Costco reported fiscal second quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations, partly due to higher wages amid COVID-19 impact. For the fiscal 2021 second quarter ended Feb. 4, the retail company’s earnings came in at it $2.14 a share, which included a pretax 41 cents a share, in costs mostly related to COVID-19 “premium” wages, it said. Earnings were $2.10 a share in the year-ago...

KPMG’s latest “The Pulse of Fintech” report revealed not only increased attention for blockchain-focused companies from investors but also a burgeoning area of interest for those companies – supply chain management. Now Walmart and their Sam’s Club subsidiary have announced that a blockchain-based food safety system, IBM Food Trust, will soon be implemented with a segment of their dealers.By September 2019, all leafy greens suppliers to the companies will be required to upload their information to the system as part of a real-time tracking initiative. IBM has worked to develop blockchain solutions for multiple industries in recent years.

Amazon made waves last year when it paid $13.7 billion for an entree into the $800 billion U.S. grocery market.Orders over $35 have free pickup an hour after the order goes through, and there is a $4.99 fee for orders needed within 30 minutes.  This puts Amazon in direct competition with Kroger Stores and Wal-Mart, both of which have already started to roll out such services at their stores.

Walmart Inc. reported fourth quarter earnings that fell short of what analysts’ expected. While the retail giant faced a charge linked to taxes in the United Kingdom, it still generated record sales of more than $150 billion. The company’s adjusted earnings for the three months ended in January came in at $1.39 per share, one penny up from the same period last year and below the consensus...

Just about every investor will face a moment in their career where they say, “I wish I would’ve invested in that company or asset 10 years ago.” It’s a cold, hard reality of investing over time.Those are the types of companies with the potential to deliver attractive returns – for investors who stick with them. I’ve picked 5 companies at random, and I took a look at how much a $10,000 investment would have grown over the last five years.

It was difficult work at times - building relationships with 120 clients and making sure that their investment portfolio was working towards their long-term goals was the main task, but we also had to make sure our clients understood what was happening in the capital markets at all times.Any time there were volatile markets - which is often - it meant long hours and lots of hand-holding.  But like many hard workers out there, there's a reward for the effort.

In particular, Target (TGT) has seen steady growth since March, coupled with holiday spending, sending the projected price up to $177.1 with a likelihood of 73%, having broken its highest resistance line at $157.76.Included in the Top Stock Picks for Week of December 14, 2020 according to Zack’s Investment Research, Target is enjoying a monthly bullish trend, backed by the Aroon indicator, as well as by the 50-day Moving Average.

Discount retailer Costco (COST) rallied nicely since hitting a low of $262.68 in late February.The stock hit a recent high of $388.07 and has been consolidating over the last few weeks.

On Tuesday, Walmart announced that next year it will kick-start a new pilot of electric-powered self-driving cars with Cruise, that’s a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors. While the retail giant did not disclose terms of the deal, it did say that customers who live near the pilot in Scottsdale, Arizona can place an order from their local store and have it delivered by one of Cruise’s vehicles. Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer product for Walmart U.S also mentioned that the electric car project will help Walmart achieve its goals of delivering items to customers quickly, and to reach the company’s target of zero emissions by 2040.

The $160 price target is based on ~29x analysts FY22 EPS estimate of $5.50, compared to consensus estimates of $4.99 per share. They cited  Walmart’s ability to accelerate its digital ad segment & boost e-commerce profitability.Tailwinds include decisions to have an in-house media group, the launch of various tools and analytics for greater control and insights for advertisers, and strong early reads from advertisers. According to Tickeron, Momentum Indicator for WMT turns positive, indicating new upward trend WMT saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on September 30, 2020.

Dollar Tree  has plans  to hire more than 25,000 workers to meet an expected surge in demand during holiday season. The discount retail giant will look to employ full-time and part-time workers across Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores and for its U.S. distribution centers over the coming weeks.Open positions will include store managers, assistant store managers, cashiers, and stocking associates. The distribution centers require more  management staff, equipment operators and warehouse associates. Last month retail giants Walmart  and Target announced that they were hiring 20,000 and 130,000 workers, respectively, to cater to online orders and digital sales for he holiday-season demand. Tickeron's analysis shows: DLTR's MACD Histogram crosses above signal line The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for DLTR turned positive on September 28, 2020.

However,  rising coronavirus expenses, including wage increases, had an impact on the results. The retail company’s  said earnings for the three months ending in August, came in at $3.04 per share, well above analysts’ forecast of $2.85 per share.Same-store sales rose by +11.4% -- the most in two decades . However, pandemic-related expenses increased, topping $280 million for the quarter, higher than $100 million forecast.

Walmart  plans to hire 20,000 workers in the face of  an expected increase in online demand this holiday season. The retail behemoth said that job applicants are expected to start immediately.The hired workers will pack and ship online orders at Walmart’s e-commerce fulfillment centers .

Dollar Tree  reported fiscal-second-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ estimates. For the quarter ended Aug. 1, the discount chain’s net income came in at $261.5 million, or $1.10 a share, compared with the year-ago quarter’s $180.3 million, or 76 cents.Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected earnings of 92 cents a share. Revenue rose to $6.28 billion from $5.74 billion, compared to analysts’ forecast of $6.22 billion.  Dollar Tree’s comparable sales grew +7.2%. The company experienced a 1.8-percentage-point boost in gross-profit margin.  Tickeron's analysis shows DLTR in Uptrend: 50-day Moving Average broke above 200-day Moving Average on July 27, 2020 A buy signal is indicated by this change in price, due to the trend repositioning higher.

Walmart Inc.  reported second quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, on solid digital sales. The retail giant’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending July surged +22.8% year-over-year to $1.56 per share, well ahead of the Street consensus expectation of $1.25 per share. Revenue increased +5.6% year-over-year to $137.7 billion, which is higher than the Street estimate of  $135.37 billion. Walmart’s e-commerce sales performed solidly well amid the covid-19 pandemic, with a +97% growth the year-ago period. Comparable sales in the U.S. climbed +9.3%.The odds of a continued Downtrend are 43%. Fundamental Analysis (Ratings) Tickeron has a positive outlook on this ticker and predicts a further increase by more than 4.00% within the next month with a likelihood of 78%.

 The average transaction climbed +9.3% from last year.Membership revenues increased+ 5% to $815 million The company’s U.S. stores remained open during the pandemic since it sells essential goods (among other items). Tickeron's A.I.-powered scorecard rates Costco as HOLD. Current price $306.00 crossed the resistance line at $300.88 and is trading between $309.90 support and $300.88 resistance lines. Throughout the month of 04/27/20 - 05/28/20, the price experienced a +0.48% Uptrend.

Deep discount retail chains Dollar General (NYSE: DG) and Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR) are both set to release fiscal first quarter earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 28.This means the companies have seen similar sales growth, similar return on equity readings and profit margins. Dollar General's Price Growth Rating (41) in the Discount Stores industry is in the same range as Dollar Tree (54).

Walmart Inc.  reported first quarter earnings that surpassed expectations. The retail behemoth’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending in April came in at 1.18 per share, which is 5 cents above the Street consensus forecast.The figure is also +4.4% higher from the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased +8.6% year-over-year  to $134.6 billion, also exceeding analysts' estimates of a $131.47 billion. The company generated a +74% surge in its e-commerce sales. Walmart’s same-store sales in the quarter climbed +10%, beating the Street estimates of  +7.2%.

Walmart  plans to hire 150,000 temporary workers by the end of May amid growing demand for goods during the coronavirus crisis. The retail giant said it would be hiring for roles in its stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers.  The positions would be temporary initially, but would be converted to permanent jobs, according to Walmart.  It also added, "We’ve reached out to industry groups representing restaurants and hospitality to facilitate temporary roles that can be a bridge for their employees during this difficult time.The bonuses will total more than $365 million, as indicated by Walmart .  

However, it missed same-store sales growth estimates. The discount retailer’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending on February 1 came in at $1.79 per share, 4 cents ahead of the Street expectations.The figure, however, is -7.25% lower than the year-ago quarter. Group net sales increased +1.8% year-over-year to $6.32 billion in the quarter, but fell short of analysts' estimates of a $6.385 billion. Same store sales rose +0.4% , falling behind analysts’ estimate of +1.7% (Refinitiv survey). For the full-year, Dollar Tree projects sales in the range of $24.2 billion to $24.66 billion, and earnings of between $4.80 to $5.15 per share