Daily Brief United States: Wendy’s Co/The, Micron Technology, Crude Oil, Factset Research Systems Inc, Acushnet Holdings, FedEx Corp, Five Below, General Mills, Lululemon Athletica, Mdc Holdings and more

• This is our first report on Wendy’s Company.
• In Q4, Wendy’s global systemwide sales grew over 3%, supported by global same-restaurant sales growth and the benefit of global net unit growth.
• U.S. company-operated restaurant sales grew due to higher average check figures driven by cumulative pricing of around 4.5%.

• Micron Technology’s Fiscal Second Quarter 2024 Earnings showcased a lean towards optimism with some cautionary notes.
• It was revealed that the Micron sees substantial demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) which has even surpassed their expectations and as such the HBM supply for 2024 is already sold out, with most of 2025’s capacity also already allocated.
• This is due in part to the product’s high performance specs and 30% lower power consumption.

• Russia has pledged to cut oil output to 9 million barrels per day by June, potentially causing Brent oil prices to rise to $90 in April and above $100 in the future
• The US has the option to release up to 60 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate the impact of high oil prices
• SPR inventories currently cover 188 days of net import demand for crude oil, suggesting that the reserve may not need to be as large as it once was and could be used for funding infrastructure and federal spending priorities

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• FactSet Research Systems Inc., a multinational financial data and software company, posted a mixed result for its second fiscal quarter of 2024.
• Despite enduring difficult market conditions and an industry rife with uncertainties, FactSet revealed a year-over-year growth of 5.4% in organic ASV plus professional services.
• The quarter-end showed over 8,000 clients with 75 net new logos added.

• This is our first report on golf distributor, Acushnet Holdings Corp.
• The company’s 2023 performance has been buoyed by the growth of its Titleist golf balls, increased 13%, led by strong demand for its new Pro V1 models; golf ball sales increased in all regions with the U.S. and EMEA markets leading the way.
• Despite concerns about the EMEA region, golf balls and clubs were vibrant, affirming golfers’ trust in the quality, consistency, and game performance of the Titleist brand.

• According to the FedEx Corporation’s third quarter earnings report for the Fiscal Year 2024, profits continued to increase for the third successive quarter.
• This is attributed to the FedEx team’s prompt customer service and progress with transformation initiatives.
• Although revenues declined, operating income and profit margin showed growth—a dynamic the CEO attributed to FedEx’s transformation and its management prowess in controlling what is within its purview.

• Despite being impacted by unfavorable weather during January, Five Below’s sales ended within the guidance and comparable sales were slightly more than their expected figures.
• The company’s growth was mainly driven by the increasing popularity of Five Beyond format stores and the upward trend of customers embracing the value-for-money concept.
• The total fourth quarter sales were $1.34 billion, witnessing a growth of over 19%, and the comparable sales increased by 3.1%.

• General Mills reported encouraging third quarter results, especially with the underlying performance improvement in North America retail and the pet segment.
• CEO Jeff Harmening forecasts that the fourth quarter sales would look similar to the third quarter in terms of annual performance.
• However, there is uncertainty due to innumerable external variables that could influence the outcome.Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• The Q4 2023 earnings of Lululemon Athletica Inc. highlighted positive operational results with revenue increases across most regions.
• Total revenue was reported to have increased by 16% for the quarter.
• In the Americas, the increase was 9%, while Mainland China saw a rather prominent rise of 78%.

• This is our first report on M.D.C Holdings, a major American construction company specialising in property development and mortgage services.
• The company reported strong profitability for its third quarter earnings call in 2023, with a net income of $107 million ($1.40 per diluted share).
• Despite the rise in mortgage rates, M.D.C. witnessed a robust demand trend, mainly attributable to the company’s financial incentives and lack of existing homes supply that drew more buyers to the new home market.