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Apple's iPhone 17 exceeded sales expectations by 14%, particularly in the U.S. and China, giving the company's stock a 1.5% boost in premarket trading and setting a new high for 2025. This jump reverses Amazon's poor performance this year as they remain the only member of the Magnificent 7 in negative territory.
With robust demand driven by value-added improvements and effective promotional tactics, will Apple's success translate into even bigger gains during their upcoming earning reports? All of this amid Alcoa partnering with the U.S. and Australia to develop a new gallium plant to help secure domestic supply chains.
In today's financial recap:
iPhone 17 sales shatter records, boosting Apple stock
AWS outage disrupts Robinhood, Venmo, and other services
Alcoa to build gallium plant with U.S. and Australia
L'Oréal acquires Kering Beauty for €4 billion
iPhone 17 Shatters Sales Records, Boosts Apple
The TradeWatch: Apple’s iPhone 17 outperformed its predecessor by 14% in initial sales, primarily in the U.S. and China, fueling a 1.5% premarket stock surge and hitting a new high for 2025.
Unpacked:
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 17 model outsold the iPhone 16, proving that consumers will respond positively to value-added improvements at the same price point.
Apple’s iPhone 17’s better chip, improved display, higher base storage, and upgraded selfie camera contributed to heightened consumer demand.
Strong iPhone 17 Max demand in the U.S., boosted by carrier discounts, suggests effective promotional strategies can significantly accelerate sales.
Bottom line: The iPhone 17’s success indicates Apple’s strength in key markets and suggests a positive outlook for upcoming earnings reports. This performance underscores the importance of strategic upgrades and price competitiveness in driving consumer adoption and market value.
AWS Outage Hammers Fintech: Robinhood, Venmo Down
The TradeWatch: Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage, thereby disrupting services for fintech giants like Robinhood and Venmo and highlighting vulnerabilities in cloud-dependent trading and payments infrastructure.
Unpacked:
Several major websites, including Robinhood and Venmo, experienced outages after cloud platform Amazon Web Services experienced major outages early Monday.
The outage affected several Amazon services, including Alexa, and it also reportedly created disruptions for Disney+, Lyft, the New York Times, Reddit, Ring, Snapchat, Reddit, Ring, T-Mobile, United Airlines, Verizon, gaming site Fortnite, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Epic Games Store, AI model Perplexity and the McDonalds app.
Shares of Amazon were little-changed in premarket trading however, the shares have lost 3% since the start of the year, making Amazon the only member of the Magnificent 7 group of major technology stocks to be in negative territory in 2025.
Bottom line: The AWS outage serves as a reminder of the concentration risk in cloud computing and the potential for single points of failure to disrupt critical financial services. Financial institutions must consider diversifying their infrastructure to mitigate such risks in the future.
Alcoa to Build Gallium Plant with US and Australia
The TradeWatch: Alcoa is partnering with the U.S. and Australian governments to develop a new gallium plant at its Wagerup alumina refinery in Western Australia, aiming to bolster semiconductor and AI tech supply chains.
Unpacked:
The new gallium plant addresses concerns over critical mineral supply, particularly in the face of rising tensions with China.
This collaboration signifies a strategic move to secure the supply of gallium, a key component in semiconductors and advanced technologies.
Alcoa’s involvement highlights the increasing importance of the materials sector in supporting technological innovation and reducing reliance on potentially unstable foreign sources.
Bottom line: This project represents a significant investment in strengthening domestic supply chains for critical materials. It also underscores the growing intersection between geopolitics, technology, and the materials sector.
L’Oréal Acquires Kering Beauty for €4 Billion
The TradeWatch: L’Oréal has announced plans to buy Kering Beauty, including brands like Creed and the coveted Gucci fragrance license, in a transformative €4 billion deal.
Unpacked:
L’Oréal will assume a 50-year exclusive license for Gucci fragrances after 2028, a significant, long-term win for its luxury division.
Citi analysts described Kering’s move as unexpected since Kering had been developing in-house beauty plans, but see strong potential for L’Oréal to boost Gucci’s prestige in fragrances.
Barclays points out that Kering Beauty’s EBITDA margins are nearly double those of L’Oréal Luxe, giving L’Oréal a direct profitability uplift in the niche perfume market.
Bottom line: This deal reshapes the luxury beauty landscape, giving L’Oréal control over some of fashion’s most valuable fragrance licenses and setting up future growth in the high-end segment.
The Shortlist
Coca-Cola extends its dividend record, as analysts highlight KO and Constellation Brands among top stocks for income seekers.
L’Oréal impresses analysts with its Kering Beauty acquisition, expanding its luxury fragrance portfolio including major brands.
Bitcoin rallies 25% to surpass $111,000, leading crypto stocks higher as markets rebound from the October sell-off.
Cheers,
— Michael & the TradeWatch.io editorial team
