The Closer – NVDA Earnings, GSEs, Shorts – 5/28/25
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Looking for deeper insight into markets? In tonight’s Closer sent to Bespoke Institutional clients, we kick off with a rundown of the long awaited NVIDIA (NVDA) earnings (page 1). We also recap the Fed Minutes (page 2) in addition to some commentary regarding GSEs like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (pages 3 and 4). After updating our Five Fed Manufacturing Composite (page 5), we round out tonight’s report with a look into the change in short interest levels (page 6).
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Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Dick’s Sporting Goods’ (DKS) Q1 2025 earnings call.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) is the largest US-based full-line sporting goods retailer, offering athletic apparel, footwear, equipment, and outdoor gear through its core banners: DICK’S, Golf Galaxy, Public Lands, and specialty concepts like House of Sport and Field House. Serving athletes of all ages, DKS caters to a broad consumer base prioritizing fitness, team sports, and wellness. Its growing omnichannel capabilities, experiential store formats, and digital platforms like GameChanger and the DICK’S Media Network give it unique insight into youth sports and evolving consumer engagement. DKS delivered 4.5% comp growth for the fifth straight quarter, driven by strength across footwear, apparel, and team sports. Average ticket rose 3.7%, transactions were up 0.8%, and e-commerce growth outpaced overall growth. Management reaffirmed guidance despite tariff uncertainty, citing strong pricing control. Key growth areas include expanding experiential formats (House of Sport and Field House), accelerating digital sales, and scaling GameChanger and the Media Network. The newly announced $1.1B acquisition of Foot Locker was also a hot topic on the call. Despite missing estimates, the stock was up 6% at the open on 5/28, but fell intraday, giving up most of the gains…
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Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: AutoZone (AZO)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers AutoZone’s (AZO) Q3 2025 earnings call.
AutoZone (AZO) is the largest retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, serving both professional mechanics and do-it-yourself (DIY) customers. With over 7,000 stores across the US, Mexico, and Brazil, it provides everything from batteries and brake pads to diagnostic tools and repair advice. AutoZone operates a hybrid retail-commercial model, with hub and mega hub stores that enable rapid parts delivery. The company offers insight into consumer vehicle maintenance habits, used car market dynamics, and macro trends in aftermarket automotive demand. AZO’s Q3 results highlighted a strong rebound in commercial sales, up 10.7%, and a steady 3% increase in DIY comps, its best retail growth since FY22. The company is aggressively expanding its mega hub footprint (now at 119 locations) and opened two new US distribution centers for faster deliveries. Discretionary DIY categories remain pressured, but core maintenance and failure parts are growing. Tariffs are a watch item, but management believes mitigation strategies will preserve margins. AZO beat top-line estimates, but came up short of the mark on EPS, and the stock fell 3.8% on 5/27…
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Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 5/28/25 – Here Comes Nvidia
See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.
“Most ways of making big money take a long time. By the time one has made the money one is too old to enjoy it.” – Ian Fleming
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
Today’s the day. The second most valuable company in the world, and the most important company when it comes to AI, reports after the close, and there will be a lot of attention on what Nvidia (NVDA) has to say when the company reports. Ahead of this afternoon’s report, it’s so quiet in the futures market, you can hear a pin drop as markets digest Tuesday’s big gains to kick off the week. The only economic report on the calendar this morning is the Richmond Fed Manufacturing report at 10 AM, while the Minutes of the last FOMC meeting will hit the wires at 2 PM Eastern. While NVDA is this afternoon’s main earnings event, we’ll also get reports from HP (HPQ) and Salesforce (CRM).
Heading into this afternoon’s report from NVDA, the stock has had a wild ride. Although it’s trading right at levels it was at a year ago, the stock has been all over the place, trading from above $140 late last spring to just above $90 early last August. From there, it rallied back to new highs and above $150, but less than two months ago, it was back below $90 amid the chaos of the Liberation Day tariffs. Then, yesterday, it closed back up near $140. For a large-cap stock to see back-and-forth fluctuations of declines over 35% followed by gains of over 60% is wild enough, but when swings like this occur in what is one of the most valuable companies in the world from a market cap perspective, it’s nuts.
The Closer – Consumers, Manufacturing, AI Survey – 5/27/25
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Looking for deeper insight into markets? In tonight’s Closer sent to Bespoke Institutional clients, we start tonight with a look at the big rebound in equity prices and how that affects S&P 500 technicals (page 1). We then preview the latest Consumer Confidence data (page 2) and the Dallas Fed’s regional manufacturing data (page 3). We also dive into the survey’s special questions regarding AI (pages 4 and 5) before capping off with a rundown into durable goods and home prices (page 6).
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Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 5/27/25 – Fuzzy Logic
See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.
“Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad.” – Henry Kissinger
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
After President Trump ‘truthed’ comments last Friday morning threatening to lay 25% tariffs on iPhones imported into the US and 50% tariffs on goods imported from the EU, the S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq declined 1%, helping to contribute to the worst week for the S&P 500 since April. Over the weekend, President Trump dialed back on some of his threats from Friday, saying he would delay the threatened 50% tariff on EU imports from June 1st to July 9th. When futures opened for trading following the weekend break, futures rallied on the news, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on pace to gap up 1.4% to kick off the week. If you’re following along at home, we went from no threat of a 50% tariff at the close on Thursday afternoon to the threat of a 50% tariff beginning on July 9th, and the S&P 500 is up a net of roughly 0.7% relative to where it was at the close on Thursday. With that kind of logic, you can see why the President keeps dialing up the threats and walking them back!
The S&P 500’s 2.5% decline last week continued a global trend that has been in place all year between US and international stocks. While the S&P 500 fell, every other G7 equity ETF finished the week higher, adding on to what have already been big gains for the year. As shown in the snapshot below, besides Japan, every other G7 equity ETF is up by double-digit percentages YTD, even as the S&P 500 remains fractionally in the red. SPY is also the only ETF of the ones listed that didn’t finish last week at overbought levels, although that will change at the open today.
Brunch Reads – 5/25/25
Welcome to Bespoke Brunch Reads — a linkfest of some of our favorite articles over the past week. The links are mostly market-related, but there are some other interesting subjects covered as well. We hope you enjoy the food for thought as a supplement to the research we provide you during the week.
May the Force Be With You: On May 25, 1977, Star Wars premiered in just 32 theaters across the US. No one, not even creator George Lucas, could have predicted the scale of what was about to unfold. With little marketing and modest studio expectations, the film relied on word of mouth. But as lines wrapped around blocks and theaters scrambled to add more screens, it became clear this wasn’t just a movie. It was an event.
What set Star Wars apart was how it blended classic mythology, cutting-edge special effects, and a lived-in sci-fi world that felt unlike anything audiences had ever seen. Viewers were swept into a galaxy of rebels, princesses, smugglers, and Jedi, following the journey of a young Luke Skywalker. The film’s success flipped Hollywood’s model on its head, showing that merchandising, sequels, and massive fan engagement could be the engine of modern moviemaking.
That Memorial Day weekend, Star Wars exploded. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of its time, and its cultural impact is still as strong as ever decades later
AI & Technology
Still booting after all these years: The people stuck using ancient Windows computers (BBC News)
Half a century into Microsoft’s reign, its oldest ghosts still haunt the modern world, running elevators, controlling ATMs, and powering trains via software that predates many of their passengers. Despite the company’s push into AI and cloud computing, ancient Windows systems like XP, 2000, and even MS-DOS are still embedded in global infrastructure, thanks to high upgrade costs, institutional inertia, and machines too valuable, or finicky, to modernize. From hospitals and railways to art studios and woodshops, Windows has become less a brand than a background hum of civilization, obsolete, indispensable, and almost impossible to escape. [Link]
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The Bespoke Report — 5/23/25
To read our weekly Bespoke Report newsletter and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform offers, start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. In this week’s report, we cover everything happening across financial markets heading into the long Memorial Day weekend.
Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Deckers Outdoor (DECK)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Deckers Outdoor’s (DECK) Q4 2025 earnings call.
Deckers Outdoor (DECK) is the parent company behind lifestyle and performance footwear brands, including HOKA and UGG, both of which have grown into category leaders in recent years. HOKA is known for its highly cushioned performance running shoes with growing traction in trail, road, and lifestyle, while UGG has evolved from a cold-weather staple into a year-round fashion and comfort brand. The company sells globally through both direct-to-consumer (e-commerce and retail) and wholesale channels. DECK closed out its fiscal year with revenue of $5 billion (+16% YoY), driven by strong growth from HOKA (+24% to $2.2B) and UGG (+13% to $2.5B). Management highlighted a deliberate wholesale expansion to capitalize on rising HOKA awareness, especially internationally in EMEA and China. New HOKA models like the Bondi 9 and Clifton 10 have been met with strong reception, with new launches upcoming (Rocket X 3, Arahi 8, Mafate 5). DECK expects up to $150M in added costs in fiscal 2026 due to tariffs, prompting cautious commentary on pricing power and potential demand pressure. The company beat estimates on the top and bottom lines, but the stock tumbled as much as 22.8% on 5/23 on guidance that spooked investors…
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Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) Q1 2025 earnings call.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is a premium home furnishings and kitchenware retailer with a portfolio of distinct brands like Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, and emerging concepts like Rejuvenation and GreenRow. Its customer base ranges from style-conscious homeowners to institutional buyers, and the company provides valuable insight into US housing trends, discretionary consumer spending, and premium retail behavior. WSM delivered a +3.4% comp in Q1, outperforming an industry that declined about 3%, with positive comps across all brands. Furniture sales turned positive for the first time in nine quarters, aided by exclusive collaborations and newness. B2B grew 8%, and emerging brands like Rejuvenation posted double-digit comps. Despite 30% China tariffs and new global reciprocal tariffs, WSM reaffirmed guidance, citing a six-point mitigation plan and inventory pull-forwards. AI integration drove marketing and fulfillment gains, while supply chain efficiencies led to record on-time deliveries. The stock fell 4.4% on 5/22 despite beating expectations on the top and bottom lines…
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