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CarMax Puts?

 Here is the number. Call in to listen to their just released quarterly report. You won't have to talk to anyone. It is 800-839-1247. In about five days this link will disappear. Please listen to it. I listened to all of it once and to the first half of it two times. What I learned is that their retail car sales on the quarter compared to the same quarter a year were up 6%. They purchased 336.000 vehicles from the public, up 7% and 48.000 from dealers up 38%. Their average retail sale price was $26,100, down $400.00 per vehicle from last year. They doubled their share buy back program. AI technologies are now helping them operate more efficiently. Everything seems positive. But wait, we are talking about  the used car business and what could happen if consumer confidence suddenly starts to wain? Look at it's three year chart. It now sees to be hitting a rough patch.  Now a one month chart.  All of this talk about tariffs and what level of tariffs will be imposed on n...
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Caterpillar Calls and Earning Reports

So the market tanked last Friday and tanked again on Monday to then rebounded on Tuesday. They are still down from where they were one week ago. Caterpillar released their second quarter earning's report this morning. Readers of my past blogs might know that the guidance offered for this most recent three month period of time was not particularly stellar. What I am referring to is the guidance offered after the release of companies first quarter earnings report earlier this year. Here now is the companies current financial highlights and two articles by writers with deeper insights than I have. I noted in my most previous blog how Deere, Boeing and Caterpillar have all tanked in the last week.
Did I know this was going to happen? Well commodity prices are not particluarly strong which indirectly affects their profit margins and rebuilding countries like Ukraine is not yet in the near term cards. Mentioned was the fact that sales to construction and resource industries declined. We kind of expected that. The big market crash last Friday coincided with the timing of Caterpillar's earning release. So many factors were in play. Here now is it's five day chart.
Now here is how one series of it's Calls traded on the day. What a nice bounce these options had.
Look a how low the trading volumes are. After the markets recent grubbing, and the fact that's it's summertime, no one seems to be in the mood to be buying one week or less Calls.

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