Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
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 Illinois Tool Works’ (ITW) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is an industrial manufacturer operating across seven business segments, producing specialized components, equipment, and consumables for automakers, construction firms, semiconductor manufacturers, food service providers, and others. The company’s performance offers insights into industrial demand, global manufacturing trends, and capital spending across key markets. ITW closed its year out with record margins and free cash flow despite macro uncertainty. Automotive OEM outperformed industry builds, especially in China, where ITW gained market share in EVs. Semiconductor and electronics markets showed early signs of recovery, while construction remained soft due to weak housing starts. Food equipment saw strong service demand (+5%). ITW remains cautious on 2025 demand, forecasting 1-3% organic growth, but expects another 100 bps of margin expansion. Tariffs remain a watch item, but ITW is confident in its pricing power. ITW shares were flat on 2/5 after posting mixed results…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for ITW by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Yum! Brands (YUM)
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 Yum! Brands’ (YUM) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Yum! Brands (YUM) is one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, owning iconic fast-food chains KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger. With over 60,000 locations in 155 countries, the company operates a heavily franchised model. Digitally, YUM is a leader within the quick-service industry, with over 50% of system sales now coming through digital channels. In Q4, YUM delivered 5% system sales growth, despite headwinds in some international markets. Taco Bell US led the way, with 6% full-year system sales growth and strong consumer engagement, including the successful $7 Luxe Box and Decades platform. KFC International rebounded, with sales in the Middle East up 11% in Q4 after a tough year, while Africa and Latin America posted mid-to-high single-digit growth. Pizza Hut struggled in the US but improved internationally, with new digital-focused store concepts rolling out. YUM also introduced Bite by Yum!, a proprietary tech suite aimed at accelerating AI-driven personalization and digital sales, which grew 15% in 2024. After beating estimates, YUM shares climbed 9.7% on 2/6…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for YUM by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Walt Disney (DIS)
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 Walt Disney’s (DIS) Q1 2025 earnings call.
Walt Disney (DIS) is a global entertainment powerhouse spanning film, television, streaming, theme parks, and consumer products. Its content empire includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and ESPN, making it a dominant force in storytelling and media. DIS’s Q1 2025 results were indicative of streaming growth and solid momentum in its parks and experiences going forward. The company had the top three films of 2024 at the global box office and continued subscriber growth for Disney+ and Hulu, despite recent price hikes. ESPN’s transition to digital took center stage, with plans to launch its flagship streaming service in the fall, bundling it with Disney+ and Hulu. Parks and cruises performed well, with bookings up for the summer. Cost-cutting remains a priority, with content spending trimmed to $23 billion. DIS is betting on AI and personalization to improve its streaming experience, while ESPN’s 24/7 live content positions it strongly in an evolving sports media landscape. On mixed results, DIS shares fell 2.4% on 2/5…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for DIS by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Uber (UBER)
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 Uber’s (UBER) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Uber (UBER) is in the mobility and delivery services business, operating a platform that connects riders, drivers, and merchants in over 70 countries. The company provides ride-hailing, food delivery (Uber Eats), freight logistics, and expanding autonomous vehicle partnerships. In Q4, gross bookings rose 21% YoY, exceeding expectations, while Uber One membership grew 60% YoY to 30 million. Expansion into less dense markets and investments in driver incentives helped mobility gross bookings grow 24% YoY. Uber Eats saw merchant count rise 16%, strengthening its grocery ambitions. On autonomous vehicles, Uber reinforced its role as a go-to-market partner but said commercialization will take longer. Insurance costs remain a challenge, but price moderation is expected in 2025. Despite better-than-expected results, UBER fell 7.5% on 2/5…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for UBER by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Spotify (SPOT)
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 Spotify’s (SPOT) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Spotify (SPOT) is the world’s largest music streaming platform with over 100 million tracks, 6 million podcasts, and a growing library of audiobooks that it offers to its active users (MAUs). The company pioneered the freemium model, allowing users to stream music for free with ads or subscribe to premium tiers for an ad-free experience. SPOT closed 2024 on a high note, reporting record-breaking monthly active users (675M, +35M QoQ) and premium subscribers (263M, +11M QoQ). AI-driven product enhancements and expanded video podcast offerings fueled engagement, with over 330,000 video podcasts now on the platform. The annual Wrapped campaign saw 245M+ users participate, driving brand visibility and subscriber growth. While ad revenue rose 6% YoY, Spotify admitted it was late in shifting to programmatic ads but expects momentum in 2025. Price increases remain key, and a new “super fan” tier is in development. CEO Daniel Ek dubbed 2025 the “year of accelerated execution,” emphasizing speed in product innovation and monetization. On mixed results, SPOT shares rose 13.2% on 2/4…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for SPOT by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 2/10/25 – Chaotic?
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.
“To become good at anything you have to know how to apply basic principles. To become great at it, you have to know when to violate those principles.” – Garry Kasparov
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
US equities sold off throughout the trading session on Friday on concerns that there would be another round of tariff headlines over the weekend that would send stocks lower to kick off the week. Well, we did get another round of tariff headlines (25% tariff on all steel imports to the US and the potential for reciprocal tariffs later in the week). Still, equity futures have taken the news in stride so far, and the major averages are all indicated to open with gains of between 0.4% and 0.7%. As the Super Bowl showed us last night, while the Chiefs were favored and everyone was expecting a close game, outcomes don’t always match expectations.
For just about everyone on the planet, it’s been nearly impossible to stay on top of everything going on in Washington over the last few weeks. And for those who have been trying to keep up, it’s been exhausting. In the Old Testament, even God rested on the seventh day! Since the Inauguration, though, whether you love or hate him, we can all agree that President Trump’s second term has started with a nonstop fire hose of news and headlines.
Amid the backdrop of a nonstop news flow, the market has been surprisingly calm. Over the last 100 trading days, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has traded in a relatively narrow range of less than 10%, and Friday’s close was essentially right where the market was just days after the election.
10% may sound like a wide range, but it ranks in just the 13th percentile of all 100-trading day periods dating back to SPY’s inception in 1993. Back in Covid, this reading spiked above 50% and during the Financial Crisis, it widened even more, peaking above 75%!
In the post-Covid era, the current narrow range is even more extreme. As shown in the chart below, there have only been two other times when the 100-trading day range dipped below 10%, and the current level of 9.4% is the lowest of any of them. Let this be a word of advice, the market may seem volatile now, but you can guarantee that things will get more volatile in the weeks ahead.
Brunch Reads – 2/9/25
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.
Wartime Work: On February 9th, 1943, in the midst of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took decisive action to ramp up the nation’s industrial output. He signed an executive order mandating a minimum 48-hour work week in key war industries, ensuring that American factories could keep up with the relentless demand for weapons, ammunition, and military supplies. With millions of men fighting overseas, the government had already enlisted women, older workers, and even teenagers to fill gaps in the workforce. However, some industries were still struggling to meet quotas. While labor unions initially resisted extending workweeks, many ultimately accepted the decision as a necessary sacrifice for the war. Roosevelt’s directive was part of a broader wartime economic strategy that saw the US emerge as the “Arsenal of Democracy.” By the war’s end, America had produced an astonishing volume of planes, ships, and tanks, outpacing Axis powers and helping to secure victory.
AI & Technology
Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Working on a Custom Chatbot Called GSAi (WIRED)
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is fast-tracking the rollout of AI across federal agencies, spearheading efforts to create “GSAi”, a custom AI chatbot for the General Services Administration. Part of Trump’s AI-first strategy, it would help automate government workflows, analyze massive procurement data, and boost efficiency. However, there are concerns over security risks and the rushed implementation. While Musk’s team initially considered using Google Gemini, they opted to build an in-house system instead. [Link]
Continue reading our weekly Brunch Reads linkfest by logging in if you’re already a member or signing up for a trial to one of our two membership levels shown below! You can cancel at any time.
Bespoke Report – 2/7/25 – Five Years Ago
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 review price action this week, the jobs report, earnings season results so far, and look back at the five years since COVID dealt a massive shock to markets, economies, governments, and societies across the world.
Daily Sector Snapshot — 2/7/25
Go Chiefs
As Super Bowl LIX approaches, Americans are quickly finalizing party plans for Sunday, and this year’s spread of just 1.5 points suggests that Sunday’s game could come down to the final seconds. Not only is this year’s Super Bowl expected to be close, but it will also break what is a tie in each conference’s total number of Super Bowl wins at 29 each. In the early years of the Super Bowl, the AFC dominated, but a 13-year drought from Super Bowl XIX to Super Bowl XXXI put the NFC comfortably in the lead.
After Super Bowl XXXI, the NFC had won 7 more Super Bowls than the AFC, which was its widest ever margin. Since then, there has been much more parity between the two conferences where neither has seen a wide cumulative advantage.
Now for the important stuff. Which teams winning the Super Bowl have historically had the most positive and negative impact on the market? The table below lists every team that has won a Super Bowl (20) along with how many each team won and how the S&P 500 performed for the remainder of the year after each team won. With four championships up to this point, the Chiefs are tied with the Packers and Giants for fifth overall, but if they win Sunday, they will move into a tie with the 49ers and Cowboys for third place overall. The Eagles, meanwhile, are one of five teams with just one Super Bowl championship, and if they win on Sunday, they’ll join four other teams (Colts, Ravens, Rams, and Dolphins) with two each.
In terms of market performance, in the four prior years when the Chiefs won, the S&P 500’s average performance for the remainder of the year was a gain of 12.4% with positive returns 75% of the time. Regarding the Eagles, their only win was in Super Bowl LII in February 2018. After that win, the S&P 500 fell by over 9% through year end. Unfortunately, this year’s game isn’t between the 49ers and the Steelers. Both teams have won at least five Super Bowls over the years, and the S&P 500 has traded higher for the remainder of the year after every one of their wins!
In addition to looking at market performance following which team wins the Super Bowl, we also looked at forward returns following different scenarios in the game. While the S&P 500 has rallied an average of 12.4% after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, after their two losses, the S&P 500 rallied an average of 18.4%! Overall, though, the best scenario for a bull is a high-scoring game. As shown in the chart, in years when the loser scores at least 28 points, the winner scores at least 35, the total is at least 60, or it’s a blowout (21+ points), the S&P 500’s average rest of year gain has been at least 10%. Conversely, in those years when the total is less than 31, the winner scores less than 21, or the loser scores less than 8, the average rest-of-year performance for the S&P 500 was +5.7% or less.
It should go without saying that the score of the game or even who wins has zero impact on how the stock market will perform for the remainder of the year, but some of these online betting platforms have some even crazier bets people can make. At least these figures will give you something to talk about if the game or commercials start to get boring! Enjoy another Super Bowl Sunday!
