Today’s market action was flipped from yesterday, with the stock market indexes going green while Nvidia shares dipped. Earnings drove the largest moves in the market, with retailers and the consumer remaining a key focus area. Let’s see what you missed. 👀

Today's issue covers Dollar General’s damning commentary, big tech fighting for a piece of the AI pie, GameStop’s bet on retro consoles, and expectations ahead of tomorrow’s core PCE inflation data. 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 7 of 11 sectors closed green, with energy (+1.30%) leading and technology (-0.90%) lagging.

And here are the closing prices: 

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $SCWX, $FCUV, $DG, $MBD, $BBY 📉 $AILE, $DMRC, $LULU, $GLTO, $AZUL*

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

The discount retailer is once again making waves in the market after slashing its full-year revenue and earnings guidance, telling Wall Street that its lower-income customers are struggling significantly in this economy. ⚠️

Adjusted earnings per share of $1.70 on revenues of $10.21 billion missed estimates of $1.79 and $10.37 billion. Same-store sales grew 0.50% YoY, with customer traffic rising enough to offset a decline in average transaction amounts.

Dollar General’s ‘core customers’ earn less than $35,000 annually and account for 60% of total sales. The company has consistently noted that rising costs have made it difficult for those customers to manage their budgets in the current environment, and today signaled those conditions are only worsening. 📉

CEO Todd Vasos said this during the company’s conference call:

In addition, the company has struggled operationally over the last few years due to its overly aggressive expansion strategy. As a result of these headwinds and continued company-specific headwinds, management lowered its full-year earnings and sales growth forecasts materially. ✂️

Shares experienced their largest daily drop ever, falling 32% to roughly 7-year lows. Still, Stocktwits sentiment remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory, suggesting some retail investors and traders are betting on a rebound. 🤔

In addition to Dollar General, there were a ton of other big earnings movers, but too many to recap. Check out the earnings calendar and sort by percentage change to see some of the top movers and shakers. 🫨

Stocktoberfest is back with an intimate event for executives, influencers, and the most active investors in financial markets on October 20-22. 🤝

Network with industry thought leaders like Howard Lindzon, Michael Batnick, Brian Shannon, Michael Parekh, and many more during the 2-day palooza.

Less than 50 tickets remain, so grab your seat now, and we'll see you in beautiful Coronado, CA! 😎

The largest tech companies are collaborating and paying whatever price they need to own a piece of the artificial intelligence (AI) pie. 💵

Yesterday, the big story was that OpenAI is looking to raise additional funding at a more than $100 billion valuation. And today, the follow-on news is that Apple and Nvidia are looking to join Microsoft and Thrive Capital in the round to strengthen their ties with a key partner in the AI race.

Investors are concerned about the flow of money between these companies because many big numbers are being thrown around but not many business results yet to show. At least not for those who aren’t selling the ‘picks and shovels’ fueling this modern-day gold rush. 😐

And regulators have antitrust concerns, worrying that anti-competitive practices could stifle innovation and competition in the space. They have yet to step in aggressively, but as more and more deals happen, they’re evaluating the potential impact on the competitive landscape. 🕵️

Retail GameStop has been out of the game since the Roaring Kitty rally at the beginning of the summer, lacking a clear catalyst for prices to sustain their upward momentum. 😐

However, that may have changed today, with news helping push the stock up 8% and Stocktwits sentiment back into ‘extremely bullish’ territory.

The news? GameStop is jumping on the ‘Retro Gaming’ trend by launching overhauled locations that sell fan-favorite games for history’s greatest consoles. It’s betting that leaning into the comeback of old-school games can help boost sluggish sales. 🤷

Additionally, management closed its $250 million credit agreement with Wells Fargo in November 2021. By raising over $2 billion via equity sales during the June rally, the company’s balance sheet is in much better shape, allowing management to focus on driving sales.

The stock was up 8% today and will likely remain on traders’ and investors’ radar in the coming days and weeks to see if this is a large enough catalyst to create a sustainable run in the stock. 🐂

In the meantime, hop on Stocktwits to let us know your thoughts on the stock’s move and your favorite gaming console. 👀

Tomorrow’s big economic event is the Fed’s preferred inflation metric. Fed expert Nick Timiraos outlines Wall Street’s expectations and how meeting those would impact the overall inflation trend.

While most investors and traders will be at the beach tomorrow, the fact that it’s month-end will likely lead to some volatility around this event. We’ll see you tomorrow for that release at 8:30 am ET. 👍

Economic data: Core PCE Price Index (8:30 am ET), Personal Income/Spending (8:30 am ET), Chicago PMI (9:45 am ET), and Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final (10:00 am ET). 📊

Pre-Market Earnings: JinkoSolar ($JKS), UP Fintech Holding ($TIGR), Frontline ($FRO), and MINISO Group Holding ($MNSO). 🛏️

After-Hour Earnings: None — have a great three-day weekend! 🎧

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls and more straight from the Stocktwits app or website. You’ll find them on the calendar page and individual symbol pages once they’re set to begin! We’ll see you there. 👍

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💰 Number of 401(k) ‘millionaires’ reaches new high

🏘️ US pending home sales gauge drops to lowest on record

🚐 GM folding its all-electric BrightDrop vans into Chevrolet brand

📺 India approves $8.5bn Reliance-Disney entertainment mega-merger

🛢️ ONEOK strengthens Permian presence with midstream deals worth $5.9 billion

❌ United Airlines flight attendants in Colorado join union members nationwide in vote to strike

🤩 Chart Art: The best trade ideas and analysis from the Stocktwits community

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