Goldman Sachs Hikes Quarterly Dividend From 85 Cents To $1.25 -- July 16, 2019

Updates

Later, 9:47 a.m. CT: I was wondering why Tesla was having a bad day. This is the reason -- Tesla "adjusts" prices again --  hikes starting prices for Model X, S, and slashes price of Model 3:

Tesla, who wants you to know that they are definitely, certainly not facing a demand problem, has again dropped the price of its Model 3 while bumping up starting prices of its Model S and Model X in what appears to be a push to drive more Model 3 sales and higher margin Model S and X sales.

The move comes days after the company reported record Q2 deliveries, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, Tesla limited variants of its Model X and Model S to "Long Range" and the more expensive "Performance" models.

The company also slashed the price of its now entry-level "Long Range" variants. This means that the new starting price for these models has gone up to $84,990 for the Model X and $79,990 for the Model S.

Tesla: obviously a luxury car; nothing to do with "saving the world." But at $40,000, Tesla is "giving away" it's Model 3. In China, the starting price for the Model X is $115,068. Am I missing something here?

The reason Tesla is "pushing" the Model 3? I would argue that it's across the board, all automobile manufacturers, not just Tesla: no one wants sedans any more. The Model 3 is a "cheap" sedan. Time to phase it out. It was a mistake. No one wants it. The risk for Tesla is that the Model S is also a sedan.  Folks want SUVs and cross-overs. The X is a cross-over, but, wow, the back seat is tight. I think when folks actually compare the X to other cross-overs / SUVs they will be disappointed; they will have to give up a lot to drive a Tesla. For $100,000 one can get an incredibly nice "real" SUV or crossover.

Original Post

 

Wow, wow, wow -- earlier we noted how strong the banks' 2Q19 earnings were. After we posted Citi and Wells Fargo, JPM came out, and then this:

• Goldman Sachs, link here. 
• early winner of earnings season
• surpassed expectations on both top and bottom lines, but also hiked its quarterly dividend to $1.25 from 85 cents

NOTE: to repeat, Goldman Sachs hiked its quarterly dividend to $1.25 from 85 cents. That's a huge jump and the company wouldn't have done it had it not thought things were going to continue to go very well this next year. Just saying.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

GS: surges. Up 2.5%. Up over $5/share, now trading at $217.

How are the others doing?

• NOG: after a bad day yesterday up 1% today; it's not that the oil companies won't do okay over time, it's just that there are so many other better places to put your money right now; see disclaimer
• JAG: up a bit, after a bad yesterday
• SRE: down slightly; essentially flat
• CVX: down a third of a percent
• D: haven't looked at this one in a long, long time -- trading near its 52-week high
• Vicki's company: down about a percent today
• TSLA: not having a good day
• T: flat
• DE: flat
• TSCO: after a great day yesterday, up 1% today
• XLNX: having a rough day