It’s 3 a.m. and you’re “Ubering” home from a late night out with the bros. Your stomach rumbles in search of something greasy to satisfy your monstrous appetite. Lucky for you, there is a McDonald’s at the upcoming intersection. In your heart of hearts, you know that dollar-menu cheeseburger will make you happier than any one-night stand, but then you realize the satisfaction of the fatty burger isn’t worth a morning run.
Read MoreToday's Most Important Apple Article
For the fourth consecutive quarter, Apple (AAPL) surpassed Wall Street's earnings expectations. In what has become habitual for America's largest company, Apple beat both earnings-per-share (EPS) and revenue estimates. After Monday's close, Apple reported Q2 EPS of $2.33 (vs. analyst expectations of $2.16) and reported Q2 revenue of $58.01B (vs. analyst expectations of $56.06B). Shares of Apple are already up over 20% YTD, and increased 1.5% in after-hours trading.
Read MoreLumber Liquidators' Big Gamble
of the most popular analyses include quarterly growth projections, P/E ratios, cash flows, debt/earnings balances, enterprise value (EV), and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Because of this, analysts spend innumerable hours deciphering what they believe to be the true market value of public entities.
Read MoreWall Street Hammers Chipotle
One of the most popular (and most traded) fast food restaurants, the Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), reported that its same-store sales (defined on a Y/Y basis) missed analyst expectations for Q1 2015 by 1.4%, thereby offsetting the company's otherwise impressive earnings results of $3.88/share on revenue of $1.09 billion. Although Chipotle’s same-store sales rose 10.4%, this metric fell far short of Wall Street’s expected 11.8% growth rate.
Read MoreInvestors Interested In "Breastaurants"
In 1983, six businessmen incorporated a new type of restaurant under the brand name “Hooters.” Since first opening in 1983, the Hooters franchise has experienced rapid growth, amassing peak revenues of $960 million in 2007. Now, while I won’t call the founders of Hooters “revolutionary” geniuses, they did nonetheless introduce a new form of dining experience to the restaurant industry, one based on greasy bar food and beautiful young women in crop tops.
Read MoreThree IPOs, One Clear Winner
So far this year, 43 companies have made their publicly traded debuts. As a whole, IPOs have experienced a solid year thus far, raising nearly $7 billion YTD and averaging returns of 22%. Last week alone, seven companies issued IPOs, including four companies trading at valuations of over $1 billion. Among them were popular online retailer Esty, which specializes in selling handmade goods, and high-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial (VIRT).
Read MoreSpoiled By Oil
In what has otherwise been a tumultuous year for the oil industry, some good news emerged this week as crude oil prices hit a new 2015 high. Since its $110 per barrel price in June 2014, Brent crude prices have crashed to below $50 per barrel; however, as of Wednesday, Brent crude bucked recent trends and ended the day at $64 per barrel. Unfortunately, this good news came at a cost.
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