commitment to maintaining a price advantage over rivals, a function of Walmart's size, the nature of its supplier relationships, and the increasing automation of its logistical operations. Walmart's value orientation and well-executed digital strategy have been key to gaining grocery market share by attracting higher-income households. Management has acknowledged some near-term challenges as a result of the uncertain macroeconomic environment; however, they remain confident of achieving their long-term plans and targets, including sales growth of at least +4% and operating income growth in excess of the sales growth pace. Walmart has consistently exceeded its targets over the last two years, with sales increasing by +5.5% and operating income rising by +9.5%. Walmart is expected to report $0.73 in EPS on $175.51 billion in revenues, representing a year-over-year change of +8.9% and +3.6%, respectively. Estimates have remained stable, although they have increased modestly since the quarter began. In terms of same-store sales, the expectation is of U.S. comps (ex-fuel) of +4.17%, which will compare to a +4.8% gain in the preceding quarter (vs. expectations of +4%) and a +4.3% gain in the year-earlier period (vs. expectations of +3.65%). A positive general merchandise read will also have positive read-throughs for Target. Same-store sales at Target are expected to decline -3.03% when it reports results on Wednesday, August 20 th. Target comps declined -3.80% in the preceding quarter (vs. expectations of -1.91%) and the year-earlier period of +2% (vs. expectations of +1.23%). With respect to the Retail sector 2025 Q2 earnings season scorecard, we now have results from 21 of the 32 retailers in the S&P 500 index. Regular readers know that Zacks has a dedicated stand-alone economic sector for the retail space, which is unlike the placement of the space in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors in the Standard & Poor's standard industry classification. The Zacks Retail sector includes not only Walmart, Target, and other traditional retailers, but also online vendors like Amazon AMZN and restaurant players. The 21 Zacks Retail companies in the S&P 500 index that have reported Q2 results already belong mostly to the ecommerce and restaurant industries, though we have several restaurant companies on deck to report results this week as well. Total Q2 earnings for these 21 retailers that have reported are up +20.5% from the same period last year on +8.7% higher revenues, with 81% beating EPS estimates and an equal proportion beating revenue estimates. The comparison charts below put the Q2 beats percentages for these retailers in a historical context. As you can see above, the EPS and revenue beats percentages for these online players and restaurant operators are tracking significantly above the historical averages for this group of companies, with the variance particularly notable on the revenues side. With respect to the elevated earnings growth rate at this stage, we like to show the group's performance with and without Amazon, whose results are among the 21 companies that have reported already. As we know, Amazon's Q2 earnings were up +37.9% on +13.3% higher revenues, as it beat EPS and top- line expectations. As we all know, digital and brick-and-mortar operators have been converging for some time now, with Amazon now a sizable brick-and-mortar operator after acquiring Whole Foods, and Walmart a growing online vendor. As we noted in the context of discussing Walmart's coming results, the retailer is steadily becoming a big advertising player, thanks to its growing digital business. This long-standing trend received a significant boost from the COVID-19 lockdowns. 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Total earnings for these 462 index members are up +11.4% from the same period last year on +5.8% revenue gains, with 80.5% of the companies beating EPS estimates and 78.8% beating revenue estimates. The comparison charts below put the Q2 earnings and revenue growth rates for these index members in a historical context. The comparison charts below put the Q2 EPS and revenue beats percentages in a historical context. As you can see here, the EPS and revenue beats percentages are tracking above historical averages, with the Q2 EPS beats percentage of 80.5% for the companies that have reported already comparing to the average for the same group of 77.6% over the preceding 20-quarter period (5 years). The Q2 revenue beats percentage of 78.8% compares to the 5-year average for this group of index members of 70.5%. Is the Turnaround in Estimates for Real? Looking at Q2 as a whole, combining the actuals from the 462 S&P 500 members with estimates for the still-to-come companies, the expectation is that earnings will be up +12.1% from the same period last year on +6% higher revenues, which would follow the +12.2% earnings growth on +4.6% revenue gains in the preceding period. The chart below shows current earnings and revenue growth expectations for 2025 Q2 in the context of where growth has been over the preceding four quarters and what is currently expected for the following four quarters. As you can see above, earnings for the current period (2025 Q3) are expected to be up +4.8% from the same period last year on +5.5% higher revenues. We noted in recent weeks that estimates for the current period have notably firmed up, as you can see in the chart below. Since the start of the period, estimates have increased for 5 of the 16 Zacks sectors. These include Tech, Finance, Energy, Retail, and Conglomerates. 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With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
5 Unstoppable "Ten Titans" Growth Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Through at Least 2030
Key Points The "Ten Titans" offer a more comprehensive list of top growth stocks than the "Magnificent Seven." Nvidia and Broadcom provide the building blocks of AI infrastructure. Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle are three exciting plays in cloud computing. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › The "Ten Titans" are the largest growth-focused U.S. companies by market cap -- consisting of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), Meta Platforms, Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Tesla, Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), and Netflix. Combined, they make up over 37% of the S&P 500, showcasing the top-heavy nature of the index and how just a handful of companies can move the market. If I could only buy and hold half of the Ten Titans through 2030, I'd go with Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft, Oracle, and Alphabet. Here's what separates these growth stocks from the rest of the pack. The building blocks of AI Nvidia and Broadcom both play crucial roles in the buildout of artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia's graphics processing units, CUDA software platform, and associated infrastructure provide a full-scale AI ecosystem for data centers. Orders continue to pour in for Nvidia's chips as big tech companies ramp up capital expenditures to support AI models. Broadcom makes application-specific integrated circuits, which are AI accelerators that can perform specific functions. The company's latest customer accelerator (XPU) is its 3.5D eXtreme Dimension System in Package, which drastically cuts down on power consumption and boosts efficiency between components -- all within a smaller package size. Broadcom offers compute, memory, network, and packaging capabilities, giving customers a vertically integrated solution for AI at scale. Broadcom has a highly differentiated networking and infrastructure software business. In addition to AI accelerators, its semiconductor segment also offers a variety of solutions for enterprise clients, like broadband, wireless, storage, and more. Three different ways to bet on cloud computing Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle offer three distinctly different ways to invest in cloud computing. Microsoft Azure is the No. 2 cloud player behind Amazon Web Services. Azure is Microsoft's fastest-growing segment -- capitalizing on AI demand through cloud offerings specifically geared toward handling AI workloads. But what separates Microsoft from other cloud plays is the strength of the rest of its business. Copilot for Azure, the Microsoft 365 software suite, and GitHub continue to grow their active user base. Microsoft's revenue growth has accelerated, and profit margins are at their highest level in over a decade -- driving Microsoft's surging stock price. Alphabet's Google Cloud doesn't have as much market share as Azure, but it is growing quickly and becoming more profitable. But unlike Microsoft, where cloud is the centerpiece of the investment thesis, Google Cloud doesn't contribute nearly as much to Alphabet's bottom line as other services -- namely Google Search and YouTube. Alphabet stock has roared higher in recent months, but it's still arguably the best value of the Ten Titans. TSLA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts While Google Search could see disruption from rival information resources like ChatGPT, it's worth noting that Google Gemini has gained significant traction in recent quarters -- showing Alphabet's ability to adapt. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is arguably the most exciting play in cloud computing right now. OCI is thriving due to its flexible structure, which leans on Oracle's established database ecosystem. It is best paired with Oracle databases and applications, with certain services not available on other clouds. Instead of going toe-to-toe with the "big three" cloud providers, Oracle partners with them by combining its database services with the AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud infrastructure. All told, Oracle is a top play in cloud computing because it offers its own vertically integrated suite of solutions, but also stands to benefit from the overall growth of the industry through its partnerships. These titans are worth their premium price tags Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle have all been phenomenal stocks -- crushing the S&P 500 over the last five years. With the exception of Alphabet, outsized gains have made valuations expensive based on their trailing and forward earnings estimates, which may deter some investors from approaching these names. However, folks who are looking for top companies to buy and hold through at least 2030 will care more about where a company will be years from now than the next few quarters. The advantage of a longer investment time horizon is that you can give a company time to grow into its valuation. Nvidia, Broadcom, and Oracle are some of the most expensive of the Ten Titans, but they also have the most attractive runways for growth. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Alphabet have more reasonable valuations and multiple levers to pull for growing earnings for years to come. There are valid cases for buying all of the Ten Titans, but Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle truly stand out as the best of the best for long-term investors. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia 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 $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,071% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 13, 2025 Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. 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Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Why Cisco Systems Stock Slumped Today
Key Points The networking equipment company is hit with a post-earnings analyst recommendation downgrade. A onetime bull now feels the stock rates only a hold for investors. 10 stocks we like better than Cisco Systems › A recommendation downgrade from a global bank was the development pushing down Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) stock on Friday. The company's shares absorbed the blow by sinking nearly 5% in price, comparing unfavorably to the relatively modest 0.3% slip of the bellwether S&P 500 index. Reduced to hold Well before market open that day, HSBC prognosticator Stephen Bersey lowered his recommendation on Cisco to hold from his previous buy. His price target on the shares is $69 apiece. Bersey's new take on the tech sector mainstay comes just after the company released its earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. According to reports, the analyst expressed disappointment that Cisco didn't perform better during the quarter, given that its key networking segment had just gotten past several quarters of de-stocking. In his view, the company's fairly tepid full-year fiscal 2026 guidance indicates that the effects of de-stocking might already have been playing out. Bersey did wax optimistic about Cisco's take from components required for artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities, but to him this does not sufficiently compensate for weaknesses elsewhere in the business. High expectations Savvy Cisco investors are well aware that the company has been making a concentrated push into AI, which is likely the reason many of them traded out of the stock post-earnings. After all, it did manage to increase revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) profitability -- the former by 8% year over year, landing at almost $14.7 billion, and the latter by 12% to $4 billion. Both figures were higher, if only a bit, than the consensus analyst estimates. However, any company wading knee-deep in the AI segment is expected to post numbers that are significantly on the upside, and Cisco failed to achieve this. We're not currently in a very forgiving market for tech stocks, and the recent developments with the company reflect this. Should you invest $1,000 in Cisco Systems right now? Before you buy stock in Cisco Systems, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cisco Systems 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 $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,071% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 13, 2025
