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Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2022

Today's newsletter is by Brian Sozzi, an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Read this and more market news on the go with

If you aren’t listening, you aren’t learning — this is a motto I have long modeled my life around.

So I put that into practical application at Yahoo Finance’s 9th annual All Markets Summit this week. Did I get every question I posited in these pages on Monday answered? Nope.

Were some questions dodged a little? Sure, my team and I spoke with a host of well-known public company CEOs weeks before they are set to report earnings. It’s not like someone is going to say on live TV, “Hey Sozzi, we are going to beat on earnings by 10 cents — buy our stock.”

But by and large, I was pleased with the dialogues. Here are a few hot takeaways from Yahoo Finance’s various chats.

Target (TGT) CEO Brian Cornell suggested the company is beyond the worst of inventory issues that walloped profits in the second quarter. I am not surprised to see Jefferies out upgrading the stock on Tuesday in the wake of Cornell’s comments. The Jefferies analyst making the call — Corey Tarlowe — chatted with Yahoo Finance Live on his team’s new call. I don’t think other retailers have moved beyond their inventory gluts, so navigate this space with care.

Chipotle (CMG) CEO Brian Niccol told Brooke DiPalma and yours truly he is eyeing the potential impact from proposed changes to California’s minimum wage to $22 an hour. The company operates 15% of its 3,000 locations in California. In my humble view, the long-term inflationary outlook for wages in the fast-food sector is no way priced into today’s valuations. Food for thought as you do your valuation analysis.

Hilton (HLT) CEO Chris Nassetta told Brad Smith and yours truly the travel rebound continues — something we have seen elsewhere, notably in the positive airline earnings announcements this month from Delta (DAL). If the economy is tanking into a recession, we aren’t seeing it in services like hotel stays.