By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
It’s now time for some today’s trending tickers. We are watching shares of First Solar, Yum Brands, and Volkswagen. First up, First Solar tumbling after cutting its first year net sales guidance, the company’s CEO noting significant challenges from President Trump’s tariffs that he says weren’t expected at the start of the year. Analysts at KeyBank downgraded the stock to underweight, noting that the company’s overseas manufacturing exposure is larger than they initially thought. Jay Woods still here with me to break it down. So not the first company to cut guidance off of worries about tariff policies here, but you make an interesting point about how you look at solar in general.
00:39 Jay Woods
Yeah. Well, you knew coming into the Trump administration that this was not going to be one of those areas of focus, uh, there he’s not looking to help these, you know, clean energy stocks by any stretch of the imagination. And for solar, if you look at it historically, you know, technically, every every rally unfortunately has been an opportunity to sell stock, and the stock is now going towards its 52 week low around 116 and a half. It’s down 29% for the year. We had a nice rally last week in the solar stocks. There was some positive news there. Um, but unfortunately, the guidance, as expected anywhere, is cloudy, you know. And, uh, we’re not, uh, you know, not a believer that this story and solar stocks are going to turn around anytime soon, unfortunately.
01:34 Speaker A
Yeah, awaiting clarity is the name of the game here. But next up, Yum Brands. Revenue falling short of the street’s expectations in a mixed first quarter as Pizza Hut’s same store sales fell more than anticipated. The pizza chain’s performance was weakest in the US where same store sales slid 5%. Taco Bell meantime a standout during the quarter with same store sales up 9%. Despite the revenue miss, Yum Brands beat estimates for adjusted earnings per share. You can see their shares down about half a percent right now. Really interesting takes on the consumer here because the Taco Bell strength could potentially be a recession indicator, people. I mean, they you can get a lot for not a lot of money at a Taco Bell.
02:21 Jay Woods
Taco Bell is a staple, uh, you know, especially for those college students, late nights. But, uh, yeah, and a Pizza Hut. I haven’t seen a Pizza Hut in ages. That brings me back to my childhood. But Yum Brands overall, uh, not as bad as people anticipate. They did have a solid quarter. They’re doing well internationally, uh, where people were a little surprised in that, okay, this anti-American sentiment maybe will stop going to these American brands, but they’ve they’ve been doing all right. And then in the consumer staples sector, they’re holding their own weight. It’s it’s a dip here, but given the uncertainty everywhere else, I don’t think Yum Brands is a bad place to be right now. Um, of course the guidance is going to be rosy like we discussed with every stock we mentioned today. Who knows what we’re doing? But the these staples do well. The Taco Brand Bell, uh, Taco Bell brand is, uh, is one not to mess with. And, uh, those results are solid. So Yum Brands is not a bad place to kind of hide and avoid some of this overall volatility in the market.
03:46 Speaker A
Yeah, admit amongst the consumer names, maybe it’s one that has a touch of resilience to your point there. Let’s look at Volkswagen though, reporting a 37% drop in operating profit in the first quarter as the auto industry attempts to navigate President Trump’s tariffs. In its forward guidance, the car maker says it expects its net cash flow to come in on the lower end of annual forecasts thanks to political uncertainty, none else. On Tuesday, President Trump signed an order easing some auto tariffs, though a 25% levy on all vehicles imported into the US will remain. Tariffs on auto part imports set to begin by May 3rd will also go forward as planned. The stock down nearly 30% at the moment, but that over 30% drop in Q1 profit in a quarter where some others in the space potentially benefited from pull forward, that’s not necessarily a great signal.
04:44 Jay Woods
No, that’s not a good signal at all. I mean, when people are rushing out to buy their autos, Volkswagen unfortunately wasn’t on the top of their list. And the sector right now is a total avoid. Uh, even when we get clarity, uh, the margins are just too thin. It’s not the biggest growth industry, if you will. Uh, I know Tesla is a standout there, and that’s more of a power generation story than an auto story. But, uh, you know, no surprise on the guide, still waiting to get that certainty. I mean, the fact that we have GM maybe giving guidance tomorrow, waiting 48 hours, is a sign of what these, you know, CEOs at these auto dealers are dealing with. So for me, uh, the auto sector is an avoid, and it’s not a surprise to see Volkswagen down 3% today.
05:42 Speaker A
All right, Jay. Thanks so much. Great insights, as always. And you can scan the QR code to track the best and worst performing stocks on Yahoo Finances trending tickers page.