Amazon (AMZN) reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Thursday, with quarterly revenue surging past $100 billion again. Here’s what the company reported in its fiscal first-quarter results, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

• Revenue: $108.5 billion vs. $104.57 billion expected
• Earnings per share: $15.79 vs. $9.69 expected

Revenue increased 44% to $108.5 billion in the quarter versus $75.5 billion in the same quarter a year ago. During the first quarter, Amazon’s core online stores business saw its net sales grow 44% to $52.9 billion compared to $36.65 billion in the year-ago quarter. Outside of e-commerce, Amazon Web Services’ net sales grew 32% from a year ago to $13.5 billion. “A lot of people were wondering if the stay-at-home theme is still intact, especially with the vaccine rollout, but what this company has proven today, is that a lot of these gains that they made in a pandemic will be potentially lasting. I mean there is a structural shift in consumer behavior that will benefit Amazon, not just on the e-commerce side but the cloud business,” CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi told Yahoo Finance Live. For the second quarter, Amazon said it expects revenues to be between $110 billion and $116 billion, an increase between 24% and 30% from the same period a year ago. Amazon, which recently revealed it has more than 200 million paid Prime members globally, will host its Prime Day during the second quarter. CFRA’s Amobi expects Prime Day to be “huge,” which he notes is consistent with prior years, which have set new records.  “We have no reason to believe that this year is going to be any different, especially with those kinds of membership growth,” he said, adding that “all of the building blocks are in place” for Prime to be a “major profit center.”  Amobi, who has a price target of $3,800 on Amazon’s stock, said it’s possible the stock could hit “way above” his price target, suggesting that it might not be “too long before we’d be looking at potentially at a stock that would be trading way over $4,000.” Shares of Amazon rose nearly 3% in the after-hours session to last trade near $3,574.   Nick Note: great social changes occur in in Floods, famous, war, insurrections and plagues.   In the case of the pandemic it has ushered in the digital  internet age. where shopping, communication, socializing and working have moved to the digital platforms. And the winners are the companies that facilitate things like access like Apple and contact between people like Facebook, entertainment like youTube/ Netfelix and shopping like Amazon and  advertising by tracking of peoples profile and wants like Google. The stock market still has not priced in these profound changes

Facebook (FB) on Wednesday reported first quarter earnings that handily topped expectations, as political and regulatory crises continued to swirl around the leading social network, but were offset by A nearly 50% surge in advertising revenues. Here’s a snapshot of key metrics expected versus analyst expectations, according to a Bloomberg consensus forecast of Wall Street analysts:

• Revenue: $26.17 billion vs $23.72 billion estimated
• Advertising revenue: $25.44 billion vs. $23.27 billion estimated
• Earnings per share (Adjusted): $3.30 vs $2.61 expected
• Daily Active Users (DAU): 1.88 billion vs 1.866.6 billion estimate
• Monthly Active Users (MAU): 2.85 billion vs 2.830 billion estimated

Advertising, the fulcrum of Facebook’s business model, jumped by 46% year over year, the company said, powered by a slow but steady rise in DAUs and MAUs.  “We had a strong quarter as we helped people stay connected and businesses grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. “We will continue to invest aggressively to deliver new and meaningful experiences for years to come, including in newer areas like augmented and virtual reality, commerce, and the creator economy.”

Twitter’s revenue up 28% to $1.04B in Q1

NEW YORK — New York City aims to “fully reopen” on July 1 after more than a year of closures and capacity restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday, citing satisfactory progress in its vaccination campaign. “We are ready to bring New York City back fully on July 1,” de Blasio told a news briefing. “Now we can see that light at the end of the tunnel.” De Blasio said he had not discussed the city’s reopening date with Governor Andrew Cuomo but his announcement comes a day after Cuomo lifted restrictions that would clear the way for a revival of the city’s nightlife. The state has the power to impose or lift restrictions on restaurants and other venues. “I think the best way to proceed here is to set out the city’s vision,” de Blasio said. Even though the July 1 date is still aspirational, the mayor’s announcement is significant in that New York is the country’s most populous city and was the early epicenter of the pandemic as the virus began sweeping across the United States last spring. The mayor said his optimism on the city’s imminent return to normal reflected the success of a massive drive to get New Yorkers vaccinated. He said 6.4 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the city of more than 8 million residents. While the mayor acknowledged the city needed to make more progress on vaccinations, he said more than 70% of New Yorkers have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. “People are showing up,” he said. “We need to keep the momentum going,” he added. “This is exactly how we get to the full reopening we’re all looking forward to.” Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have trended lower in New York City since the beginning of the year. On a seven-day rolling average, the city reported over 7,000 new cases a day at the outbreak’s peak in January. By March new infections ebbed to 4,000 a day and now average about 2,000 a day. De Blasio did not provide clear guidelines on whether those attending shows, dining indoors or frequenting gyms and salons would have to adhere to any specific requirements, such as presenting proof of vaccination. “There certainly will be particular institutions that may choose to have rules around a vaccination or testing,” de Blasio told reporters, adding that the city will keep monitoring COVID-19 data and adjust its approach accordingly. Currently, the New York Yankees and Mets require those attending baseball games to take a rapid COVID-19 test or show proof of vaccination before gaining admission to their ballparks in keeping with New York state guidelines. Attendance is limited to 20% of capacity. New York City theaters have started to reopen this month for special events in front of limited indoor audiences. Some producers have targeted June 1 for their reopening dates, though many Broadway shows are not expected to pull back the curtains until September.. On Wednesday, Cuomo set a date for the end of a curfew that had forced city restaurants to end their bar and food service by midnight. The curfew would end on May 17 for outdoor dining areas and on May 31 for indoors, he said. The governor also allowed seating at bars across the state to reopen for the first time on May 3. In addition, Cuomo said capacity limits would increase starting May 15 for several businesses outside of New York City, including gyms and casinos. Offices across the state, including in the city, will be able to increase capacity from 50% to 75%, the governor said. Nick Note: Set the captivities free. And they will spend money making up for lost time. This is the kind of thing that is driving the red hot economy.

It’s looking increasingly likely that cruise ships will resume sailing out of U.S. ports in July, a prospect that Royal Caribbean Group CEO Richard Fain thinks is realistic. Late Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a letter to the cruise operators updating the conditional sailing order that’s been in effect since October, according to USA Today. Fain told Barron’s in an interview Thursday morning that the CDC clarified and amplified its guidance for the order, noting that there are two paths to the resumption of sailing: “One path is if we require nearly all of our guests to be vaccinated. The other path is if we don’t have nearly everybody vaccinated.”

Under the CDC’s updated guidance, cruise ships can bypass previously mandated test cruises and start regular passenger sailings if 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated, according to Patrick Scholes, an analyst at Truist Securities. Most children, however, aren’t eligible for Covid vaccines yet, posing a potential problem on some cruises. “If we opt for the vaccinated route, for many our cruises that’s simply not a problem because the number of children is small enough that it doesn’t make that much of a difference,” Fain said. For other cruises, he said, “It makes a difference but again, when the vaccines for the 12- to 15-year-olds become available, which is expected relatively soon, that would go a long way to help that too.” The large U.S. cruise operators— Royal Caribbean Group (ticker: RCL), Carnival (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH)—have largely been shut down since March 2020 due to the pandemic, though there have been limited sailings in Europe and Asia. Getting the green light from the CDC, which oversees U.S. ports, would be a huge boost for an industry that has scrambled to stay afloat and been forced to raise billions of fresh capital. Since the suspension of cruises 13 months ago, Royal Caribbean has raised about $12.3 billion of capital—in moves that sharply increase its debt load and are dilutive to earnings. The company’s monthly cash burn in the first quarter was about $300 million. As of March 31, the company’s liquidity totaled about $5.8 billion, including $5.1 billion of cash. On Thursday morning, Miami-based Royal Caribbean reported an adjusted first-quarter loss of $4.44 a share, compared with a loss of $1.48 a year earlier—another in a series of huge losses owing to the pandemic. Revenue plunged to $42 million versus $2 billion in the corresponding quarter in 2020. The stock was at $86 and change late Thursday morning, down about 0.8% on the day’s trading. The shares have gained about 17% this year. The company, which has four ships sailing outside of U.S. waters in places like the Canary Islands, Greece, and Singapore, has announced itineraries for 11 additional ships in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Bermuda, and Europe. Alaska is an important cruise destination in the summer, but the Canadian government is banning large cruise vessels from its waters into 2022. Fain said he is “a little less confident about that [getting resolved] because it involves more parties,” but he added that “there’s good chance we can sort that out.” Fain said 2022 will involve “a little bit a transition” for the company but that he’s confident it will be a good year, owing to the pent-up demand among cruise takers and the growing adoption of Covid vaccines, among other factors. Royal Caribbean’s consensus adjusted FactSet profit estimate for 2022 is $1.43 a share and $6.20 in 2023, up from minus $13.65 this year. The company earned $9.54 a share in 2019 before the pandemic. Nick Note: i am not so sure this is so smart. We shall see. I wish them well

Applications for benefits sink 13,000 to pandemic low 553,000

RTTNews) – Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) released a profit for its first quarter that advanced from last year. The company’s profit came in at $1.53 billion, or $2.77 per share. This compares with $1.09 billion, or $1.98 per share, in last year’s first quarter. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 11.7% to $11.89 billion from $10.64 billion last year. Caterpillar Inc. earnings at a glance: -Earnings (Q1): $1.53 Bln. vs. $1.09 Bln. last year. -EPS (Q1): $2.77 vs. $1.98 last year. -Revenue (Q1): $11.89 Bln vs. $10.64 Bln last year.

McDonald’s tops expectations with revenue of $5.1B in Q1

(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp on Thursday smashed Wall Street estimates for comparable sales and returned to pre-pandemic levels of growth as more consumers, flush with stimulus cash, were drawn to its newly launched crispy chicken sandwiches. McDonald’s rolled out its chicken sandwiches, which come in three different flavors, earlier this year in the United States, looking to tap into a frenzy kicked off by privately owned Chick-fil-A and Restaurant Brands’ Popeyes in 2019. U.S. sales at restaurants open for more than a year rose 13.6%, beating expectations of 9.25%, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv IBES data. First-quarter global comparable sales growth of 7.5% also surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with many countries, including the United States, easing restrictions on dining out, Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said. Those numbers trounced expectations of a 4.71% growth.

Kraft Heinz net sales reach $6.39B, up 3.9% YoY

 

The market has had an impressive rally over the past year, rising 91% on a total return basis since the March lows. As a result, the market has reached a new high 27 times so far this year, already outpacing the average number of all-time highs achieved per year since 1988. Should “do-it-yourselfers” invest at all-time highs? According to Jordan Jackson, Global Market Strategist at JP Morgan, history suggests that now may be just as good as any to put cash to work in the market – especially if you’re investing for the long run like retirement. “While we believe the path of least resistance for markets is higher, it’s reasonable to expect some choppiness as elevated valuations, risks of a new COVID-19 strain outbreak and materially higher inflation, all pose risks to the outlook.” “ For many do-it-yourselfers (‘DIYers’) and other retail investors, as the market continues to hit new all-time highs, it’s likely they may want to pull back on risk even further. However, history suggests that now may be just as good as any to put cash to work in the market – especially if you’re investing for the long run like retirement.” “If you invested in the S&P 500 on any random day since the start of 1988, on average, your one-year total return was +11.9%. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, if we only consider investments on days when the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, your average one-year total return was +14.3%. Moreover, if we look at cumulative total returns three or five years out, the takeaway is the same.” “While we, of course, cannot time the market, fundamentals remain supportive: monetary policy should remain accommodative over the next couple of years, further fiscal stimulus is on the horizon and corporate earnings should rebound strongly as the pandemic recedes, all providing support for equities over the medium-term. With this in mind, investors saving for retirement should be positioned more aggressive in their allocations.”

U.S. Economy Appears to Be Lifting Off

GDP likely grew robustly in the first quarter as the government distributed Covid-19 stimulus checks and consumers stepped up spending