News

The U.S. economy has broken its three-year streak of steady growth, as the GDP shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter.

The U.S. economy contracted by an annualized 0.3% last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Wednesday, as American businesses rushed to buy imported goods ahead of President Donald Trump's barrage of tariffs. Futures contracts that settle to the Fed's policy rate continued to point to a start to Fed rate cuts in June, with a total of four quarter-point reductions likely, bringing the rate to the 3.25%-3.5% range by year-end. Fed policymakers meet next week and are nearly universally expected to keep rates in their current 4.25%-4.5% range.

Private payroll additions tumbled in April as companies struggled with an uncertain outlook while President Trump's fresh tariff policies have disrupted business planning.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings shares plunged soon after the opening bell Wednesday, after the company posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and said it had seen some "softening" in bookings.

Fast-food chain Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 17.4% year on year to $171.1 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.99 per share was 14.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Electronic components distributor Avnet (NASDAQGS:AVT) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, but sales fell by 6% year on year to $5.32 billion. On the other hand, next quarter’s revenue guidance of $5.3 billion was less impressive, coming in 3.3% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.84 per share was 17.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

The U.S. economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, the first negative reading since 2022, according to an initial measurement released Wednesday by the Commerce Department.

The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years, as President Donald Trump's trade wars disrupted business. First-quarter growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs. Imports grew at a 41% pace, fastest since 2020, and shaved 5 percentage points off first-quarter growth.

Safety and security company Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) reported Q1 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 9.2% year on year to $463.8 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $2.06 billion at the midpoint came in 0.5% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.76 per share was 3.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Leading data storage manufacturer Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) reported Q1 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, but sales fell by 33.6% year on year to $2.29 billion. On top of that, next quarter’s revenue guidance ($2.45 billion at the midpoint) was surprisingly good and 5.2% above what analysts were expecting. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.36 per share was 22.7% above analysts’ consensus estimates.