Breakfast News: “Siri, Time To Upgrade”
November 22, 2024
| Tuesday's Markets | |
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| S&P 500 5,949 (+0.53%) |
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| Nasdaq 18,972 (+0.03%) |
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| Dow 43,870 (+1.06%) |
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| Bitcoin $98,118 (+3.73%) |
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Source: Image created by Jester AI.
1. “LLM Siri”
13 years after it was integrated into the iPhone 4s, Apple (AAPL 0.20%) is in the process of developing a new Siri digital assistant, Bloomberg reports, one that incorporates more advanced large language model (LLM) features for back-and-forth conversations.
- "Apple has a long history of patience when it comes to new tech": Fool analyst Jason Moser recently noted "Internal studies at the company showed ChatGPT for example is 25% more accurate than the new & improved Siri & can answer 30% more questions than Apple's current offering... Tim Cook's philosophy of being not first but best has generally worked out pretty well."
- Push to compete with the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT: The ultimate winner(s) of the AI race stands to capitalize to perhaps unprecedented levels, which is why hyperscalers like Apple, Amazon (AMZN 0.01%), Alphabet (GOOGL -0.79%), and Meta (META -1.16%) have been investing so aggressively.
2. Beauty in The Eye of the Beholder
E.l.f Beauty (ELF -0.11%) has refuted Wednesday’s allegations made by short-seller Muddy Waters, which claimed the business inflated its inventory figures and overstated its revenue over the past three years, possibly by as much as $190 million.
- “Relying upon incomplete data and flawed assumptions”: E.l.f.’s management retorted the allegations were without merit, and used simply to negatively impact the stock for the short-sellers benefit.
- A different yellow flag noted: Fool analyst Kirsten Guerra commented the largest issue revealed during this sudden spat “might be the substantial offloading of share ownership by most major e.l.f. leaders in the last two years.” Talking of short-sellers…
3. Nuclear Stocks Sparking Interest
After Kerrisdale Capital revealed midweek it’s shorting the stock, Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup Oklo (OKLO -11.46%) soared 20% Thursday, bringing the year-to-date gains to 138% as investor interest around the sector picks up.
- Inorganic growth boosting progress: Yesterday, Oklo confirmed it plans to acquire Atomic Alchemy, in a move seen to help expand its product offering and fuel faster growth.
- Positive soundbites from COP29: Today sees the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) come to a close, with nuclear power in the spotlight. The U.S. confirmed it intends to triple nuclear power generation by 2050.
4. Next Up: Consumer in Focus
Today sees the release of the US Consumer Sentiment Index for November, with Gap (GAP 0.85%) results overnight potentially indicating strong consumer demand. A strong consumer supports higher GDP growth and lower unemployment, but spending can create inflationary pressures.
- Higher the better for sentiment gauge: The index is expected to climb from a reading of 73 last month to 73.7 this month, with a higher reading indicating more robust consumer appetite.
- Gaining market share across all brands: Gap stock is up almost 16% in pre-market trading following a fourth consecutive quarter of net sales growth. It raised the full-year outlook for sales, gross margin and operating income growth, indicating it expects the consumer to keep spending.
5. Foolish Fun
Sometimes the best place to park new money is in an existing winner. If you could only add to one of your existing holdings, which company would you double down on? Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!
