Ticker Reports for August 4th
3 Surprising Earnings Winners Changing Their Market Narrative
Who doesn’t love a comeback story? While the most significant stock gains in 2025 have gone to AI hyperscalers, the market has rallied hard off the April lows, and investors are feeling more optimistic despite trade war headwinds and job market uncertainty.
Today, we’ll look at three downtrodden individual stocks also mounting comeback stories of their own, and discuss why their Q2 earnings reports point to more improvement ahead.
Earnings Season: Separating the Winners and Losers
Another earnings season is well underway, and Q2 has been notable for its surprises on both the upside and downside. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) actually posted an EPS miss, although the $44 billion in revenue was impressive enough to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of analysts and investors. AI hyperscalers like Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) also continue to raise the bar with record-shattering revenue, but the market could be bifurcating into AI-haves and AI-have-nots.
Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macro Research pointed out that AI capex spending (defined as software plus information processing equipment) has added more to U.S. GDP growth so far this year than personal consumption expenditures. If you’re spending on AI and hit your targets, you’ve been rewarded by the market. But if you miss (or even produce a mixed report), you’re getting punished, especially outside the tech sector.
Some large-cap stocks that beat expectations saw their stocks still drop after reporting. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) handily beat EPS estimates, but revenue growth slowed, and the stock was down nearly 14% the next day.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) paired a slight EPS beat with a small revenue miss and was promptly shoved into a locker. The stock fell 13% after the report and another 8% in the week after. Standards are high right now, and even tiny missteps are causing losses.
When expectations are this high, there’s no shame in looking for stocks with lower standards. That doesn’t mean lowering your standards as an investor (we’re still doing due diligence with proper risk analysis), it means looking for undervalued stocks that the market is discounting.
Stocks like the three we’ll mention below are slowly rebuilding trust from the market and changing the story around their companies following their Q2 earnings releases.
3 Stocks Changing the Narrative With Their Q2 Reports
All these companies have spent most of the past few years out of favor with their investors. But the sentiment around them is slowly changing, and each reported impressive Q2 earnings to back up that narrative. If you’re looking for value amidst a market that’s rapidly getting overextended, consider these surprising Q2 winners.
SoFi: Graduating From Meme Stock to Financial Powerhouse
It’s hard to forget the halcyon days of the meme stock era. Stocks like SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI) gained and lost 50% multiple times in the span of a few months while CEO Chamath Palihapitiya authored some of the cringiest tweets in the history of social media.
You can still get plenty of cringe on Palihapitiya’s Twitter feed today, but the stock is no longer a meme thanks to its surging membership and loan growth. In Q2, SoFi added 850,000 new customers, representing year-over-year (YOY) growth of 34%.
Revenue missed analysts' expectations, but also grew 42% YOY, and the 8 cents EPS number beat the expected 6 cents. Loan originations were also up 64% YOY to a record $8.8 billion, and the company raised FY 2025 guidance to $3.37 billion.
SoFi stock remains a consensus Hold based on ratings from 20 analysts tracked by MarketBeat. However, the company’s Q2 earnings triggered new activity: Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays all updated their coverage following the report—signaling growing attention even amid a neutral consensus.
Boeing: The Turnaround Is Finally Underway
Investors have been watching The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) with binoculars for the last few years as the company made mistake after mistake, rendering the stock practically uninvestable. Recent scandals have plagued Boeing, a once-proud beacon of American industrialism, and its stock remains more than 50% below its 2019 all-time high.
However, it's up more than 20% this year and showing signs of a sustained turnaround. In Q2, the company posted an unprofitable quarter (as expected), but it was narrower than a year ago, and the $22.75 billion in revenue represented nearly 35% YOY growth, easily smashing projections. But like most industrial sector stocks, we look to the backlog for clues.
Boeing booked 455 orders in Q2, which boosts its backlog total to over $600 billion with more than 5,900 commercial plane orders on the books. Boeing’s future looks brighter right now than it has in more than five years, and investors are taking notice.
PayPal: Post-Earnings Slump Offers Buying Opportunity
Another beatdown name from a bygone era, PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) has been garnering attention for its turnaround story. The stock is still down 20% this year and plunged again following its Q2 earnings release. But this drop is likely unwarranted and could represent a new entry point for investors. PayPal’s July 29 earnings saw EPS and revenue both beat expectations, led by Venmo’s 20% YOY revenue growth.
The company has also demonstrated a shift to allow consumers to more easily interact with merchants by making all five of its participating global wallets (Venmo, PayPal, UPI, Mercado Pago, Tenpay Global) available for paying any PayPal merchant.
Analysts are starting to take notice, too; PYPL shares received several price target boosts following its report, and the consensus target is now $84.57, signaling potential upside of over 25%.
Your Bank Account Is No Longer Safe
Your Bank Account Is No Longer Safe
Why These 3 Market-Beaters Are Backing Up Their Buyback Trucks
When a company's share prices are rising, it may buy back stock, believing that markets may be under-appreciating the company despite an already strong sentiment. This seems to be be the case for Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT), VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN), and Newmont (NYSE: NEM).
All three stocks are outperforming the market in 2025 and have just announced big increases to their share buyback capacity. Management is sending a clear signal that they believe the rally in their respective stocks will continue, setting up a potentially fruitful opportunity for investors going forward. Here’s how those moves connect to performance and what investors should take from them.
Spotify: Riding a 40% Rally with an Additional $1 B Buyback Authorization
In 2025, Spotify stock is up approximately 40%, far surpassing the less than 7% return of the S&P 500 Index. This very strong return comes even as the firm saw shares drop by over 11% after reporting earnings on July 29. Within its earnings release, the goliath of music streaming announced a $1 billion increase to its share buyback authorization.
The stock’s recent fall, combined with the buyback increase, would allow the firm to spend big on its own stock at what it likely views as a depressed price. This signals that the company expects the stock's overall rally to continue mid-term. Spotify’s advertising business is currently in flux, and hopes it will have a big year in 2026.
VeriSign: Structuring a 6% Market Cap Buyback Amid Berkshire’s Stake Shift
VeriSign has provided a total return of approximately 29% so far in 2025. In its latest earnings release, the company announced a $913 million increase to its share buyback authorization, bringing its total capacity to around $1.5 billion, roughly 6% of its market value.
That relatively high percentage gives the firm a substantial opportunity to lower its outstanding share count, allowing VeriSign to put a large tailwind behind its earnings per share (EPS) and signaling confidence from management going forward.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) is notably one of the largest shareholders in VeriSign. Investors may feel Berkshire's recent agreement to sell 4.3 million VeriSign shares indicates that the firm may be bearish on the stock. However, VeriSign notes that the reason is to reduce Berkshire's ownership to below 10% for regulatory reasons and will still hold a massive stake in Verisign. This should put investor concerns to rest, but any further sales from Berkshire may warrant heightened concern.
Newmont: $3B Buybacks on Gold’s Breakout Rally; Analysts See $4,000/Oz Potential
Major gold mining company Newmont has achieved a 70% return this year so far. In its latest earnings report, Newmont announced it added $3 billion to its share buyback capacity, bringing the company’s total capacity to $3.2 billion, around 4.6% of its market capitalization. The company says this increase demonstrates “the confidence that we have in our business.”
Analysts at J.P. Morgan see gold prices, currently around $3,350 per ounce, rising to $4,000 per ounce by mid-2026, which would certainly help keep Newmont’s impressive rally going. Forecasts like these add credence to Newmont’s reasoning in boosting its buyback capacity.
Buybacks Are Positive, but Don’t Ignore Incentive Bias
Overall, it is a good sign for investors when companies choose to substantially increase their ability to buy back stock. When done alongside strong cash flow and discipline, buybacks can amplify shareholder returns while reducing outstanding shares. In these three cases—Spotify, VeriSign, Newmont—the increases coincide with above‑market returns in 2025 and suggest continued belief in underlying drivers.
Still, it is important to take buybacks with a grain of salt. Management wants to see its shares rise, as they are often compensated in stock. As such, buyback authorization is sometimes used to prop up stock artificially. That doesn’t make the signals invalid, but it does mean investors should look deeper to make sure the companies are generating sustainable free cash flow, have realistic earnings forecasts, and that buybacks aren't being prioritized over more strategic investments.
Market Panic: Trump Just Dropped a Bomb on Your Stocks
Market Panic: Trump Just Dropped a Bomb on Your Stocks
3 Stocks Every Value Investor Should Watch Out for Right Now
It doesn’t matter whether an investor manages a small personal portfolio or millions of dollars in a vehicle like an investment fund; when it comes to the discipline of value investing, one thing remains true. This characteristic is that these investors must be willing to place relatively contrarian bets, which is essentially where value is found.
Buying beaten-down stocks that have received negative media attention or been outright forgotten by the broader market doesn’t seem like the most productive use of an investor’s time or capital; however, these are the decisions that pay the most dividends down the line.
Today, three particular names could offer just that, a big dividend payment in the form of appreciation in the coming quarters.
Within the retail sector, investors can add shares of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) to their list of discounted names with asymmetrical upside potential. Diversifying from this tariff-affected space, other names like Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) can also fit this criteria for unfair discounts that turn these companies into value plays.
A 50% Discount From the Average for Southwest Airlines
Not only does this stock trade at only 80% of its 52-week high, providing enough upside room for investors to take advantage of, but when valuation multiples are considered, the company appears to offer a potential 50% discount in one specific metric.
On a price-to-book (P/B) multiple basis, a 2.0x measure stands roughly 50% below the long-term average of 4.0x for this airline, meaning there must be something happening in the macro for markets to feel like this company’s book should be at this much of a discount.
Turns out, Southwest Airlines’ biggest moat and advantage comes from its fuel hedging abilities in the oil markets. With the price of oil seeing less than average volatility lately, it would make sense for the market to expect lower earnings and book value in the future.
However, Wall Street analysts would differ. Understanding that inflation is stickier than the Federal Reserve would like. Inventories are at cyclical lows, and Southwest Airlines could report up to $0.82 in earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2025, implying a jump of 90% from today’s reported $0.43.
Institutional Capital Likes Target Stock
One of the most popular supermarket chains is none other than Target. Whether it is due to convenience or its ability to stay up to consumer trends among younger customers, Target seems to have become the preferred shopping destination for groceries and home needs.
This is a moat in itself, and one that shouldn’t be forgotten just because the stock trades at a dismal 61% of its 52-week high, just the opposite, actually. Knowing that customer loyalty abounds for Target, and that management has been investing in improving the customer experience at its stores, some savvy institutions have decided to adopt this name.
Such as those from Nordea Investment Management, who, as of late July 2025, justified a boost of 37.4% to their Target stock holdings, bringing their net position to as much as $196.1 million today, giving retail investors a sound vote of confidence to consider moving forward.
As always, EPS growth also stands behind this seeming discount and upside potential, as Wall Street analysts now expect up to $2.47 in EPS by the fourth quarter of 2025, in other words a jump of 90% compared to today’s earnings, such financial growth is sure to have a positive influence on the stock’s price coming up.
Analysts Love the PayPal Story
As the rise of stablecoins could threaten the positioning of the financial behemoths, a company that is already positioned in the world of hybrid currency (a mix between fiat and crypto) is likely to do well in the future of payment processing and commercial banking solutions.
This is where PayPal comes into play, sporting a price that’s only 75% of its 52-week high and fundamentals that are as solid as they were when the stock was flirting with making a new high for the year. With this in mind, PayPal can be considered a sort of “low-hanging fruit” for investors and analysts alike.
PayPal can be seen as an easy win for analysts to boost, strengthening their reputations and careers, as these analysts are typically wary of boosting a stock that has been beaten down, such as PayPal has been. Canaccord Genuity Group analyst Joseph Vafi is one of the latest to reiterate a Buy rating for PayPal, along with a $96 per share valuation.
Compared to today’s low prices, this target would imply investors can shoot for a potential rally of as much as 37% from where PayPal stock has fallen to today, making it another great value play to consider in today’s market.
Trump's biggest move, misreported
Trump's biggest move, misreported
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