Daily Brief United States: NVIDIA Corp, Altria Group, Micron Technology, Xcel Energy Inc, Coinbase Global , FedEx Corp, Rambus, Forum Energy Technologies , Etoro Group, Microstrategy Inc Cl A and more

• 25,000 people attended Nvidia sessions, making it one of the busiest single company shows
• Initial disappointment at keynote, followed by renewed enthusiasm after investor Q&A and show attendance
• Disillusionment with lack of new AI advancements and repeated demos at Nvidia booth, feeling like a cult atmosphere

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• Altria Group reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings with several noteworthy developments.
• Financially, the company delivered strong results, primarily supported by its core tobacco operations.
• Altria grew its adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) by 3.4% for the full year, maintaining a trend of returning substantial capital to shareholders through $10.2 billion in dividends and share repurchases.

• Micron Technology’s recent performance has sparked mixed reactions across Wall Street, as investors try to reconcile strong product innovation with weak near-term financial guidance.
• The company’s fiscal first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.79 per share, slightly above the consensus of $1.76.
• Revenue stood at $8.7 billion, in line with projections.

• Brian Van Abel, CFO of Xcel Energy, discusses the opportunities presented by power hungry data centers
• Xcel Energy is a large fully regulated electric and gas utility serving eight states with a market cap of approximately $40 billion
• Xcel Energy has a track record of delivering on earnings guidance and is committed to carbon reduction goals, with a 2050 carbon-free goal and plans to reduce carbon by more than 80% by 2030

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• Coinbase’s recent plunge might make this crypto exchange look like a tempting buy, but don’t assume it’s a bargain just yet.
• Regulatory clarity is key for wider crypto adoption,  and the new administration is likely to approve stablecoin and market structure laws later this year.
• To justify a higher valuation, the firm needs to build a more diverse and stable revenue stream that’s less dependent on transaction fees from trading.

• FedEx Corporation’s third-quarter fiscal 2025 performance showcases a balanced mix of operational successes and challenges.
• The results highlight a 2% year-over-year revenue increase, primarily attributed to operational efficiency initiatives, notably the DRIVE savings program, which achieved $600 million in savings for the quarter.
• Driven by these efficiencies, the company saw a 12% increase in adjusted operating income and a 17% rise in adjusted EPS compared to the previous year.

• Rambus has delivered a strong performance for the fiscal year 2024, achieving impressive results in both its financials and execution of strategic initiatives.
• The company reported revenue of $161.1 million for the fourth quarter, surpassing the high end of its forecasts, and a record product revenue of $247 million for the year.
• The company’s memory interface chip segment has been a significant contributor to this success, with revenue of $73 million for Q4, marking an 11% sequential increase and a 37% year-over-year increase.

• FET’s confident free cash flow outlook in FY25 positions the company to consider returning cash to shareholders through an existing share repurchase authorization in 2025.
• In December 2024, FET’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $75 million.
• The senior secured bonds (due 2029) issued in November 2024 allow repurchases after FET meets a defined leverage test. 

• As of December 31, 2024, they had approximately 3.5 million Funded Accounts across their global footprint of 75 countries.
• As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $113 million of cryptoassets presented as current assets, and $5,775 million cryptoassets held on behalf of its users in custody.
• In 2024, eToro generated $12.6bn of revenue, of which $12.1bn was attributable to crypto assets and the remainder from equities, commodities and currencies. 

• In our 2/25/25 Compass, we discussed our expectation for near-term downside. Also said one or two 8-10% pullbacks in a given year on the SPX is common
• And said to not be surprised if there is a test of the bottom of the range at either 5770-5850 or 5600-5670, where we would be buyers
• The SPX had a -10.3% peak-to-trough decline, with support showing up at 5500; close enough to our 10% pullback and 5600 level. This has been a stellar buy area