Closing Bell: Fastenal Rises, Warner Bros Climbs, Waters Declines

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Scarlet Fu, Norah Mulinda and Tim Stenovec.

On this episode of Stock Movers:

- Fastenal (FAST) shares were 4% higher at the close after the company posted earnings in line with estimates this morning. Analysts see the slightly better-than-expected June earnings as an encouraging sign amid tariff uncertainty. Fastinal CEO Daniel Florness says it is difficult to move manufacturing fully back to the United States and is seeing "limited" signs its customers are shifting manufacturing back to the US.

- Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) shares were up 2% after Superman ticket sales beat expectations, bringing in $125 million domestically and $220 million worldwide, according to a statement from Warner Brothers. Superman is the opening chapter in a 10-year plan to interweave movies and TV shows based on DC comic-book characters such as Batman and Wonder Woman.

- Waters (WAT) shares dropped as much as 10%, the most intraday since January 2023, after the life sciences company said it will merge with Becton Dickinson’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction valued at about $17.5 billion. Jefferies says the deal adds “variables” to Waters’ “clean” story.  The stock is down 18% year-to-date.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is the closing bell on this stock mover's report
the company's making moves at the close of US trading
with Carol Masser, Tim Stenebeck, Romain Bostik, and Scarlett.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Foo all right on the gainers side. A new all
time high for Fastinal. The company reported earnings earlier today.
Shares four percent higher at the close. The company reported
net sales for the second quarter that were up eight
point six percent over the same period last year. It
did meet the average analyst estimate. We had Dan Flornes
on the show, the company's CEO. He said that his

(00:42):
industrial customers are starting to see business turnaround. Here's what
he said, quote the knife has stopped dropping. What he
was referring to is the trying to catch a falling knife.
Over the last few years that really in the US
has been industrial production. I did ask him, and Nora
asked him too, about the impact of tariffs, and he
said they tried to move their supply chain back in
twenty eighteen during this first round, and they were able

(01:05):
to make some changes, not necessarily bringing anything back to
the US, just not possible right now. Too early to
say for his customers, though, whether this new teriff regime
will prompt them to move manufacturing back to the US.
It's just a reminder how long it takes to actually
move your supply chain back to the US. If they
were talking about this back in twenty seventeen and you know,

(01:25):
weren't able to.

Speaker 4 (01:26):
Get very far.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, I mean, do you remember the move back in
twenty seventeen to twenty eighteen was to move everything out
of China and like go to Vietnam or Indonesia or India. Well,
now it kind of doesn't matter where you are if
you're not in the United States because all of those
countries are getting tariffed as well. Hey, did any of
you guys see Superman over the weekend?

Speaker 2 (01:42):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Was it good?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
I didn't see it either. A lot of people did
see it.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
We look at you when we see Superman was going
to say.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Wow, you guys, you guys are the best. Warner Brothers
Discovery shares up more than two percent this after the
company did say that they brought in at least one
hundred and fifteen million dollars domestically. It did take in
two hundred and twenty million dollars worldwide, this according to
statement from Warner Brothers, excuse me, one hundred and twenty
five million dollars in ticket sales in the US. So

(02:09):
that did meat expectations of one hundred and fifteen million dollars.
This is just the opening chapter in a ten year plan. Dinner.
We have movies and TV shows based on DC comic
book characters such as Batman and Wonder Woman.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Haven't they done this before?

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (02:22):
Okay, all right, I've just.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Done this, and so I mean, I don't know, do
you think DC is going to get it right this time?
And may everyone's saying, okay, you had a decent box
office domestically, though don't look at the international numbers. Tim
was not as good. But this idea that maybe they
could finally build off this and actually truly build up
something that's comparable to the Marvel universe.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Look, I don't know what it takes to have a
successful franchise. No, I don't know, either of life opinion,
but we can we can look and see what, you know,
what the Marvel universe has done?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Right?

Speaker 3 (02:48):
Gallery speaks, Yeah exactly. I think James Gunn knows a
little more than we do when it comes to what
makes a successful movie. And finally, I do want to
talk about Kenryview real quick. They finished the day hired
today by more than two percent. It's the company behind
tile and all nutro gena Listrin, formerly the consumer healthcare
division of J and J. The company said that CEO,

(03:10):
THEBA Me Mongol, is going to leave the company as
it continues to revamp the board. Director Kirk Perry will
take over as interim CEO, effective immediately. They faced push
from an activist investors for changes on how the company
is structured and run ever since it was spun off
from J ANDJ just a couple of years ago. Once again,
Kenvy shares up by out more than two point two percent.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Ura well a couple.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
Decliners that I'm teping an eye on right now. We
had Waters that is a life sciences company about eighteen
billion dollars in market cap. It fell for double digit
losses when we ended at the close today after saying
that it'll merge with Becton Dickinson's biosciences and diagnostic solutions
business in reverse mores trust transaction that's valued at about
seventeen and a half billion dollars. We had Jeffrey's analysts

(03:53):
saying that they expect the stock to trade down due
to the deal size and variables added to a clean
replacement cycle story. But if you look at the stock
on a year date, basis down about eighteen percent. I
know it's Monday, but I did want to talk about
an alcohol company. I'm looking at Constellation Brands and we're
seeing shares that also fell at the close today after
President Trump declared a thirty percent tariff for Mexico and

(04:16):
the EU, which of course we know these are key
markets for those drink makers, so tariffs are really the
story here. But this is a twenty eight billion dollar company.
They owned Medello, Corona, a lot of the names that
we know here. But shares are down about twenty six
percent this year, So not great news here for the brand.
Maybe people are going to healthier alternatives we'll see.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
I like the fact you picked an alcohol company because
you really truly are filling Carol masters have.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
To live up to it the best. I can also
fluence Energy. That's an energy This is an energy company,
and we saw energy is the worst performing sector in
the S and P five hundred today, and this was
one of the names that was in the red Mazooho
cut the stock to neutral from outperform. They're also pointing
towards this tariff impact and additionally the Republican tax and
spending bills effects on the clean energy sector. The company

(05:05):
is about one point four billion dollars in market cap,
but I'm looking at the year today as well to
down fifty percent. Not looking good.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
All right, Let's get a quick check on yield to
continue to see a steepening of the curve. Treasury is
overall falling for a third street day. That's pushing yields higher.
But two interesting dynamics are playing out. One is obviously
that you're seeing much greater moves in yields on the
longer end of the curve to the upside. But on
the short end of the curve. Take a look at
that one basis point move one and a half if
you want to be particular on that to year yield.

(05:35):
And that has been the narrow range that we've actually
seen on the shorter end of the curve now for
quite some time. In fact, the past three sessions, we
basically had one basis point, one basis point, and then
three basis points, and then if you keep going out
it really doesn't get much wider than that, and I
think it is kind of telling Tim and or this
idea that maybe you have a market at least in
the treasury market, with a lot of folks right now

(05:56):
on the sideline.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
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