Stock Indexes Mostly Higher After Inflation Data Matches Expectations; Trump Tariffs Hit Furniture Shares; Intel Rises Further

Caffeine in Sprays and Smoothies? You Can Thank Energy Drinks for That.

1 hour ago

Products that promise you pep are popping up all over. 

On social media, influencers promote oral energy sprays. Target stocks coffee-infused workout bars, while Amazon sells Fruit Slaps, a caffeinated smoothie. We’re in a “caffeine renaissance,” according to Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of industry publication Beverage Digest, inspired in large part by energy drinks’ success.

Energy drinks helped Americans acclimate to getting caffeine outside of coffee and tea, where it occurs naturally, and soda. Early brands cultivated niche followings. Manufacturers then spent years assuring Americans that the drinks weren’t as extreme as they seemed as they pursued a more pedestrian audience, Stanford said—and the message resonated.

Today, energy drinks are a nearly $24 billion business, according to market research firm NielsenIQ. They’re the second most consumed supplement—after multivitamins—among teens and younger adults. The success has inspired restaurants to add energy drinks, and manufacturers to add caffeine to everything from hot sauce to gummy bears.

“People are no longer just happy to have [caffeine] in one or two types of applications or products,” Stanford said. “They want it in a lot of different formats.”

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

The Fed’s Favorite Inflation Measure Stayed Stubbornly High In August

1 hr 49 min ago

There’s still no sign that inflation is headed down towards the Federal Reserve’s goal of a 2% annual rate.

Consumer prices as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, rose 2.7% over the year in August, up from a 2.6% annual increase in July, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday.

“Core” PCE prices, which exclude volatile prices for food and energy, rose 2.9% over the year, the same as in July. Policymakers and economists closely watch “core” prices because they are a better indicator of broad inflation trends.

The increase matched the expectations of forecasters, and the lack of a surprise inflation surge likely kept expectations in financial markets intact that the Fed will cut its key interest rate in October for the second time this year despite concerns that inflation is still higher than the central bank’s target. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are pushing up prices as merchants pass the cost of the import taxes on to consumers, economists have said.

–Diccon Hyatt

Investopedia Interview: Swiss Sneaker Maker On CEO Martin Hoffmann

2 hr 43 min ago

For decades, popular sneakers carried instantly identifiable brand markers–like a swoosh, or three parallel diagonal stripes. Other labels have joined the party.

One example: the head-and-shoulders-like logo and honeycomb-evoking soles on shoes from Swiss brand On Holding (ONON), which reported 2024 sales that grew nearly 30%.

The company reported its latest quarterly earnings in August, turning in midyear results that exceeded investors’ expectations. Investopedia spoke with CEO Martin Hoffmann in a pair of interviews, one shortly after the release of the data and the other in the weeks that followed. Highlights from those interviews, which covered tariffs, global markets, and more, have been edited and consolidated for brevity and clarity.

How is On navigating the tariffs landscape, given that a majority of its footwear is made and imported from Asia?

Whether we’re facing tariffs or a pandemic, it’s important to know what you stand for as a brand. We’re still growing fast as a premium brand. The combination gives us many opportunities to be able to offset the impact as a company as we bring new products at a higher level of innovation and at higher price points. 

It’s also super important for me to focus on the long term and not make any kind of short-term moves here. Our mission is to grow both top line and profitability and we will continue doing that.

Read the full interview here.

–Parija Kavilanz

How Do You Bet Against Intel’s Red-Hot Stock Right Now?

3 hr 30 min ago

Not long ago, it was hard to find people who were excited about Intel’s stock.

But these days, even skeptics are finding it difficult to look away, with President Donald Trump’s recent endorsement, a high-profile investment from Nvidia (NVDA), and rumors swirling about still more deals—leaving some investors wondering whether persistent concerns about the chipmaker’s business should be overlooked to get in on the action.

“We have been of the belief that Intel remains fundamentally challenged though have been terrified to short it,” Bernstein analysts wrote Thursday. “As much as we hate to admit it ‘Trump wants the stock to go up’ may in fact be a valid bull case for now (not one we are prepared to make but given everything that is happening we wouldn’t talk you out of it for now).”

Intel’s (INTC) stock jumped nearly 9% Thursday to close around $34. A report that Apple (AAPL) could be the the struggling chipmaker’s next big investor has extended a torrid run over the past week since the struggling chipmaker announced Nvidia’s $5 billion pledge. The shares have added roughly 70% of their value this year, though they remain well off their 2021 highs.

Seaport Research Partners analysts, who upgraded the stock to neutral from a bearish rating this week, said they expect the trend could continue—at least in the near term. “The stock is likely to be driven by follow-on investments,” they wrote, though signs of improving fortunes at Intel’s foundry business are also vital. (Seaport said it remained “cautious on the company’s longer-term fundamentals.”

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

Stock Futures Little Changed Ahead of PCE Reading

4 hr 4 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were little changed.

Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1%.