Earnings Momentum Lifts the CE 100 as Banking, Payments and Enablers Lead Gains

Earnings helped boost the fortunes of the CE 100 Index this past week, and overall, the gains came in at 2.7%.  And amid the themes of those earnings reports: Consumers are withstanding some of the pressures of the macro economy and interest rates, as spending continues and loan demand is strong.

The late week rally across the broader markets came as inflation came in a bit less aggressive than had been expected, opening the door for further rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Nearly all pillars gained ground. The Live pillar gathered 6.9%. iRobot shares got a 24% boost.

The Banking segment was 5% higher.

In that group, LendingClub shares soared 19.9%.

The company reported strong account-opening momentum tied to LevelUp Checking, a rewards-driven checking account that offers cash-back on qualified everyday purchases (gas, groceries, pharmacies).  PYMNTS reporting on the quarter indicated loan origination growth stood at 37% to $2.6 billion, at the highest level in three years. Revenues of $266 million gained 32% year over year. During the conference call with analysts, CEO Scott Sanborn said that the loan growth reflected “strong demand from both consumers and loan investors, and our increased marketing efforts,” adding that marketplace revenues were up 75% [to $108 million], and the structured certificate sales topped $1 billion.  The CEO said that nearly 60% of new accounts being opened are being opened by borrowers.

Goldman shares took on 4.4% through the week. PYMNTS reported that Goldman Sachs is acquiring Industry Ventures, a venture capital platform managing $7 billion.

In the Payment realm, where companies focused on transactions were up 4.4% overall, Affirm’s stock gained 11%.

Affirm is stepping up its policy-stance this week, with CEO/co-founder Max Levchin calling on regulators to impose caps on late fees for buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) players. According to the PYMNTS piece, the logic is that limiting late-payment penalties will force BNPL providers to emphasize underwriting quality and sustainable revenue models rather than relying on fee income. The timing is notable, we’d add, coming as holiday shopping season looms and competition in the BNPL space intensifies.

Western Union’s stock added 8.2%. The company reported an overall consolidated  revenue decline of roughly 1%, while its digital branded business revenues gained 6%, and transactions added 12%.  Adjusted operating margins were higher to 20%, up from 16% a year ago.  Stablecoins offer an additional path for growth, according to company materials.

The Have Fun group sank 1.7%, led by Netflix, where shares dipped 8.7%.

Netflix is accelerating its investment in generative artificial intelligence across multiple business fronts, according to PYMNTS’ reporting. The announcement indicates Netflix is using Gen AI not only to assist in content production (e.g., storyboarding, editing) but also to enhance its advertising platform and user-experience personalization.

Enables Gain Ground

Enablers were 2.4% higher through the week, and Meta’s stock added 3%.

Meta is making a pivot in how it organizes its artificial intelligence unit, cutting roughly 600 roles in the AI group in a bid to “make it more agile,” as reported by PYMNTS. The roles targeted include parts of the FAIR AI research, product-AI and infrastructure segments. The newly formed TBD Lab is reportedly not affected.

Walmart’s stock was 1.4% lower, blunting some of the Shop pillar’s overall gains, which came in at 3.2%.

Walmart is upgrading its checkout and commerce infrastructure via conversational AI tools, allowing customers to shop, plan meals, restock essentials and check out via chat-interfaces.  The move is emblematic of a strategic push to fuse physical-store scale with digital convenience.