10 things before the opening bell
Good morning, Insiders. Tesla's latest stock move puts it in a powerful group of big players that have made a similar decision this year. Today we're breaking it down, plus going over expert stock picks for an uncertain landscape.
Let's dive in.
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1. Tesla becomes the latest mega-cap company to split its stock. A Monday filing with the SEC revealed that Tesla plans to ask shareholders for approval to increase the number of its authorized shares.
The company, which has a market cap of more than $1 trillion, said it wants to issue additional shares so that it can pay a dividend using stock. It marks the second stock split for the EV maker in two years.
So far, investors seemed impressed — shares jumped to their highest price in more than two months following the announcement.
"We view Tesla's move following the likes of Amazon, Google, Apple and initiating its second stock split in two years as a smart strategic move that will be a positive catalyst for shares going forward," Wedbush said in a note Monday referencing CEO Elon Musk.
In August 2020, when shares traded around $2,213, Tesla enacted a 5-to-1 stock split to pay holders a dividend using shares instead of cash.
And a final element to Tesla's big day — Elon Musk tweeted that he appears to have caught COVID-19 "again."
2. Global shares are in the green so far. Russia/Ukraine talks and a bounce in the oil price are pushing up equities. Here's what's happening on the markets.
3. Earnings on deck: Digital Ally, Lululemon Athletica, and Micron Technology., all reporting.
4. Bank of America shared 9 commodity-linked stocks set to get a boost from soaring global prices. As the Russia-Ukraine crisis unlocks opportunities in other commodity-rich markets like Latin America, certain companies could be poised for gains. See the list here.
5. Warren Buffett's partner Charlie Munger will step down as Daily Journal's chairman. It's a role he's held since 1977, and Munger will donate $1 million of his stock. The Daily Journal also said CEO Gerald Salzman has retired.
6. Russia is preparing to make payments on a $2 billion dollar-denominated bond due next week after narrowly avoiding default. Just two weeks ago, Moscow paid $117 million in interest on foreign currency bonds. Still, Russia's ability to meet its debt obligations has been thrown into question since sanctions cut it off from about $640 billion worth of foreign reserves.
7. AMC soared more than 30% after its CEO mapped out more strategic deals to capitalize on interest from retail investors. "Our shareholder base has given us capital to deploy with the clear expectation that we are…going to do exciting things with the money they entrusted to us," said Adam Aron.
8. A former truck driver and father of three with less than $1,000 in his bank account built a 16-unit real estate portfolio. "I didn't inherit money," said 51-year-old Dion McNeeley, who owns properties in Washington. He shared how he became financially independent.
9. Investors can profit by buying into these stocks that live in the sweet spot between growth and safe prices. That's according to Julian Emanuel of Evercore ISI, who is eyeing a batch of stocks that can beat the current market. Here's his list of 26 stock picks.
10. The average tax rate on America's 400 wealthiest households is less than the average for all Americans. In 2018, the top earners paid an average of 23% in taxes, compared to 28% for all other Americans. Dig into the data here.
Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email prosen@insider.com or tweet @philrosenn.)