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[1/6] People load up their newly purchased items from Best Buy on Black Friday in Wheaton-Glenmont, Maryland, U.S., November 24, 2023. A record 130.7 million people are expected to shop in stores and online in the U.S. on Black Friday this year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates. But at 6 a.m. on Friday at a Walmart in New Milford, Connecticut, the parking lot was only half full. "It's a lot quieter this year, a lot quieter," said shopper Theresa Forsberg, who visits the same five stores with her family at dawn every Black Friday. And the rise of online shopping has reduced the importance of Black Friday as a single-day event.

Persons: Leah Millis, Cowen, David Klink, Theresa Forsberg, Michael Brown, Kearney, Jeff Gennette, Jimmy Lee, there's, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Oscar de, Carlos Araejo, Ruiz, It’s, ”, Paul Aheren, Puma, Siddharth Cavale, Helen Reid, Arriana McLymore, Katherine Masters, Andrew Hay, Bianca Flowers, Danielle Broadway, James Davey, Deborah Sophia, Miral Fahmy, Nick Zieminski, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Shoppers, Huntington Private Bank, Walmart, Target, National Retail Federation, Garden, Insider Intelligence, Macy's, Adobe Analytics, Wealth Consulting, Amazon, Adobe, Nordstrom, “, Saks, Puma, Israel Football Association, IFA, Thomson Locations: Wheaton, Glenmont , Maryland, U.S, RALEIGH, N.C, New Milford , Connecticut, Paramus , New Jersey, Indianapolis, Israel, Palestine, United States, Dallas, Raleigh, Crabtree, Boston

Brokerage TD Cowen lowered its U.S. holiday spending estimate to 2% to 3% growth, from 4% to 5%, as it forecast flat Black Friday traffic. With many consumers squeezed by persistent inflation and high interest rates, U.S. holiday spending is expected to rise at the slowest pace in five years. But at 6 a.m. on Friday at a Walmart in New Milford, Connecticut, the parking lot was only half full. "It's a lot quieter this year, a lot quieter," said shopper Theresa Forsberg, who visits the same five stores with her family at dawn every Black Friday. The rise of online shopping has reduced the importance of Black Friday as a single-day event.

Persons: Cowen, David Klink, ”, Barbara Kahn, Theresa Forsberg, Michael Brown, Kearney, Jimmy Lee, Leah Millis, there's, Jeff Gennette, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Oscar de, Carlos Araejo, Ruiz, It’s, Paul Aheren, Puma, Siddharth Cavale, Helen Reid, Arriana McLymore, Katherine Masters, Andrew Hay, Bianca Flowers, Danielle Broadway, James Davey, Deborah Sophia, Miral Fahmy, Nick Zieminski, Frances Kerry, Leslie Adler Organizations: Shoppers, Huntington Private Bank, Walmart, Target, Ross Stores, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, “, National Retail Federation, Garden, Insider Intelligence, Adobe Analytics, Adobe, Wealth Consulting, Amazon, REUTERS, Nordstrom, Saks, Protesters, Puma, Israel Football Association, Thomson Locations: RALEIGH, N.C, U.S, New Milford , Connecticut, Paramus , New Jersey, Wheaton, Glenmont , Maryland, Indianapolis, Israel, Palestine, United States, Dallas, Raleigh, Crabtree, Boston

Walmart's logo is seen outside one of the stores ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 27, 2019. The merchandise mix Walmart (WMT.N) will carry rests not purely on retail executives' judgment but rather on software it developed around 2019. Its machine-learning algorithm relies on weather patterns and each store's past sales data to predict inventory needs of its more than 4,700 U.S. locations, a Walmart tech executive told Reuters. Walmart executives say it is aided by its large tech team in India, spanning three cities and employing 11,500. Software directs Walmart workers to use the quickest route while assembling online orders for pickup and delivery, Vasudev said.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, D.A, Davidson, Michael Baker, Doug McMillon, Thomas Hayes, Hari Vasudev, Vasudev, David Klink, Huntington, Nandan Mandayam, Siddharth Cavale, Mark Porter Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Reuters, Target, Shoppers, Amazon, New, Great, U.S, Walmart's India, Software, Workers, Hunting Private Bank, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, United States, Bentonville , Arkansas, New York, India, Bengaluru, Target's, Walmart's

[1/2] People shop for clothes at Target retail chain in Westbury, New York, U.S., May 20, 2021. Walmart (WMT.N) and Target (TGT.N), the two biggest retailers in the United States, have set a cautious tone for the rest of the year. David Klink, senior equity analyst at Huntington Private Bank, said he saw "encouraging" signs in Amazon's results. Walmart, which reports on Aug. 17, had a better-than-expected first quarter and forecast sales to be up about 3.5% for the year. "I think that value-based retailers like Walmart and Target" will hold up better than others, he said.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, David Klink, Neil Saunders, Joseph Feldman, Siddharth Cavale, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Target, Foods, Huntington Private Bank, Amazon, Apple, Maersk, WPP, Telsey, Thomson Locations: Westbury , New York, U.S, United States, Seattle, New York, Bengaluru

☆ China's sagging economy looms over quarterly results around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

July 20 (Reuters) - China's frail growth could weigh on companies with exposure to the world's second-largest economy, including Apple (AAPL.O), big chipmakers and luxury retailers as they report quarterly results in the next few weeks. China accounted for 36% of NXP's revenue last year and half of Texas Instruments' revenue. Analysts estimate NXP reporting a 3.2% drop in quarterly revenue, with Texas Instruments' revenue tumbling 16%, which would be its steepest drop since 2009, according to Refinitiv. The specialty glass maker blamed "anticipated recession-level demand" for weak results in its previous quarterly report last April. Coffee maker Starbucks (SBUX.O) in May reported quarterly results that beat estimates, powered by recovering demand in China.

Persons: Ross Mayfield, Baird, Cartier, Richemont, Bernstein, Tesla, Jonathan Golub, hobble, David Klink, Noel Randewich, Chavi Mehta, Caroline Valetkovitch, Mimosa Spencer, David Gaffen, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Apple, U.S, Shanghai, ABB, HK, NXP Semiconductors, Texas, Texas Instruments, . Credit Suisse Chief, Equity, Corning Inc, Samsung Electronics, Huntington Private Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Swiss, Asia, ., China . U.S, Washington, Beijing, Oakland , California, Bangalore, New York, Paris

NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - Amazon shoppers snagged deals on food delivery, travel and healthcare during a two-day Prime Event that ended on Wednesday, highlighting the potential for growth in services at an e-retailing giant long focused on goods. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the shift to include services. Amazon offered a 28% discount for a one-year subscription to its One Medical service for U.S. Prime members who signed up before the Prime Day event ended. Experimenting with more Prime Day deals on services and discounted memberships could bolster Amazon's advertising services, Lipsman said. Investors expect ad revenue to reach $11.2 billion in the third quarter, which will include Prime Day data, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: David Klink, we’re, Klink, Amazon's Grubhub, Grubhub, Andrew Lipsman, Lipsman, Arriana McLymore, Howard Goller Organizations: YORK, Adobe Analytics, Huntington National Bank, Walmart, Paramount, Priceline, Booking Holdings, Priceline's Hotel Express, Amazon, Intelligence, Merchants, Thomson

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.78% after closing at a two-month low in the previous session. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury notes dropped to 3.605%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down at 3.8348%. The dollar index fell 0.47%, with the euro up 0.51% at $1.0743. Spot gold added 1.0% at $1,982.03 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.85% at $1,980.50 an ounce. Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Klink, Christine Lagarde, Chibuike Oguh, Nick Zieminski, Richard Chang Organizations: YORK, U.S . House, U.S, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Republicans, Senate, Huntington Private Bank, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Labor Department, European Central Bank, Brent, West Texas, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Walmart investors eye margins amid grocery focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Home improvement chain Home Depot (HD.N) cut its annual forecast on Tuesday, indicating weakness for retailers who sell discretionary merchandise. Yet many shoppers have turned to Walmart for its low-priced basics such as toilet paper, milk, green beans and eggs. Investors such as Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer of Sizemore Capital Management, are looking for any specific hit to Walmart's so called gross profit margin. David Klink, senior equity analyst at Huntington Private Bank, which holds $77 million in Walmart shares, said that if Walmart can re-affirm its margin targets, "that would be very well appreciated by investors." Analysts on average are expecting the retailer to post first quarter margins of 3.7%, according to UBS.

That meant revenue growth rates were about 5 percentage points lower in April than in the first quarter, he said, referring to a period that saw a sequential drop. Its economy-wary customers aside, Amazon aimed to project confidence for its cloud longer-term. Jassy said the growing adoption of generative AI, which can create text, imagery and other content from past data, represented a huge opportunity for Amazon's cloud. Likewise, Olsavsky told reporters, Amazon had seen no shift in the competitive balance among cloud providers. AWS sales growth slowed to 15.8% in the first quarter.

"Because the consumer is now under more pressure, and Walmart is under pressure, that sets up a dynamic where there's probably not a lot of pricing going forward." The clout Walmart holds over suppliers also means that Walmart would likely get the lowest percentage of any price hikes manufacturers implement, according to investors who track the company. In 2018, Walmart pulled Campbell Soup Co's (CPB.N) products during the key winter season over a dispute over prices and shelf space promotion. At the time, Tesco labeled Heinz's price hikes as "unjustifiable." After raising prices four times in 2022, he said, Clorox doesn't "have any additional plans" to hike prices this year.

☆ Walmart doubles down on Africa despite a decade of frustration
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A shopper pushes a trolley as she leaves a Builders Warehouse store owned by Walmart-led Massmart Holdings in South Africa, at Gleneagles, in the south of Johannesburg, South Africa, October 20, 2022. Instead, Massmart's units outside South Africa struggled with foreign exchange risk, tricky regulatory environments and macroeconomic volatility. Earlier this year, an internal Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) memo detailing its expansion plans, including a maiden foray onto the continent via South Africa, leaked to media. The pending battle with its global rival looms over Walmart's e-commerce strategy for Massmart, several shareholders told Reuters. While Walmart can now firmly set the direction at its South African unit, its track record outside the United States is spotty.

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