Wednesday's Biggest Stock Market Stories: A Mid-Week Update

Investors are halfway through the trading week, with various stock market stories and headlines emerging. Levi Strauss' stock slipped ahead of its earnings report tomorrow, while Verona Pharma soared on a $10 billion deal with Merck. Meta's Threads has reached 115 million users, closing in on rival social media platform X. Other notable stories include Calidi Biotherapeutics' stock rocketing higher after the company's work was published in a medical magazine, and Nvidia becoming the first company to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization.

Investors are halfway through the trading week, with various stock market stories and headlines emerging. Levi Strauss' stock slipped ahead of its earnings report tomorrow, while Verona Pharma soared on a $10 billion deal with Merck. Meta's Threads has reached 115 million users, closing in on rival social media platform X. Other notable stories include Calidi Biotherapeutics' stock rocketing higher after the company's work was published in a medical magazine, and Nvidia becoming the first company to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization.

Levi Strauss & Co. is set to release its quarterly earnings on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after market close. Analysts expect the company to report an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.13, representing a 15.9% year-over-year (YoY) decline [1]. The earnings call is scheduled for 5 PM EDT, with live streaming available directly on the quote pages [1].

Levi Strauss' stock has shown mixed performance over the past year. As of July 8, 2025, shares were trading at $19.52, up 2.12% over the last 52 weeks. However, the stock experienced a significant drop of 8.0% the day after the company beat EPS estimates by $0.10 in the previous quarter [2]. This volatility underscores the importance of the upcoming earnings report.

Analysts have provided a consensus rating of "Outperform" for Levi Strauss, with an average one-year price target of $20.5, suggesting a potential 5.02% upside [2]. Despite the expected earnings decline, the company's strong revenue growth of 3.15% in the first quarter of 2025 and its impressive net margin of 8.84% indicate robust financial performance [2]. Additionally, Levi Strauss ranks first in revenue growth among its peers and leads in gross profit margin, although it has the lowest return on equity [2].

Investors should closely monitor the earnings call for any positive guidance or forecasts for the next quarter. While the expected EPS may be lower than analysts' estimates, the company's strong fundamentals and market positioning could provide a catalyst for stock price appreciation.

References:
[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LEVI/
[2] https://www.benzinga.com/insights/earnings/25/07/46320087/a-glimpse-of-levi-strausss-earnings-potential