CNBC.com’s Pippa Stevens brings you the day’s top business news headlines. On today’s show, Steve Kovach runs through the big week in tech earnings. Plus, Bob Pisani breaks down the stock market performance during President Biden’s first 100 days.
Amazon sales surge 44% as it smashes earnings expectations
Few companies have benefited from the pandemic-fueled surge of online shopping as much as Amazon. Its first-quarter results showed the company’s business continues to be buoyed by the pandemic, with profits soaring 44% year-over-year to $108.5 billion.
Amazon’s guidance for the second quarter implies that it expects the momentum to continue, which should help allay investor fears that business could slow in a post-pandemic environment. The company expects to post revenue between $110 billion and $116 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s projection $108.6 billion.
After a bullish start, here’s the stock market outlook for Biden’s next 100 days
If the stock market is considered a barometer of success, President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office is starting off with a bang — a big bang.
Since the election, the S&P 500 is up more than 20%. Since his inauguration in January, it’s up 10%.
According to JPMorgan, that is the best 100-day run for a first-term president in more than 75 years. The only other one close was John F. Kennedy in 1963, who also saw a return north of 20%.
Ford CEO expects chip shortage impact to bottom in Q2, production rebound in second half of year
Ford CEO Jim Farley said on CNBC Wednesday that he expects the chip shortage impact on business to get worse before it improves, but the automaker will be set up for a strong 2022.
“Second quarter is going to be the trough for us,” he told Jim Cramer in a “Mad Money” interview. “We think this quarter is going to be our most difficult.”
Farley, who began leading the Dearborn, Michigan-based company in October, is counting on the landscape to brighten later this year.
