Raphael Stevens

In this articleTPRCustomers walk past a Coach store at Shanghai New World Daimaru department store on August 12, 2019 in Shanghai, China.VCG | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesCoach owner Tapestry said Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter sales in North America returned to pre-pandemic levels, as demand for luxury goods rebounds from 2020 lows.Chief Executive Joanne Crevoiserat said the latest results “significantly outpaced expectations,” boosted by Tapestry’s online business and heightened demand for its purses, shoes and other accessories in Asia.Its stock jumped more than 1% in premarket trading. Here’s how the company did for the quarter ended March 27, compared with what analysts were anticipating, based on a polling by Refinitiv:Earnings per share: 51 cents adjusted vs. 31 cents expectedRevenue: $1.27 billion vs. $1.22 billion expectedTapestry’s net income for the fiscal third quarter climbed to $91.7 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $677.1 million, or $2.45 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, Tapestry earned 51 cents per share, better than the 31 cents that analysts had forecast, using Refinitiv.Net sales rose 19% to $1.27 billion from $1.07 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.22 billion.The high-end handbag maker that also owns Kate Spade reported a triple-digit revenue increase in Mainland China compared with 2020 levels, and 40% growth compared with 2019.Sales at the Coach banner were up 25% compared with 2020 levels, and flat compared with the same period in 2019. Kate Spade grew 1% from 2020, and was down 10% compared with 2019. Sales at Stuart Weitzman were up 13% compared with a year earlier, but on a two-year basis dropped 33%.The company said it is not providing detailed guidance for fiscal 2021. But assuming a continued recovery in its business coming out of the pandemic, it said it now expects revenue for the fiscal year to increase at a mid-teens rate. Analysts had been looking for year-over-year sales growth of 10%, according to Refinitiv.”While the environment remains volatile, we see encouraging signs of recovery as vaccination efforts progress, resulting in increased consumer confidence, strong demand for our categories, and improving in-store traffic trends,” Crevoiserat said.Tapestry shares are up about 55% year to date. The company has a market cap of $13.5 billion.Find the full earnings press release from Tapestry here. More

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — The European Union has said it is ready to discuss the waiving of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, after the United States announced it supports the initiative.The proposed patent-waiver — designed to boost the global production of Covid-19 vaccines — has proved divisive for European lawmakers, with some supporting the move, while others have fiercely opposed it. Supporters of the idea say it is critical to ramp up vaccination rates in low-income nations. Until now, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has expressed doubts about the waiving of the IP rights.However on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said her team was open “to discuss any proposals that address the crisis in an effective and pragmatic manner.””That is why we are ready to discuss how the U.S. proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines could help achieve that objective,” she said during a speech.It comes after the White House announced Wednesday that it was in favour of lifting IP rights, citing the “extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.”The move caused shares of major pharmaceutical firms that have developed Covid-19 shots to sink.However, the announcement was praised by the World Health Organization, with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the U.S. decision was a “monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19.”The GAVI vaccine alliance also welcomed President Joe Biden’s stance, saying it recognizes “the significance of the administration’s commitment to work towards increasing raw material production.”Landmark proposalThe landmark proposal to waive the IP rights was jointly submitted to the World Trade Organization by India and South Africa in October, however, a handful of countries have blocked the proposal. These include the U.K., Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the EU and — until now — the United States.”In the short run, however, we call upon all vaccine producing countries to allow export and to avoid measures that disrupt the supply chains,” von der Leyen said on Thursday.The EU has praised itself for being the top exporter of Covid-19 vaccines, while also criticizing countries such as the U.K. for not taking similar action.A medical worker prepares a syringe with AstraZeneca vaccine at a local community sports hall converted into a vaccination centre in Ventspils, Latvia.GINTS IVUSKANS | AFP | Getty Images”While others keep their vaccine production for themselves, Europe is the main exporter of vaccines worldwide. So far, more than 200 million doses of vaccines produced in Europe have been shipped to the rest of the world,” von der Leyen said.The EU, a group of 27 nations, experienced a slow start to its vaccine rollout, however inoculations have steadily increased and the bloc is expecting to have 70% of its adults vaccinated by July.”The U.S. has a similar goal. This shows how much our vaccination campaigns have aligned,” von der Leyen added.The latest data show that Israel, the U.K., the U.S and Chile are leading the way when it comes to the number of Covid-19 shots administered so far. However, the figures also show that inoculation rates in the EU are significantly above the world’s average, which was not the case some weeks ago. More

In this articlePZZASignage outside a Papa John’s International pizza restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesPapa John’s first-quarter earnings topped expectations as the pizza chain held on to the momentum it saw during the coronavirus pandemic, even as the country reopens for business.The stock was down 2.7% in Thursday’s premarket after the earnings announcement.Pizza was a tried-and-true bet for many consumers who were seeking familiar and convenient foods for delivery in the early days of the health crisis. But thanks in part to menu innovations like Epic Stuffed Crust pizza, the company’s sales are still growing. Papa John’s also been working to improve its operations and has hired more than 30,000 workers over the last year.Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:Adjusted Earnings per share: 90 cents vs. 56 cents estimatedRevenue: $511.7 million vs. $471 million estimatedFor the quarter ended March 28, net income rose to $33.9 million, or 82 cents per share, from $8.4 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding items, Papa John’s earned 90 cents per share, far exceeding earnings of 56 cents per share expected by analysts.Revenue rose nearly 25% to $511.7 million from $409.9 million a year earlier, outpacing estimates of $471 million.In North America, same-store sales rose 26.2%, beating the gain of 14.6% estimated by analysts. Its international business was also strong, with same-store sales rising 23.2% in the quarter, above the 17.4% increase projected.CEO Rob Lynch said the sustained strength in its business is thanks to a strategy put in place in 2019 to focus on innovation, development, improving operations and building an inclusive company culture.”We’ve accelerated those strategies throughout the pandemic,” Lynch told CNBC. “Q1 has been the culmination of all of those things, amplified by the launch of Epic Stuffed Crust. It has been a huge success for our system, bringing in a whole new wave of customers, exceeding our expectations and increasing our ticket average, because it’s a premium pizza.”The item is the latest launched during Lynch’s tenure as CEO. Other examples include the Papadias sandwiches and Shaq-a-Roni pizza, a nod to board member and franchisee Shaquille O’Neill.According to Lynch, Papa John’s has been promoting its new items for longer periods than expected due to positive consumer responses. There’s a pipeline of innovative products to come, he said, as tests continue.While inflation talk runs rampant, commodity costs are not as big of a factor for the brand, Lynch said. Supply availability and labor shortages are bigger issues.”Raw material supply has been a bit challenging, and it’s driven, at least from what our suppliers are telling us, primarily by the lack of labor to be able to process the materials,” he said, citing chicken wings as one example.Papa John’s has hired tens of thousands of workers as its sales have grown. To retain workers, it has offered special front-line bonuses and incremental health-care benefits.Papa John’s is not yet offering a full-year forecast due to uncertainty around the pandemic.Sales were strong in April, Lynch said, adding that the company is confident it will deliver same-store sales growth in the second quarter that is flat to slightly positive in North America compared with last year. The increase is notable given that it is lapping growth of nearly 30% in the year-ago period.Stores in domestic markets that are reopening are still seeing demand that is at or above markets that have been restricted, Lynch said. The company is seeing similar patterns in its overseas markets, with the U.K., China, Korea, the Middle East and Chile performing well.”We are really bullish on the kind of transformation that we have built over the last 18 months and its sustainability beyond the pandemic, given that data. There’s a sustained demand for delivery and pizza,” he said. “We are not a pandemic pizza company — we’ve transformed this business through a lot of hard work and great thinking from people across the system, and we believe we are going to continue to outperform the industry long after the pandemic recedes.”Papa John’s shares closed Tuesday at $94. Since the start of the year, the company’s stock is up nearly 11%, bringing its market value to about $3.1 billion.Programming note: Papa John’s CEO Rob Lynch will join CNBC’s “Mad Money” at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday to discuss the quarter. More

William Blair came out with some bullish calls on a few lesser-known consumer stocks, adding Burlington Stores, J&J Snack Foods, National Vision and Six Flags to its near-term focus list.But those aren’t the only overlooked names in the consumer space. CNBC’s “Trading Nation” asked two traders on Wednesday for their favorite ways to play for strength in the space that other investors may not be watching.”We’re actually looking at credit cards as a way to play the reopening because no matter how you spend your money, you’re going to have to spend it somehow,” said Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global and chief market strategist at Lido Advisors.Sanchez pinpoints Visa as one name that could benefit after getting hit hard during the pandemic. At its worst, Visa fell nearly 40% from a February 2020 peak to a March 2020 low. Since then, it has rallied more than 70% and hit an all-time high as recently as late April.”They’re really starting to accumulate volumes, their earnings, their revenues are really looking like they’re going to hit records as the reopening occurs, especially because they’re so strong in the U.S., Europe, China,” said Sanchez.Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, looked to the retail space for an under-the-radar winner.”I really like Five Below, which is sort of this endless treasure hunt concept. What makes Five Below so interesting is that it’s at the upscale [end] of the dollar store segment. The stock has done very, very well. It’s tripled over the last four years,” Schlossberg told CNBC.Five Below has risen nearly 13% in 2021, better than the 11% gain for the S&P 500.”It only has [around 1,000] stores across the country, so plenty of room to grow,” said Schlossberg. “It sort of attracts both the idea of discoverability and abundance, but at a little bit of a higher price point, more attractive merchandise.”Disclosure: Lido Advisors invests in Visa.Disclaimer More

This image shows a team of workers installing solar panels on a home in California.adamkaz | E+ | Getty ImagesMore than 231,000 workers were employed by America’s solar industry last year, according to a new report published Thursday, representing a 6.7% decline compared to the year before.Released by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, The Solar Foundation, and BW Research, the National Solar Jobs Census 2020 tallied workers who spend “50% or more of their time working on solar related activities.”According to the report, the coronavirus pandemic “was largely responsible for the job decline.” Companies, it added, had “yet to fully recover from spring 2020 work stoppages and the ensuing economic recession.”Although the sector reported job losses, solar installations hit a record 19.2 gigawatts in 2020, with labor productivity jumping by 32% in the utility-scale segment, 19% in the residential segment and 2% in the non-residential segment. Elsewhere, the census found employment related to installation and construction accounted for 67% of all jobs within the sector.The report comes against the backdrop of the U.S. targeting “100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity” by the year 2035 and the Biden administration’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan. The president has claimed the latter “will lead to a transformational progress in our effort to tackle climate change with American jobs and American ingenuity.” Citing analysis from the SEIA, those behind Thursday’s report said the solar industry would have to hit over 900,000 workers in order to meet the United States’ 2035 target.As countries around the world attempt to reduce emissions and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change — a huge task with a number of significant challenges — job numbers in renewable energy may be set for a significant increase over the next few years.Indeed, in March the Biden administration announced plans to expand U.S. offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030.In a statement at the time, the White House said meeting its new goal for offshore wind would trigger in excess of $12 billion a year in capital investment, lead to more than 44,000 jobs in the offshore wind sector by 2030, and support 33,000 other roles connected to the industry.Worldwide, the Global Wind Energy Council says the expansion of the wind energy industry could create 3.3 million jobs in the next five years.According to the Brussels-based industry body, the projection includes direct roles in onshore and offshore wind as well as jobs across the sector’s value chain.The latter comprises jobs in areas such as installation, manufacturing, project planning and development, operation and maintenance and decommissioning. More