Levi Strauss (LEVI) plans to open 100 new stores over the next year as it aims to become a $10 billion brand.
Levi’s made the announcement during its first quarterly earnings report since re-entering the public market last month.
During Levi’s most recent quarter ending in late February, sales grew 7% compared with the same time last year. That included a 9% increase in its Americas division— Levi’s largest region— and an 8% increase in Asia.
Levi’s sales at its own stores and online, which are more profitable for Levi’s than its wholesale business and are a key gauge of the company’s strength, grew 10% from a year ago.
Levi’s also posted a profit during its most recent quarter, compared to a net loss during the same period last year.
“Our strategies are working and our investments are paying off,” CEO Chip Bergh said in a release on Tuesday.
Levi’s stock gained 1% after hours on its results. It has lost 5% since it began trading last month.
Global growth concerns and US-Europe trade tensions snapped the S&P 500’s eight-day winning streak.
Markets were driven lower by US threats to impose tariffs on $11 billion of European goods and the IMF cutting its global growth outlook. The IMF warned the world economy faces a “delicate moment.”
Previous tariffs from the Trump administration appear to have “curbed” corporate investment and “weakened market confidence,” Donovan wrote.
Energy stocks suffered the biggest losses as crude oil prices backed away from five-month highs. Noble Energy (NBL) and Anadarko Petroleum (APC) closed down 2% or more.
The Dow was once again dragged down by Boeing (BA), which lost another 1.5%. American Airlines (AAL) finished down 2% after cutting its revenue forecast due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max fleet.
Principal Financial (PFG) slumped 3% following a $1.2 billion deal to acquire Wells Fargo’s retirement-plan unit. Wells Fargo (WFC) declined 1.5%.
Under Armour’s (UAA) stock is one of the S&P 500’s biggest losers today.
It’s down 5% for reasons that even our Paul R. La Monica can’t figure out:
But cautious comments from an analyst at B. Riley FBR didn’t help. The firm found that Under Armour continues to lag Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADDYY) in a customer survey about athletic apparel and footwear.
US markets are trading lower today because of a new report warning of slowing global economic growth. Uncertainty surrounding a trade war between the United States and European Union isn’t helping either.
Here’s where the markets stand:
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) stock is down nearly 3% after dropping its bid for Crown Resorts, an Australian rival.
Boeing (BA) shares are off more than 1%. The company said deliveries of its 737 jet, its bestselling plane, fell by a third in the first three months of 2019.
American Airlines (AAL) shares retreated from their earlier lows after cutting its first quarter revenue guidance because of the continued grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8. It’s now down more than 1%.
In another sign that the economy is cooling off, employers posted fewer job openings in February, after a year of mounting demand for workers.
The number of postings declined by 538,000, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, down from 7.1 million in January. The job openings rate is still higher than it was at this time last year, but now there is definitely a slowdown.
The biggest drops came in the hospitality and food services sector, potentially an indication that leisure spending is weakening.
The rate of workers quitting their jobs, usually seen as a sign that employees are confident enough in the labor market to make a transition, has been trending sideways for half a year now after steadily rising out of the Great Recession.
February was also a bad month for job growth, with only 33,000 new positions created. Job openings may recover in March along with the more positive payrolls data released last week.
Meanwhile, America’s long streak of declining unemployed people per job opening seems to have ended.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) has abandoned plans to buy Crown Resorts, one of Australia’s largest gaming and entertainment businesses, just hours it had approached the Melbourne-based company.
“Following the premature disclosure of preliminary discussions, Wynn Resorts has terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction,” it said about the potential $7.1 billion deal.
Wynn’s shares fell more than 3% after it announced the termination:
American Airlines (AAL) is cutting its first quarter revenue guidance because of the continued grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8 fleet and the government shutdown.
The airline forecasts that its total expected revenue per seat mile will be flat to 1% year-over-year, compared to flat to 2% in its previous guidance.
American removed some of its Boeing (BA) 737-800 aircraft to fix problems with the overhead bins.
The stock is down nearly 3% in early trading.
Global growth jitters appear to have returned to Wall Street.
Stocks extended their premarket losses after the IMF cut its global growth outlook and warned the economy faces a “delicate moment.”
Boeing (BA) continues to drag the Dow lower. The aerospace giant fell 1% extending its recent 737 Max slump.
Principal Financial (PFG) dropped 2% after reaching a $1.2 billion deal to buy Wells Fargo’s (WFC) retirement-plan business.
General Electric (GE) slumped another 3%, a day after an influential JPMorgan analyst downgraded the stock and warned it will plunge to $5.
Soceite General (SCGLY) is laying off 1,600 employees from its global workforce.
The French bank will close its over-the-counter commodities business and its proprietary-trading subsidiary. Nearly 800 jobs will be eliminated in France through a “voluntary departure plan.”
“Societe Generale plans some strategic adjustments in order to always better meet its clients’ expectations while structurally improving its profitability,” it said in a release.
Stock market resilience has been impressive: The S&P 500 has been up 8 days in a row, the longest winning streak since 2017.
All three major averages have retracted the awful losses from the end of 2018 and are spitting distance to record highs.
Here are the potential risks:
Boeing (BA) is set to report the number of planes it delivered during the first quarter on Tuesday.
The company didn’t deliver any of its bestselling 737 Max planes in the last two weeks of the quarter. It halted those deliveries after two of the aircraft crashed in less then six months.
Investors will be waiting to see if Boeing forecasts the costs of the grounding and halt of deliveries. The stock is unchanged in premarket trading.
Boeing doesn’t normally give any dollar figures as part of its deliveries report. The company is scheduled to report first quarter results on April 24, and then meet with shareholders April 29.
🇺🇸US stock futures are flat.
🇪🇺European markets opened mixed.
🌏Stocks in Asia also struggled to find direction.
Monday’s US close:
