The Weekend Edition is pulled from the daily Stansberry Digest.
Let's dive right into the latest from earnings season...
As we've mentioned the past few weeks, we're keeping an eye on second-quarter earnings reports. They'll help us gauge the financials of America's publicly traded companies. And we'll see what their performance might be able to tell us about the economy... and how the market is digesting it.
On balance so far, things aren't terrible. But there are some concerning themes...
No doubt, inflation is a big concern for 50 or so companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported so far. As of Monday, net profit margins (12.4% on average) are down from the second quarter of 2021... though they're still above their five-year average of 11.2%, according to investing-data service FactSet.
A lot of companies – particularly those that sell in-demand, essential products – have been able to raise their prices to keep profits up. But that could ultimately stress the economy as a whole, since wages aren't growing by a similar percentage.
In general, today's price action (with the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq up 3.5% and around 5%, respectively, in the past week) tells us the markets are looking at the early returns from earnings season as a positive.
But remember, the major U.S. indexes are still trading below their long-term averages.
Next, you should keep an eye on Apple (AAPL)...
One of the more notable stories to emerge from earnings season so far hasn't been an official data release, but a Bloomberg report published earlier this week.
Citing anonymous sources, it says tech giant Apple plans to slow its hiring and spending next year to prepare for a potential economic downturn. From the report...
The decision stems from a move to be more careful during uncertain times, though it isn't a companywide policy, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The changes won't affect all teams, and Apple is still planning an aggressive product launch schedule in 2023 that includes a mixed-reality headset, its first major new category since 2015.
I bring this up because Apple typically has an outsized influence on the indexes and market sentiment. It's not only a notable business, but it also makes up 7% of the S&P 500 by market cap and about 12% of the Nasdaq Composite Index. Yeah, that's a lot.
Apple shares are up 20% since their most recent low on June 16. After tracking the S&P 500 for most of the year, Apple has outperformed the U.S. benchmark – which is up 10% in the same span – by a considerable margin...
In technical-analysis terms, this is a "divergence" worth tracking to see how the trends go from here. Should Apple shares fall, that could be a catalyst for a move lower for the headline indexes. Alternatively, if Apple keeps outperforming, it could push things higher.
Apple reports earnings on July 28... and the timing is interesting...
That's the day after the Federal Reserve will announce its latest policy decision and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will give the latest of what has been increasingly flimsy and unbelievable commentary on the economy.
Apple also reports the same day the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish the "official" second-quarter gross domestic product ("GDP").
When these factors – a negative quarterly GDP number, a Fed meeting around the same time, and an ongoing earnings season – last converged three months ago, the S&P 500 fell 15% in about a week starting on May 5.
That's reason alone to expect volatility...
On a related note, semiconductors are making headlines again...
Just days before the Senate was expected to meet this week to talk about a $52 billion bill to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., it just so happened the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported exercising between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock options in chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which he bought last year.
The story has made for easy headlines because of the obvious conflict of interest and the stink of insider trading...
If the husband of the speaker of the House is betting on a leading chipmaker stock – right as related legislation was presumably being discussed by his wife and other members of Congress – let's take this as information... There's hope for the bill.
Or, at the very least, it's going to be in the news for a bit.
This bill – which would hand billions of dollars in government support and tax breaks to the semiconductor industry and boost the outlooks of companies like Intel (INTC) – has been dragging through the Senate and House for about a year.
That's more than long enough to be forgotten in D.C., but it's still alive...
This reminds us of something else we heard earlier this week...
This past Tuesday, our colleague and Stansberry Research partner Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig went live with his latest presentation.
It's a must-watch video for several reasons. The first is something Doc said early in the event – what he's talking about is as much an opportunity as it is a warning...
I know how ugly these last few months have been in the markets. I know you may be hurting... that you might be focused on just trying to weather out the storm.
But what I'm about to show you is actually a big part of the answer to what's going on – and how you're probably feeling – today.
From there, he got into the details of a story he says is bigger than anything else in the past 40 years... but something that few realize today even though it affects us all. Without giving too much away, Doc said...
What it does involve is a massive story that almost no one understands... unfolding in the biggest, most important, and most bulletproof sector of our economy.
Among other things, Doc explained how what he's talking about is a sector that famously beats inflation... and why millions of Americans will pretty much have no choice but to patronize a particular set of businesses in the decade ahead.
That's why Doc is sharing this message today...
He wants you to have the opportunity to take advantage of this trend right now and position your wealth and health for a better future. As he said during his presentation...
This research will be my legacy. I'm certain it could produce the biggest gains, by far, of my career. I don't think anything in the markets has one-tenth as much potential over the coming decade. Yet showing you that potential is only part of what I want to do.
This is the presentation I've been waiting my entire life to make. It's incredibly exciting for me – and daunting... If you're willing to listen, it can transform your life – in ways that go way, way beyond money.
If nothing else, it's worth hearing Doc share the full story of how he ended up writing for Stansberry Research after a career path that included getting his MBA... working on Wall Street... and then going to medical school.
You might be familiar with Doc's feelings about Wall Street... He left his job at Goldman Sachs because he got tired of the conflicts of interest he saw up close while working in the financial world.
His father and brother were both doctors. Doc saw it as a noble profession, so he decided to pursue that instead. But he soon found similar disappointment in medicine, where he couldn't ignore the ills of the system that trained America's future doctors...
Doc became a board-eligible eye surgeon, and he said he could have been a good doctor and even gotten rich. But as he explained in his video...
I knew I'd have to play ball with an incredibly broken and corrupt system. And I couldn't do it, no matter how much money I might be giving up.
Around that time, my dear friend Porter Stansberry convinced me I could have 100 times more impact by talking directly to you – with NO censorship... no hospital board to report to... no toxic institution closing ranks around its bad actors.
The rest has been history and a benefit for hundreds of thousands of readers...
In 2009, Doc started writing a research letter called Retirement Millionaire... and he also publishes the popular free daily e-newsletter, the Health & Wealth Bulletin.
We see the notes from folks consistently thanking Doc for his financial and health advice, as he is a rare independent expert in both fields.
Case in point... Doc shared a story about how he spotted a bump on Porter's neck and urged him to get it checked out. It turned out to be melanoma. They caught it early enough to save him.
As Doc explained, he brings the same approach to his work every day. I can attest...
Folks who know me appreciate that I won't hold back. I do the right thing whenever I can.
And he says along his whole journey – including now as an editor and writer – he always knew the moment that he's telling people about today was coming. And yet, folks still aren't talking about it... to their detriment.
That's why even in the middle of a crashing market... and ongoing war... Doc sat down to deliver the presentation he has been waiting his entire life for – for free. If you missed this must-watch presentation, watch the replay right here before it goes offline.
Good investing,
Corey McLaughlin
Editor's note: Earlier this week, Doc went public with what he calls the legacy of his more than 40-year career. It's a situation that combines the low risk of investing in the world's best blue-chip stocks... with the upside potential of getting in at the beginning of a massive technological breakthrough.
Doc says health care is undergoing a radical transformation that few can see or understand... And that's why he went on camera to detail everything about this groundbreaking story with you for free. The opportunity ahead could be a boon to your finances – and your life. If you missed this must-see presentation, click here to watch the replay online for a limited time.
