Gaming Bet Pays Off as Tiny Stock Surges 70%

An investment firm is soaring 70% after securing publishing rights for a highly anticipated video game, a medical device giant is slipping after posting mixed earnings, and a tech giant is falling as weak ad revenue offsets its AI cloud growth. Read on to know more.

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What to Watch

Earnings:

• Arista Networks, Inc. [ANET]: Aftermarket

• Cadence Design Systems, Inc. [CDNS]: Aftermarket

• Occidental Petroleum Corporation [OXY]: Aftermarket

• EQT Corporation [EQT]: Aftermarket

• CoStar Group, Inc. [CSGP]: Aftermarket

• Devon Energy Corporation [DVN]: Aftermarket

• International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. [IFF]: Aftermarket

Economic Reports:

• Empire State manufacturing survey [Feb]: 8:30 a.m.

• Home builder confidence index [Feb]: 10:00 a.m.

• San Francisco Fed President Daly speaks at 10:20 a.m.

• Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr speaks at 1:00 p.m.

Medical Devices

Medtronic Reaffirming 2025 Outlook But Mixed Q3 Results Causes Stock to Fall

Medtronic PLC. [MDT] reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings exceeding Wall Street expectations, though its revenue is slightly below forecasts.

The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, citing ongoing momentum in key business segments.

For the quarter that ended January 24, Medtronic posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.39, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.36.

Revenue is at $8.29 billion, narrowly missing the projected $8.33 billion.

Despite the mixed results, the company’s revenue is up 2.5% year-over-year, with an organic growth of 4.1%.

The Cardiovascular segment expanded 5% organically, supported by strong demand for cardiac ablation solutions and structural heart devices.

Neuroscience revenue rose 5.2%, driven by double-digit growth in neuromodulation.

The Diabetes division posted an organic increase of 10.4%, fueled by rising adoption of the MiniMed 780G insulin delivery system in the U.S. and growing continuous glucose monitoring attachment rates globally.

CEO Geoff Martha highlighted the company’s ninth consecutive quarter of mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and improvements in both gross and operating margins.

Medtronic reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, projecting organic revenue growth of 4.75% to 5% and adjusted earnings per share between $5.44 and $5.50.

Despite this, the mixed results are causing shares to decline by about 2% in early trade.

Technology

Baidu Seeing AI Cloud Gains, But Advertising Weakness Weighing on Q4 Results

Baidu [BIDU] reported a 2% decline in fourth-quarter revenue, as a downturn in its advertising business outweighed the growth of its AI Cloud segment.

The company posted revenue of 34.12 billion yuan ($4.69 billion) for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of 33.32 billion yuan.

China’s struggling economy and property market slowdown have led small businesses to cut back on advertising, impacting Baidu’s core revenue stream.

The company’s online marketing business, excluding its streaming platform iQIYI, is down 7% to 17.9 billion yuan.

However, its AI Cloud division surged 26% year-over-year, helping to offset some of the losses.

Baidu has been aggressively expanding into artificial intelligence, aiming to reduce reliance on search engine advertising.

The company introduced its ChatGPT-style chatbot, Ernie, in 2023 and claims its latest version, Ernie 4.0, matches OpenAI’s GPT-4. Despite this, Baidu has faced stiff competition from Chinese startup DeepSeek’s R1 model.

To strengthen its AI presence, Baidu is planning to open-source its upcoming models, offer free premium chatbot services from April, and integrate DeepSeek’s technology into its ecosystem.

The company is also incorporating AI into existing applications like Wenku and monetizing services through its cloud computing platform.

Baidu reported that its Ernie chatbot handled 1.65 billion daily user interactions in December, up from 600 million in August.

Despite AI advancements, Baidu’s U.S.-listed shares are declining 2.07% in premarket trading.

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Construction

Vulcan Beating Revenue and EPS Projections, Eyeing Double-Digit Profit Growth in 2025

Vulcan Materials [VMC] reported fourth-quarter earnings surpassing analyst expectations, with both revenue and profit beating estimates.

The company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.17, exceeding projections by $0.42, while revenue is up 1.1% year-over-year to $1.85 billion, beating expectations by $40 million.

Strong pricing growth and moderating costs contributed to a 16% increase in cash gross profit per ton, which reached $11.50.

While aggregates shipments declined by 3%, freight-adjusted selling prices rose 11% to $2.07 per ton across all markets.

Freight-adjusted unit cash costs increased 5% due to improved operational efficiencies and easing inflationary pressures.

For the full year, operating cash flow totaled $1.4 billion, with $638 million allocated for capital expenditures.

Looking ahead to 2025, Vulcan anticipates another year of double-digit growth in aggregates segment cash gross profit per ton and a shipment increase of 3% to 5%.

Freight-adjusted prices are expected to improve by 5% to 7%, despite a slight negative mix impact from recent acquisitions.

The company forecasts a total cash gross profit of approximately $360 million from its asphalt and concrete segments and projects adjusted EBITDA to land between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion, including a $150 million contribution from acquisitions.

Capital spending is likely to range from $750 million to $800 million, while net earnings are expected between $1.01 billion and $1.17 billion.

GCL Global Holdings Ltd [GCL] - Last Close: $3.05

GCL Global Holdings is a diversified investment and publishing company.

Its shares are rising nearly 70% premarket after announcing that it has acquired global publishing rights to Nekcom’s upcoming video game, Showa American Story, through a 20% equity stake in the developer.

The game, slated for release this year, is generating buzz in the gaming community.

Solid Biosciences Inc. [SLDB] - Last Close: $4.03

Solid Biosciences is a life sciences company focused on developing gene therapies for neuromuscular and cardiac diseases, especially Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Its shares are surging in early trade after reporting positive initial clinical data from its Phase 1/2 INSPIRE DUCHENNE trial for SGT-003, its next-generation DMD gene therapy candidate.

GeneDx Holdings Corp. [WGS] - Last Close: $76.35

GeneDx Holdings is a genetic testing and diagnostics company specializing in rare disease detection, epilepsy, and autism diagnostics.

Its shares are rising 13% premarket after reporting strong Q4 earnings, with revenue of $95.3 million, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $82.23 million, and an adjusted net income of $16.8 million, far surpassing the $2.9 million forecast.

High-Grade Gold (Sponsored)

This Junior Gold Miner Is Poised for a 2025 Production Breakout

A major update from a junior gold miner in Canada’s Red Lake District has investors paying attention.

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Everything Else

• Musk calls Grok 3 “scary smart” as xAI pushes AI competition to the next level.

• UFP Industries expands with acquisitions and investments while navigating a tough market.

• Transocean’s stock struggles after disappointing fourth-quarter results.

• Chemical giant Huntsman struggles with quarterly losses despite meeting revenue forecasts.

• Tennant forecasts steady growth in 2025 after solid annual earnings.

• JELD-WEN reports a steep revenue drop and increased losses in 2024.

That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. If you have any feedback, please reply to this email.

Best Regards,

— Adam Garcia
Elite Trade Club

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