Good morning investors!

If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of more than 15,000 subscribers striving to be better investors with an edge in the market.

Every weekend we publish “The Weekly Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!

This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.

Grab your coffee and let’s dive in.

Market Talk

The market struggled out of the gate this week but the Fed’s comments, earnings from Apple and a weaker than expected jobs report sent markets higher to end the week in the green.

3 Stories Moving the Market

These are some of the biggest stories from the second half of the week that had an influence on market action.

Apple’s falling iPhone sales don’t bother Wall Street as margins, buybacks are increasing

Despite a 10% decline in iPhone sales, investors were unfazed by Apple's recent earnings report, causing a more than 6% increase in stock value.

This surge was driven by factors such as the company's expanding gross margin, strong profits from its services business, and the announcement of a record share buyback program.

Despite a 4% revenue drop from last year to $90.8 billion, Apple's profit remained substantial at nearly $24 billion.

However, the primary driving force behind the surge may have been Apple's declaration of authorizing $110 billion in share buybacks, marking the highest amount ever approved by a public company. Over the last three years, Apple has consistently greenlit $90 billion worth of annual repurchases.

The market also reacted positively to Apple's forecast of low single-digit revenue growth for the current quarter and its status as a financial powerhouse with significant cash flow.

U.S. job growth totaled 175,000 in April, much less than expected, while unemployment rose to 3.9%

In April, the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than anticipated while the unemployment rate rose.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 175,000, falling short of the 240,000 estimate. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% against expectations it would hold steady at 3.8%. Average hourly earnings also grew less than expected, suggesting a potential slowdown in inflation. 

This outcome raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may consider cutting interest rates in the near future, though it is important to note that separate PMI reports showed the economy slowing and inflation continuing to rise.

📚 EDGE-UCATION: Why is the NFP report important?

The U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) data is a vital economic gauge, reflecting employment changes across all sectors except farming, government, household, and nonprofit roles.

Monitored closely by economists, policymakers, analysts, and investors, it offers valuable insights into labor market conditions, influencing decisions on monetary policy, financial markets, and economic projections.

Typically released on the first Friday of each month, it ranks among the most closely observed economic indicators in the U.S.

First Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting without Charlie Munger: What to expect from Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting is today, though the absence of Charlie Munger, Buffett's longtime partner who passed away last year, will be notable.

Munger's influence shaped Buffett's investment philosophy and contributed to Berkshire's success.

Greg Abel, designated successor to Warren Buffett, will fill Charlie Munger's seat in the afternoon session, addressing shareholder inquiries. Ajit Jain, Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations, will join Buffett and Abel in the morning session. Buffett anticipates addressing approximately 40 to 60 questions throughout the day.

Shareholders are eager for Buffett to address key topics including inflation's impact on Berkshire's businesses, the trimming of its Apple stake, a mystery financial stock pick, plans for its record cash reserves, potential changes to its buyback program, and details about Berkshire's succession plan.

Follow the live discussion on The Investor’s Edge Discord to stay updated on the meeting's developments.

IE+ Posts of the Week

We continue to push out more and more content every week to give investors that edge. Here are the posts Investor’s Edge+ subscribers received this week.

Edge Report

Mondays are for the investors. Every Monday morning we share exactly what we’re watching in the week ahead, how we’re positioning, and even share a sneak peek into our systems and models. This week we discussed the upcoming earnings and jobs reports, and expressed our cautionary approach this week. See the full report here:

Top Stocks to Watch - May

At the beginning of each month we share our top stocks that we are watching in the weeks ahead. This week we released the fourth edition of this new report where we performed a full analysis of 10 stocks and shared our price targets.

We decided to unlock one stock’s analysis so everyone can see the value IE+ members get. Get your sneak peek here:

Earnings Recaps

Every week during earnings season we share a recap of the quarterly reports from stocks that we cover. With 20 of the stocks we cover reporting this week, we released a special mid-week edition of the recap to ensure Edge+ remained in the know. You can see this week’s earnings recaps here:

The Week Ahead

Next week will be a much needed reprieve as earnings season slows a bit and there will only be a handful of economic events to watch.

Earnings Reports

Despite a slowdown compared to the previous two weeks, it will still be busy for us here at The Investor’s Edge as 10 of the stocks we cover are scheduled to report. Here is the list of names we will be covering:

• Saturday 5/4: Berkshire Hathaway

• Monday 5/6: Simon Property Group, and Realty Income

• Tuesday 5/7: Disney, and Celsius

• Wednesday 5/8: Uber, Shopify, AirBnB, and The Trade Desk

• Thursday 5/9: --

• Friday 5/10: Enbridge

Here is the full calendar of scheduled earnings releases:

Economic Reports

After an eventful couple of weeks, we finally get a calm week on the economic news front. There will be a few Fed speeches, initial jobless claims data and the consumer sentiment report, but there should be no major market catalysts.

Here is the full calendar of events we will be watching:

The Investor’s Edge Discord is here!

Before you go, don’t forget to join our brand-new Discord server.

The channel is tailor-made for investors like you who want to dive deeper into stocks, share insights, and engage directly with us.

Here's what's already in store for you:

🗨️ Chat rooms: Connect with fellow investors, swap ideas, and engage in lively discussions about stocks and market trends—all while rubbing virtual elbows with both Mark and Chris.

💰 Earnings report room: Stay ahead of the game with real-time updates on earnings as they hit the wire. No more waiting around for the latest financial scoop!

📊 Economic reports room: Dive into detailed breakdowns of all the major economic reports, so you're always in the know about what's shaping the market.

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Join us on Discord and let's level up our investing game together. The future of trading awaits—and you're invited to be a part of it! 🌟

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Weekly Wrap-Up. Have a great weekend!

Until next time investors!

Mark & Chris

The Investor’s Edge

Disclosure

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.