Legal Challenges for Meta - Meta is facing a significant legal trial in New Mexico, where state prosecutors allege that the company failed to protect children from sexual exploitation and harmful content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The prosecutors claim that Meta's algorithms prioritized engagement over safety, creating a "breeding ground for predators" targeting minors [2][3] - Concurrently, a related trial in Los Angeles accuses Meta and YouTube of designing addictive platforms that harm young users' mental health, which could reshape liability protections for tech companies [3][4] Apploven's Stock Performance - Apploven's stock surged approximately 13% after a major short seller retracted allegations that the company was involved in laundering illicit funds from Southeast Asia, which had previously caused investor concern [5][6] - Despite the stock's recovery, analysts caution that scrutiny regarding Apploven's financials and data security remains, as the company prepares for its earnings release [6] Memory Chip Market Dynamics - Micron's stock fell amid competition in the memory chip market, particularly as Samsung is set to begin mass production of HBM 4 chips, which are expected to be used in Nvidia's GPUs. This development raises concerns for Micron and its domestic rival SK Hynix [8][9] - HBM3 chips currently dominate the market, but HBM4 is anticipated to become a key technology, indicating a shift in market dynamics and potential higher margins for companies involved [9] Upcoming Earnings Reports - Coca-Cola is expected to report earnings of approximately $0.57 per share on revenues of $12.05 billion, reflecting a nearly 5% year-over-year increase. Investors are particularly focused on organic growth, margin trends, and pricing power guidance [14] - Spotify is projected to report earnings of about $3.30 per share on revenues of $5.37 billion, representing a year-over-year growth of around 28%. Key metrics for Spotify include subscriber growth, revenue trends, and profitability measures [15]

Core Viewpoint - Spotify is facing challenges despite being a leading player in the music streaming industry, with recent stock performance reflecting investor concerns about high valuations and growth sustainability [2][6][10]. Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS is anticipated to be $2.95, with revenue expected to exceed $5 billion [1]. - The stock has declined over 25% in 2026 and recently hit a 52-week low [1]. Growth and Valuation - Spotify is still growing organically at over 15%, but its high valuations raise questions for investors [3][10]. - The company has experienced some inconsistent performance in recent quarters, including accounting charges and one-time issues [4]. Market Opportunities - Spotify is exploring new revenue streams, such as podcasts and audiobooks, which may diversify its offerings [4][5]. - The total addressable market (TAM) for Spotify remains large, and the company is leveraging algorithms to enhance customer experience globally [8][9]. Competitive Landscape - Spotify's primary competitors, like YouTube and Apple Music, are more diversified, necessitating Spotify to stay ahead in innovation [12]. - The company has pricing power, recently increasing its premium subscription plan to $12.99 [9]. Investor Sentiment - Institutional investors are cautious, evaluating whether high multiples for Spotify are justified given its growth trajectory [6][10]. - The upcoming earnings report is pivotal, with the options market pricing in a significant potential move of 9.5% [15][20].

Weakness may be an opportunity for Spotify (SPOT). Since peaking in September, shares of the streaming and media services company are down about 43%. But that’ll happen with weaker-than-expected guidance and news: it will part ways with its longtime CEO, who will still remain involved as executive chairman. www.barchart.com With Earnings, the Third Quarter Looked Impressive Spotify's EPS of 3.28 euros crushed estimates of 1.97 euros. That was also higher than the 1.45 euros posted year over year. Revenu ...

Company Overview - Spotify has experienced a significant decline of approximately 33% over the past year, contrasting with the S&P and the XLC communication sector, which are up by roughly 12 to 14% [1][2]. Market Position - Within the music industry, Spotify is positioned at the lower end compared to competitors such as Tencent Music, Live Nation, Warner Music, and Sirius XM [2]. Technical Analysis - The stock is currently viewed as overvalued despite a 46% drop from its highs, indicating a bearish outlook in the short term [3]. - Recent low points for Spotify include 405, which was reached in the latest trading session, and previous lows of 475 and 500 during significant market events [4]. - A downward sloping channel has been observed over the past two quarters, with a recent break below this channel, leading to a steeper downward trend line [5]. Moving Averages and Indicators - Moving averages indicate a continued downward trend, with the 5-day weekly EMA around 445 [6]. - The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at a low of 22.5%, suggesting potential further weakness in the stock [7]. Volume Profile - Volume analysis shows significant trading activity during the decline, with notable volume nodes between 407 to 427 and 500 to 520 [7]. Trading Strategy - A bearish trading strategy is suggested, focusing on a March 20th expiration with a potential range of 363 to 491 [8]. - A specific trade example includes a short call vertical at a 275 credit, with a break-even point around 470, indicating a max profit of 275 and a max loss of 725 [9][10].

Core Insights - The technology sector experienced significant stock sell-offs related to artificial intelligence, but market sentiment may stabilize in the coming days [2] - The Super Bowl featured notable advertisements from tech companies, with Amazon's Alexa and Anthropic receiving praise, while Google's Gemini was criticized [2] Company Earnings Focus - This week, several mid-sized companies are set to report earnings, including Spotify, Lyft, Shopify, Coinbase, Pinterest, Instacart, and Airbnb, each with noteworthy highlights [2][3] - Spotify's advertising revenue has been declining, impacting overall revenue growth, despite management's previous optimism about accelerating ad business growth by 2025 [2][3] - Lyft's stock rose significantly last year, with a 50% increase, but has since dropped 15% this year, raising concerns about the impact of autonomous vehicles on the ride-hailing industry [3][9] - Pinterest has maintained a revenue growth rate of 16% to 17%, outperforming Snap, which has stagnated at around 10% [10] Earnings Expectations - Spotify is expected to report Q4 revenue of €4.522 billion, a 6.6% year-over-year increase, with earnings per share (EPS) of €2.77, up 57% [11] - Lyft is projected to report Q4 revenue of $1.754 billion, a 13% increase, but with EPS of $0.12, down 25% [11] - Instacart's expected Q4 revenue is $969.95 million, a 9.7% increase, with EPS of $0.51, down 3.7% [11] - Airbnb anticipates Q4 revenue of $2.71 billion, a 9.3% increase, with EPS of $0.66, down 9.6% [11] - Pinterest is expected to report Q4 revenue of $1.33 billion, a 15% increase, but with EPS of $0.43, down 84% [11]

Earnings Reports - A significant week for earnings with major companies such as Robinhood Markets, Coinbase, Cisco Systems, Applovin, Shopify, Arista Networks, Cloudflare, Spotify, Airbnb, and McDonald's scheduled to report [1] Implied Volatility - Implied volatility tends to be high before earnings reports due to market uncertainty, leading to increased demand for options [2] - After earnings announcements, implied volatility typically decreases to normal levels [3] Expected Price Movements - The expected price range for stocks can be estimated by adding the prices of at-the-money put and call options from the option chain [3] Daily Earnings Expectations - Tuesday: HOOD (11.7%), F (6.5%), KO (2.9%), NET (13.4%), SPOT (10.4%), GILD (5.5%) [4] - Wednesday: CSCO (5.5%), VRT (10.5%), APP (15.5%), SHOP (12.8%), MCD (3.3%) [5] - Thursday: COIN (11.1%), ANET (10.7%), ABNB (8.6%), AEM (6.9%) [5] Trading Strategies - Traders can utilize expected moves to structure trades, with bearish traders selling bear call spreads and bullish traders selling bull put spreads or looking at naked puts [6] - Neutral traders may consider iron condors, ideally keeping short strikes outside the expected range [6] Risk Management - It is advisable to use risk-defined strategies and maintain small position sizes when trading options over earnings [7] - A full loss from a trade should ideally not impact the portfolio by more than 1-3% [7] High Implied Volatility Stocks - Barchart's Stock Screener can identify stocks with high implied volatility, using filters such as total call volume greater than 5,000, market cap greater than 40 billion, and IV Rank greater than 50% [8]

RT New York Post (@nypost)World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder calls for Apple, Spotify to remove Kanye's music https://t.co/BWAlNHTAEM https://t.co/c51UFgXC0k ...

This is a bit of a racy book. So, uh, we're going to stop here. I was just telling the team before that I'm in a book club and my book club date is today.I have two and a half hours left of a book to read and I'm not going to be able to find time to read it. So, what this does for me, if the book is actually in the the catalog, is I can then go to the page I'm in on my ebook reader or on a physical book and start reading from there. If you're at a point in the book on your audio book and you want to go to t ...

Group 1 - The fourth quarter earnings season is ongoing, with significant results from major companies like Alphabet, Amazon, AMD, Qualcomm, and Palantir [1] - As of February 6, 59% of S&P 500 companies have reported their fourth quarter results, with analysts estimating a 13% increase in earnings per share, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of annual earnings growth for the index [2][4] - Analysts initially expected an 8.3% increase in earnings per share for the fourth quarter, a decrease from the previous quarter's 13.6% growth rate, but have since raised expectations, particularly for tech companies [4] Group 2 - Major capital expenditures by Big Tech are influencing the AI trade, with ongoing themes from 2025, such as artificial intelligence and economic policies, continuing to impact investor sentiment [5] - Upcoming earnings reports are anticipated from companies including Coca-Cola, Spotify, Robinhood, Lyft, Ford, Rivian, Moderna, Airbnb, and Coinbase [6]

Core Insights - Spotify is the leading music streaming service with over 100 million songs, 7 million podcasts, and 350,000 audiobooks, serving 713 million monthly users, including 281 million paid subscribers [1][2] Financial Performance - In Q3 2025, Spotify reported a 12% year-over-year revenue increase to €4.3 billion ($4.99 billion), surpassing analyst expectations of €4.23 billion [6] - Earnings per share (EPS) reached €3.28 ($3.84), exceeding forecasts of €1.97 ($1.87) by over 66%, and up from €1.54 last year [6] - Premium subscribers grew by 12% to 281 million, while monthly active users increased by 11% to 713 million, beating the estimated 710 million [7] - Gross margin improved to 31.6%, operating income reached €582 million, and free cash flow was €806 million, indicating strong cash generation [7] Future Guidance - For Q4, Spotify projects revenue of €4.5 billion, which is below the estimated €4.56 billion, and expects premium subscribers to reach 289 million, slightly under the 291 million estimate [8] - Monthly users are expected to rise to 745 million, exceeding the estimate of 739.5 million, with an operating income outlook of €620 million [8] Stock Performance - Spotify's stock has experienced a significant decline, dropping 16% over the past five days, 27% in the last month, 32% over three months, and 37% in six months [3] - Year-to-date, the stock is down 28%, with a 52-week return of -32%, trading 47% below its 52-week high of $785 [3] - Compared to the Russell 1000 Index, Spotify's performance has lagged, with a 32% drop over 52 weeks against the index's 43% rise [4]