ADD A USED CAR TO YOUR CART! TARGET CONTINUES TO LOSE TO WALMART!!

🛍️ Retail & Tech Roundup — “Deals, beats, and plot twists”

TJX (TJX) — Marshalls/TJ Maxx mom-core keeps winning +7%

Earnings vs. expectations: Sales & EPS came in ahead on strong off-price traffic (inflation shoppers love bargains).
- Q2 results: EPS $1.07 (↑19% YoY), net sales $14.4B (↑7%), comps +4%. Stock vibes solid thanks to traffic + margin discipline.
Stock vibe: ✅ generally positive—“trade down” tailwind.
Outlook: Raised guidance tone; leaning into inventory agility/treasure-hunt model.
Take: Short/mid-term bullish; long-term steady compounder. Big holders you always see: Vanguard, BlackRock.

Lowe’s (LOW) — DIY still alive, pro mix helping +6%

Earnings vs. expectations: Beat on EPS; demand mixed but pros and seasonal held up.
- Q2 EPS: $4.33 (Adjusted), vs. ~$4.24 est. — Beat!
- Revenue: $23.96B (↑1.6% YoY), in line with expectations.
- Comps: +1.1%, driven by both Pro & DIY.
- Guidance: Raised full-year sales to $84.5–85.5B. Announced $8.8B FBM acquisition to supercharge pro segment.
Stock vibe: 👍 modest green.
Outlook: Efficiency + margins > wild growth; housing turnover still a headwind, but projects continue.
Take: Short-term neutral to bullish; mid/long-term quality hold. (Common big holders: Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street.)

Target (TGT) — results + leadership shuffle -11%

Earnings vs. expectations: Mixed-to-soft recent prints vs. Street; new CEO named (Michael Fiddelke) to succeed Brian Cornell—fresh ops/merch focus.
- Q2 results: EPS $2.45 vs $1.93 est.; revenue $22.32B vs $22.06B est.; comps −4.4%.
Stock vibe: ⚖️ choppy—turnaround energy but patience required.
Outlook: Fix shrink, simplify promos, sharpen value vs. Walmart/Costco; store experience cleanup.
Take: Short-term neutral, mid-term show-me, long-term could re-rate if execution hits. Big holders: Vanguard, BlackRock.

Estée Lauder (EL) — beauty giant trips on China/luxury softness -14%

Earnings vs. expectations: Soft categories/geographies pressured revenue; stock dipped on outlook conservatism.
- Q2 Revenue: $3.41B, down 11.9% YoY, in line with the ~$3.42B estimate.
- Adjusted EPS: $0.09, matching expectations.
- EBITDA: Weak—missed by a mile, margin hit.
- Guidance: Forecast $1.90–2.10 per share FY26 EPS—below street view (~$2.20). Tariffs to slice ~$100M in profits.
Outlook: More restructuring + travel retail normalization still in progress.
Take: Short-term bearish/neutral, long-term brand moat but needs catalysts. (Usual bigs: Vanguard, BlackRock, Capital Group.)

Baidu (BIDU) — miss on revenue, AI spend heavy -4%

Earnings vs. expectations: Revenue miss; ads uneven; AI/cloud investing weighs near term.
- Q2 revenue: ¥35.4B vs ¥36.9B est.; ads +9% YoY, cloud +7% YoY. Shares slipped on the miss.
Stock vibe: 😬 red on print.
Outlook: Long-game in generative AI/Ernie apps; policy/macro overhang in China persists.
Take: Short-term cautious; long-term speculative.

Hertz (HTZ) — used cars on Amazon +13%

News: Hertz will sell its used cars on Amazon—bigger audience, frictionless checkout.
Stock vibe: 🚀 pop on the partnership headline.
Outlook: Inventory turnover + reach could improve margins if execution + pricing are right.
Take: Short-term trader’s pop; mid-term execution story.

📈 Analyst-y cheat sheet (super quick)

Best → worst (today’s momentum + clarity):

TJX (clean execution) → Lowe’s (resilient, margin focus) → Hertz (catalyst pop) → Target (turnaround, needs proof) → Estée Lauder (waiting on China/travel retail) → Baidu (macro/policy drag).

Style box:
- Defensive compounders: TJX, LOW
- Turnaround/Show-me: TGT, EL
- Catalyst trade: HTZ
- Macro-sensitive/China risk: BIDU

🧮 Fundamentals (quick vibes, not exacts)

TJX: P/E ~low-20s typical for quality retail; strong FCF; no huge debt; steady buybacks/dividend.
LOW: P/E high-teens/low-20s; dividend grower; solid ROIC; manageable leverage.
TGT: P/E mid-teens when normalized; dividend payer; margins recovering if shrink/promo fix sticks.
EL: Historically premium multiple; margins compressed; net debt manageable; dividend modest.
BIDU: Lower multiple than U.S. megacap AI; cash-rich; capex/AI opex elevated.
HTZ: Cyclical; leverage higher; margin path depends on fleet mix/remarketing (Amazon channel helps if volumes/prices hold).

🧭 What to do (not financial advice, just vibes)

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