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Used car dealer CarMax (NYSE: KMX), which is no longer part of the S&P 500, beat earnings by six cents this morning, reporting a Q3 profit of $0.43 per share. Sales were about $100 million better than expected at $5.8 billion.
Heading into Q4, CarMax interim CEO David McCreight says he aims to grow sales by sacrificing some profit margin (i.e. lowering used car prices) and increasing spending on ads relative to last year’s Q4. Marketing costs may decline sequentially against this year’s Q3, however.
Investors seem to like the sound of that — more sales and sequentially-falling marketing costs — and CarMax stock is up about 1.5% in early trading.
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Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), also an S&P 500 component, missed earnings by three cents this morning, reporting a fiscal Q2 2026 profit of $2.08 per share. Sales for the quarter were slightly better than expected, however, at $3.1 billion.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
Inflation grew much more slowly than expected last month, as revealed in a just-released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
November’s inflation rate was only 2.7%, not the 3.1% predicted by economists. “Core” CPI, which does not count changes in food and energy prices, grew only 2.6%, which was also less than the predicted 3%.
Investors are pleased with the news, and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is up 0.8% premarket.
Why are investors pleased? Recall that the Federal Reserve has two so-called “mandates.” When setting interest rates, it attempts to (1) control inflation and (2) promote full employment. With inflation growing less than expected, the Fed will have more freedom to focus on its second mission: helping the economy grow by lowering interest rates without worrying that a looser monetary policy might allow inflation to get out of control.
Long story short, a cool inflation report increases the likelihood of another interest rate cut in January. That’s generally viewed as good news for the stock market, and this explains today’s positive move on the Voo.
Earnings
In earnings news, S&P 500 component company Micron (Nasdaq: MU) beat earnings by 84 cents last night. Micron reported a $4.78 per share profit for its fiscal Q1 2026, on sales of $13.6 billion, which was also better than expected.
Micron also guided higher for Q2. Earnings may rise as high as $8.42 per share, well ahead of consensus forecasts for $4.49, with strong sales of $18.7 billion. Micron stock is soaring, up more than 14% premarket.
A second S&P 500 company, Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) reported earnings this morning and beat by a penny. The uniform supply company earned $1.21 in its fiscal Q2, and edged out revenue projections with sales of $2.8 billion.
Guidance was strong, with Cintas forecasting full-year profit between $4.81 and $4.88 per share. Sales may be a bit weaker than expected, at roughly $11.1 billion, but investors seem willing to overlook that flaw. Cintas stock is up 3% premarket.
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