The stock market closed lower on Friday to finish another losing week. Investors have been closely watching economic updates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy meeting next week. The central bank is expected to hold rates steady.
Overall, S&P 500 declined 1.2% to 4,450, while NASDAQ fell 1.6% to 13,708.
Tweet of the Day
The GOAT of investing Ron Baron on @CNBC talking everything Tesla, SpaceX, and 𝕏 pic.twitter.com/3HcZHYc1Le
— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) September 13, 2023
Chart of the Day
Here is the one-year chart of Grainger (GWW) as of August 23, 2023, when the stock was at $707.
Grainger is the leading supplier of maintenance supplies in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. The company stocks more than 1.5 million products from more than 4,500 suppliers. Customers include manufacturing plants, retail distribution centers, hospitals and governments.
Grainger delivered yet another outstanding quarter as profits jumped 29% on just 9% revenue growth. The key to the profit surge was Operating Margins increased 14% year-over-year from 13.9% to 15.8%. This was due to supply chain efficiencies and reduced freight costs. In terms of operating divisions, the larger business High-Touch solutions grew revenue 10% last quarter while the smaller business Endless Assortment segment grew just 5%. Smaller busineses are seeing softer demand due to the lackluster economy.
GWW is part the Conservative Growth Portfolio. Quarterly profit growth has been great as shipping rates have simmered down.
