Sep 19, 2019

FedEx faces steepest stock drop since 2008

Dion Rabouin
Data: Investing.com; Chart: Axios Visuals

FedEx shares fell by the most in a decade after chairman and CEO Fred Smith expressed extreme pessimism about the global economy and the delivery giant’s future during his investor call.

What's happening: "The Memphis, Tenn.-based delivery giant on Tuesday cut its earnings guidance for the fiscal year citing lower revenue projections in its Express unit, which ferries packages and cargo by planes around the world," the Wall Street Journal reports.

What they're saying: “I think there is a lot of whistling past the graveyard about the U.S. consumer and the United States economy versus what’s going on globally,” Smith said during the call.

  • CNBC’s Jim Cramer called it “the most dispiriting call about the economy I’ve heard in a very long time."

Flashback: Shares fell 13%, the most since December 2008, wiping out almost $6 billion in market cap and sending the company's stock near its lowest level in 5 years.

Go deeper: FedEx ends Amazon ground deliveries

Go deeper

Dion Rabouin

The stock market is overreacting

Stocks took a nosedive for the 2nd consecutive day on Wednesday and the Dow and S&P fell for the 4th time in 5 sessions. But the U.S. Treasury market experienced a far smaller move, as it has been factoring in manufacturing weakness and slowing job growth for months.

Why it matters: The bond market's limited movement in the face of historically weak manufacturing and deteriorating employment data suggests the worst may be over, analysts say.

Go deeperArrowOct 3, 2019
Felix Salmon, Courtenay Brown

A perfect economy, but far from a perfect earnings season

Powell attends an event at the Federal Reserve on October 4, 2019. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

We're in a Goldilocks economy, if you believe Fed chair Jay Powell. He gave a speech on Tuesday to the National Association for Business Economics in which he reminded the attendees just how special the current economic situation is.

"We don’t get to see the 11th year of an expansion a lot, and there’s a lot to like about it, particularly for people at the lower end of the wage scale who are getting now the highest raises. And it’d be great to continue."
— Jay Powell
Go deeperArrowOct 10, 2019
Dion Rabouin

Bank earnings and health care stocks helped the Dow turn positive in October

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The Dow turned positive for October after solid earnings from some of the biggest U.S. banks and surprisingly solid earnings from health care companies. Both sectors have lagged the market this year.

What happened: Bank CEOs, including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Citigroup's Michael Corbat, continued to tout the strength of the U.S. consumer.

Go deeperArrowOct 16, 2019