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June 4, 2025

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Rolls-Royce share price nears 1,000p as a new catalyst emerges

3 Mins Read

The Rolls-Royce share price continued its strong surge this week as it reached a new all-time high. It soared to 900p, up by over 2,518% from its lowest point during the pandemic, as it became one of the biggest British companies globally. This trend means that it may soon hit 1,000p as we have predicted several times.

China as a big catalyst for Rolls-Royce share price

Our last article on Rolls-Royce Holdings identified China as a potential catalyst for the stock. In that article, we noted that Comac, China’s aircraft manufacturer, may turn to the company for engines as tensions with the US rise. 

A likely scenario is where the Trump administration will ban General Electric and other American companies from supplying engines and parts to Comac. The goal will to enable Boeing maintain a market share in the aviation industry.

The challenge, however, is that Rolls-Royce Holdings manufactures engines for wide-body aircraft. It has no presence in the narrow-body sector after it abandoned the business a few years ago.

Rolls-Royce has hinted that it will want to return to the narrow-body industry in the future. However, building a new engine from scratch may be a big challenge and take over 6 years to complete.

China Airbus orders

China is a big catalyst for the Rolls-Royce share price as its airlines focus on buying Airbus planes. Indeed, no major airline has made a big Boeing order in the past few years. 

Now, Bloomberg is reporting that China is considering a big bid for Airbus planes, a deal that may be announced next month when EU leaders visit Beijing to celebrate long-term ties. The platform reported that the orders could be between 200 and 500.

Bloomberg notes that the potential orders will be spread between wide-body and narrow-body planes. Rolls-Royce Holdings engines power most of Airbus’ wide-body engines, making it a big beneficiary of such a deal. 

However, Rolls-Royce gains in this order will take time to materialize because of Airbus’ backlog, which stands at over 8,000 planes. This means that any orders could be delivered in the next decade. 

Civil aviation is an important market for Rolls-Royce Holdings, a company that sells engines and then takes long-term service contracts. This division accounts for over 50% of its total revenue. 

Rolls-Royce is also benefiting from the other two divisions: power and defence. Its power business is benefiting from the ongoing AI boom, while the defence business is a top beneficiary as European and American governments boost their defense spending.

At the same time, the management has focused on making Rolls-Royce a leaner and more profitable company. Indeed, it achieved its mid-term targets in 2024, two years ahead of schedule.

Rolls-Royce share price analysis

RR stock chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the RR share price has been in a strong uptrend in the past few years as the company’s growth resumed. It recently moved above the key resistance level at 810p, invalidating the double-top pattern that was forming. A double-top is one of the most bearish patterns in technical analysis. 

The stock remains above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a sign that bulls are in control. Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD indicator have all pointed upwards.

Therefore, the Rolls-Royce share price will likely continue soaring, with the next point to watch being at 1,000p. The bullish outlook will only become invalid if the stock drops below the support at 850p. 

The post Rolls-Royce share price nears 1,000p as a new catalyst emerges appeared first on Invezz

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In Business

Dollar General is shaking off tariff fears and winning over higher-income consumers

5 Mins Read

Shares of Dollar General jumped nearly 16% on Tuesday after the discounter raised its outlook, saying it drew more middle- and higher-income shoppers amid fears that higher tariffs would hurt consumer spending.

The Tennessee-based retailer beat quarterly expectations for revenue and earnings. The company said it now anticipates net sales will grow about 3.7% to 4.7%, compared to its previous expectation of about 3.4% to 4.4%. It expects diluted earnings per share to range from $5.20 to $5.80, compared to its prior outlook of approximately $5.10 to $5.80. Dollar General anticipates same-store sales will increase 1.5% to 2.5%, higher than its previous guidance of about 1.2% to 2.2%.

Here’s how the retailer did for the fiscal first quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

In the three-month period that ended May 2, Dollar General reported net income of $391.93 million, or $1.78 per share, compared with $363.32 million, or $1.65, in the year-ago quarter.

As of Tuesday’s close, shares of Dollar General have risen about 48% so far this year. That far exceeds the roughly 1% gains of the S&P 500 during the same period. Shares of the retailer closed at $112.57 on Tuesday, bringing Dollar General’s market value to $24.76 billion.

Dollar General’s first-quarter results — and its stock performance — stand out in a retail industry that is already taking a hit from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Companies including Best Buy, Macy’s and Abercrombie & Fitch have cut their profit outlooks due to tariffs.

On an earnings call Tuesday, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said the company has worked to reduce its exposure to China — and limit price hikes for shoppers. He said the retailer has worked with vendors to cut costs, moved manufacturing to other countries and made changes to its products or swapped them out for other merchandise.

He said direct imports make up about a mid- to high single-digit percentage of its overall purchases and indirect imports are about double that.

“While the tariff landscape remains dynamic and uncertain, we expect tariffs to result in some price increases as a last resort, though, we intend to work to minimize them as much as possible,” he said.

CFO Kelly Dilts said on the company’s earnings call that full-year guidance assumes that Dollar General will be able to offset “a significant portion of the anticipated tariff impact on our gross margin, but also allows for some incremental pressure on consumer spending.”

Customer traffic dipped by 0.3% in the first quarter compared to the year-ago period, but shoppers spent more when they visited. The average transaction amount rose 2.7%, as sales in the food, seasonal, home and apparel categories all grew.

Vasos added tariffs have also increased U.S. consumers’ desire to find deep discounts. Vasos said the company’s first-quarter results reflect Dollar General’s gains from “customers across multiple income bands seeking value.”

He said store traffic and the company’s market research indicates that more middle- and higher-income customers have come to its stores more frequently and spent more when they visited.

“We are pleased to see this growth with a wide range of customers and are excited about our ongoing opportunity to grow [market] share with them,” he said.

Those gains have helped as Dollar General’s core customer “remains financially constrained,” Vasos said. According to a survey by the company, he said 25% of customers reported having less income than they did a year ago and almost 60% of core customers said “they felt the need to sacrifice on necessities in the coming year.”

Dollar General’s sales largely come from U.S. consumers who are on a tight budget. About 60% of the retailer’s sales come from households with an annual income of less than $30,000 per year, Vasos said last fall at a Goldman Sachs’ retail conference.

In addition to wooing value-conscious shoppers, Dollar General has tried to tackle company-specific problems that drew government scrutiny and tested customer loyalty. The discounter, which has more than 20,000 stores across the country, has paid steep fines to the Labor Department for workplace safety violations due to blocked fire exits and dangerous levels of clutter.

Vasos highlighted some of the ways that Dollar General has tried to improve the customer experience. Among them, it’s worked to reduce employee turnover, and it took about 1,000 individual items off its shelves so it can keep top-selling items in stock, he said.

Dollar General has launched its own home delivery service, which is now available at more than 3,000 stores. Its deliveries through DoorDash have grown, too, with sales up more than 50% year over year in the quarter.

Dollar General has also bulked up its merchandise categories outside of the food and snack aisles, adding more discretionary items like seasonal decor and home items.

Vasos said sales in those categories have also gotten a boost from middle- and higher-income customers shopping its stores.

Its newer store chain, Popshelf, sells mostly discretionary items and caters to consumers with higher household incomes than Dollar General’s typical shoppers. Vasos did not share a specific metric for the chain, but said Popshelf’s same-store sales delivered strong growth in the quarter. The company recently changed the store layout to emphasize toys, beauty and party candy.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Energy groups celebrate Trump’s latest move to unleash Alaska drilling

4 Mins Read
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Conservative energy leaders are celebrating President Donald Trump’s latest effort to unleash American drilling. 

The Department of the Interior announced a proposal Monday to rescind President Joe Biden’s restrictions on oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said a Biden-era 2024 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule that restricted energy development for more than half of the 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope ignored the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976. 

‘The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), created by Congress over a century ago to secure America’s energy supply, supports responsible oil development on 13 million acres,’ Frank Lasee, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

‘President Biden’s drilling ban in Alaska undermined energy security, increasing reliance on foreign oil, raising gasoline prices and fueling inflation through higher transportation costs,’ Lasee added. ‘Resuming drilling puts economic growth and energy independence ahead of climate ideology in a place almost no regular American will ever visit.’

Consistent with Trump’s executive orders, the proposed revision reverts to regulations that were in place prior to May 7, 2024, which Lasee called a ‘commendable’ prioritization of ‘American energy needs and economic well-being while adhering to the law.’

‘President Biden never should have halted congressionally sanctioned oil drilling in Alaska,’ said Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute. ‘Trump is to be applauded, both for putting Americans’ energy needs and our economic well-being first and for following the law by opening these areas back up for production.’

According to the Department of Interior, the 2024 rule provisions lacked ‘a basis in the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act’ and undermined the BLM’s congressional obligation to oversee timely leasing in the region. 

‘President Trump’s move to restore drilling in Alaska’s Arctic region is a bold and necessary step toward reclaiming American energy independence,’ Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, said. 

Trump vowed to unleash American energy on the campaign trail in 2024 and signed executive orders on the first day of his second term to rescind Biden-era climate policies. 

‘By reversing Biden’s disastrous restrictions on 13 million acres, Trump is unleashing the abundant resources that power our economy, lower energy costs and strengthen national security. This is a victory for American workers, consumers and allies who rely on stable, affordable energy,’ Isaac added. 

Steve Milloy, senior policy fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, called the announcement ‘more good news from the Trump administration in rolling back more of Biden’s war on fossil fuels.’

‘Promises made. Promises kept. But the Trump administration will need to go further to give investors confidence that the Alaska leases will actually be viable. Radical climate activists will resort to the courts and scare off investors. There likely needs to be a legislative solution to that,’ Milloy added.

Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to roll back some of Biden’s green energy initiatives through budget reconciliation on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’

‘The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) was created more than 100 years ago specifically to provide a supply of oil for America’s energy security. That energy security can be achieved by responsibly developing our oil reserves, including in the Gulf of America, our vast shale oil deposits in America’s heartland and, now, thankfully, the 13 million acres of the NPR that are going to be developed,’ said Gregory Whitestone, CO2 Coalition executive director.

‘Continuation of the Biden administration’s drilling ban would have resulted in a greater reliance on foreign supplies of oil (and) increases in gasoline prices and the inflationary spiral across all sectors of the American economy from increased transportation costs,’ Whitestone added. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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