Jobs report takeaways for job seekers, advice for homebuyers, investing in tech: Wealth
May 2, 2025
On the latest episode of Wealth, Host Brad Smith speaks with experts about the huge April jobs report, what homebuyers need to know as they start their search, and the latest on Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s pay.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here.
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Welcome to Wealth brought to you by Synchrony. I’m Brad Smith, and this is Yahoo Finance’s guide to building your financial footprint. Our community of experts will give you the resources, tools, tips, and the tricks that you need to grow your money. And on today’s portfolio checkup, one wealth advisor reveals 5 tips for investors during the month of May and.Imagine traveling the world almost all on credit card points and miles. I’ll sit down with Yahoo Finance’s senior credit card reporter to get the scoop on maximizing your travel rewards. Plus Nvidia’s CEO Jenson Hung getting his first pay raise in a decade. We’ll break down his net worth. Stay tuned.The labor market showing some resilience in the face of President Trump’s tariffs and falling consumer confidence. The US adding 177,000 jobs in April and unemployment holding steady at 4.2%. So what do job seekers out there need to know? Well, guess what? Joining us now, we’ve got Daniel Zhao, who is the senior economist at Glassdoor joining us in studio. Great to see you once again, Daniel. Just take us into your reading of this April jobs report print that we got.Well, the April jobs report shows that the job market was pretty solid in April, but it’s also a look in the rearview mirror. We know that the tariff shock is coming down the pipe and uh this, this jobs report is already a look in that rearview mirror. It’s already essentially out of date given that we know things are changing in the coming.From the CEOs that we’ve spoken with here at Yahoo Finance over the course of this earnings season, it seems like they’re not talking about massive layoffs or restructuring the same way they were a few years back, but they are saying we might hire less and that’s starting to show up in some of the job postings as well. What are you seeing at Glassdoor?Well, I think it’s a great point that when we’re talking about a recession and economic downturn and how that impacts employees, how that impacts job seekers, it’s not just about layoffs slower hiring can have a significant impact because it means that that new grad can’t get their first job out of school. It means a working parent coming back into the workforce can’t find a job and that person who’s currently.Employed can’t get a promotion so I think it’s really important that we think about the impacts of slower hiring and that is something that we are hearing from business leaders that, uh, with how much economic uncertainty there is right now it’s impossible to make investment plans, hiring plans, especially if you’re in a sector that is affected by these tariffs and so with all of that in mind as you’re thinking through some of the.Keys to watch for what are showing up and translating from an employment report into consumer sentiment as well and consumer confidence because that’s where it does come into the mind of consumers what their business prospects may look like in order for them feeling confident about actually expending or spending some of those dollars as well here. What are you keeping tabs on?Well for the job market we don’t even need to necessarily go through consumer confidence consumer sentiment because this is how people make money, right? So if people are laid off if if wages don’t grow quite as quickly, then that’s certainly uh going to have an impact on consumer spending uh we talked a lot during during the COVID recovery about.The the savings that were kind of built up over the course of the pandemic, uh, a lot of those savings have been drawn down now and so if we do see layoffs, if we do see wage growth slow down, then that can impact consumer spending, uh, pretty quickly. And so as we’re thinking through what this all means for the Fed, how are you anticipating that after prints like this their tone may start to look for a trend more broadly before they feel comfortable cutting interest rates.Well, today’s report would have been pretty good for the Fed, I think absent all of the tariff discussion because you saw pretty strong jobs growth, no sign that unemployment’s taking up wage growth isn’t showing any signs of inflationary pressure, and so the Fed just in isolation seeing this report probably feels pretty good about getting inflation back down towards the 2% mark. But of course the big shoe waiting to drop his tariffs, right?The Fed has signaled that they aren’t going to make a sudden shift in policy until they get more information about how tariffs are going to play out, whether they affect the employment side of their mandate or it affects the inflation side of their mandate. And so what is the report today, especially as we were looking through the the one perhaps light spot was wage growth year over year as you’re looking through what people are making at the end of the day and that keeping pace or outpacing inflation.How should workers who are also consumers read into that part of the broader print here?Well, so a little bit of that softness in the wage growth is coming at a time that is, is going to be tough for American households, right, because they’re, they’re getting hit by the softening wage growth at the same time that, uh, prices are expected to increase because of these tariffs. So this is the to to to really bring it down to the individual person, this is a great time to really reevaluate your budget, figure out what what’s essential, what’s not essential, um, and really uh essentially.You know, hunker down a little bit, prepare and maybe do some of that planning out into the future just to see what your budget can afford. Just lastly, while we have you here, we know that there’s more of a lag on some of the jolts data, but we did get quits that seemed like they were on the rise as well. What does that signal to you in this, this market in this environment we should say.Well, again, it’s a little bit of a look in the rear view mirror I think the jolts report we got was actually pretty encouraging, showing that quits were rising and usually that’s a sign of worker confidence. It shows that workers are feeling more confident that they can find another job on the open market, uh, but unfortunately with with tariffs and with this economic shock on the horizon it’s it’s hard to really.Project that forward and say that workers are still feeling quite as confident when we look on Glass doors data, the Glassdoor employee confidence index that hit a record low in February. It’s still pretty low as employee confidence employee sentiment is very weak right now. What do potential people who are, you know, seeking jobs right now, what do they need to know as they’re looking for those new opportunities?Well, I think it’s more important than ever to do your research as a job seeker to really understand what parts of the economy are growing, what companies out there offer, you know, a sustainable growth path, and there may be uh more resilience against a potential downturn or recession. So there’s, there’s a little bit of extra research that can go into that. There are still companies and industries out there that are growing, but it requires doing that extra leg work. Daniel, great to see you. Thanks so much for taking the time here with us in studio. Thanks for having me.Now time for some of today’s trending tickers. We’re watching a couple of earnings movers Duolingo and Atlassian. Joining me now is my morning brief co-host Madison Mills. First up, Duolingo jumping on a big earnings beat. The language learning provider also raising its full year forecast with AI as a tailwind as we’re keeping close tabs on Duolingo here today. You’re seeing shares a jump and jumping as Destiny’s Child would say by about 15 16%.Right now,
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yeah, Duolingo obviously really running ahead when it came to that mobile adaption. Obviously you think of it as a mobile first app, but the company coming out even before earnings saying, hey, actually we are an AI play. We are going to be an AI company and you’re seeing that not only benefiting the reaction in terms of the stock price but also in terms of analysts notes. UBS noting here on Friday that the company found pockets of earlier.Expected success around optimizing its Gen AI related costs. The question mark though that they know is that it’s unclear if the savings were more one time in nature around chat GPT 4.1 adoption here. So that is the question Are the expenditures on Duolingo’s AI contracts in particular going to be something that, you know, potentially weighs on the business? Obviously investors don’t think so. You can see here on your screen the stock is up over 40% year to date.
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Stop a company who had the privilege of working on their IPO actually in a past life. Atlassian, their corporation following after reporting quarterly results here, the software company did beat in the 3rd quarter, although data center and marketplace and other revenue that came in below expectations. Some analysts were cautious on the the firm’s 4th quarter guidance, and that is sending shares lower here by just shy of 8% right now, Matty.
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Yeah, it’s interesting. I’m taking a look again at UB UBS analyst reaction here, saying the quarter was colored by a smaller than normal cloud beat. What does that sound like? It also sounds like Amazon and inline on-prem data center segment and back and loaded enterprise deal quarter that Atlassian pinned not on macro but on the sales process. Really interesting to hear the company not saying it’s the macro uncertainty that was leading to that smaller than expected cloud beat. It’s actually the sales process internally here, so that is really interesting to see.And remember also this is a company that is transitioning to a cloud computing business model. So question mark about whether or not the company’s sales process is going to change around that and whether that will lead to some more pressure on the stock moving forward, as you say, Brad, down about 7.5% this
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morning. Yeah, the CFO indicating that cloud migration contributions to revenue growth are expected to improve in fiscal year 26 and fiscal year 27. We’ll continue to watch shares of Atlassian. Mattie, thanks so much for breaking this down. Thank you.You can scan the QR code below to track the best and worst performing stocks of the session with Yahoo Finance’s trending Ticker’s page. Coming up, we’ve got much more on wealth. Taking a look at the markets here, stocks, they are jumping after the better than expected April jobs report with the S&P 500 on track for its longest winning streak in more than 20 years here. Joining me now for much more on this conversation, we’ve got Andrew Briggs, Stewart Partners wealth advisor. Andrew, you have some tips for investors to keep in mind this month. Where should they start?
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Sure, thanks for having me. Um, yeah, I mean, obviously, I hate to use the, the word uncertainty that keeps getting thrown around, but, um, you know, the way we’ve met putting that message towards clients is that.At the beginning of the word, the hot word was obviously US exceptionalism, and that’s now migrated towards uncertainty. So as both the inflation prints this week, some of the jobs data, the, uh, the numbers this morning kind of highlight, um, is backward looking wise that US exceptionalism is still in play, um, both on the corporation side on the earnings front and now on even on the consumer side with the labor market, so.Um, with that being the case, like I said, you know, uh, it’s, it’s too many unknowns at the moment to make any knee jerk reactions to disrupt a full on financial plan and what the objective of that of that portfolio is. And so, um, currently, you know, reminding clients obviously that long term equities typically go up, um, and there’s gonna be a lot more damage to be had by, by not being invested.
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And so with that in mind, where are the areas within the US exceptionalism trade that have held up the best and are worth perhaps layering into those positions?
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Sure, so, you know, I think one part of the exception in trade that um up until April, you know, um, took a little bit of a breather was the Magnificent Seven, which, you know, again, uh, prior to any liberation Day announcements, um, you know, coming into January, we were a little cautious on the earnings expectations in general, not just on the mag 7, but, um, you know, many of the uh the corporations out there, so.Frankly, you know, um, you know, given the sell off that a lot of those have had, and now that we’ve got somewhat clarity with first quarter earnings for most of them, um, I would say that is an old use exceptionism trade that, you know, still is in the early innings, uh, from that standpoint and, you know, given the runaway of AI and obviously the continued cap backs, uh, that they continue to put in that space. So, you know, that’s one area I would say. Um, the second thing is, um.You know, again, given the, what I would call the secular changes that have taken place that we can get into, but, um, essentially, we do think regardless, you know, even before tariffs that this is going to be a higher interest rate.Um, higher inflationary environment. So, um, that does change the complexity of of clients portfolios where it can’t be just as simple as equities and bonds. Uh, we think there needs to be some additional levers in there, um, to weather times like this, uh, in, in any future on the horizon.
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And so, Andrew, as you’re thinking through what we’ve seen already over the course of this earnings season as well, what is the playbook? What is the expectation? Is there enough?That we’ve heard to really kind of give some inclination as to what is going to be the continued trend over the course of this earnings season, which much of it has been just the lack of clarity that CEOs are citing that’s led some of them to either lower their guidance or say hey you know what, we’re not confident reaffirming our full year guidance at this juncture, but hopefully we’ve got some more updates to give in the near future.
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Sure, so yeah, I mean, obviously similar to the, the macroeconomic data we already kind of discussed, um, you know, same thing on the earnings front, obviously they are backwards looking, you know, the expectation, um, is that, you know, to the extent these tariffs stick, obviously won’t get any more clarity on those impact till at least quarter 2, if not quarter 3 earnings. Um, you know, I think I would say as we came into the year, you know, bottom up analyst expectations for essentially 13, 14% earnings growth for the year, those have obviously come down towards 7%.Um, which the market is trying to price right now. Um, so to answer your question, you know, they take that from two different views of positive and negative. On the negative front, you know, we do remind clients, although this isn’t the base case that we have, um, you know, it’s not too far-fetched looking at models to.Um, essentially see that current expectations of 7% earnings, uh, come down to negative earnings obviously if these tariff rates get uh instilled or even stay at a somewhat restrictive level of 20% or plus. Um, so that’s one thing to be cautious of, although not a base case, but right now, like I said, you know, I think that as you mentioned the word, and you know, we keep mentioning uncertainty, um, because of that, you know, we do not want to make any rash or, you know, erratic decisions in the portfolio until we continue to get more clarity.Uh, from thatstandpoint,
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so no erratic decisions within the portfolio. Does that mean that sell and may and go away, is not in play this time around?
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We don’t think so, no, I mean, given that, you know, uh, we have had a nice recovery in April, um, you know, from that standpoint, which is great to see, but that certainly means we could retest some lows here, um, but that’s not enough evidence for us to, um, recommend, you know, selling in May and going away, as they say, uh, particularly given the announcement last night, um, which everyone was really waiting to hear on the potential negotiations going on with China, uh, which in our opinion is obviously, you know, much more driving the markets today rather than the solid jobs data.Um, so, no, like I said, we don’t think it’s, it’s the right decision to, you know, be timing this market, uh, and as I said at the beginning of this call, um, you know, we do think we have the proper levers in place which, whether that is fixed income, uh, which is faring better versus the 2022.Um, lack of diversification that that provided, um, but again there are some other levers, you know, broadly speaking, which many might refer to as all the alternative space which, uh, has held them nicely here to date and you know, we think we’ll continue to, uh, help the clients weather, um, this uncertainty.
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Andrew, thanks so much for taking the time here with us today.Thank you. Coming up, everyone, 3 things one expert thinks would get the housing market moving. That’s next on wealth.It’s now been one month since so-called Liberation Day when President Trump made his tariff announcements. Since then we haven’t seen new deals though the Trump administration says negotiations with nations like India, Japan, and South Korea are nearing the finish line. The uncertainty has weighed on consumer confidence and caused some companies to lower and even withdraw their guidance. Here’s what top executives have shared this earnings season about the impact of tariffs on consumers and their businesses.
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Look, if you look at the US business, the weakness in volume in Q1 was concentrated in what we call future consumption packaging, which is much more predominantly in in supermarkets or in kind of independent trade outlets rather than either convenience, which I think is partly an indication of some of the affordability pressure for the lower income.consumers and some of the geopolitical reactions. Look, I think consumers obviously are feeling some pressure. There’s no doubt that you’re seeing consumer sentiment go down over the last couple of months, but I do think they’re still being very choiceful in where they want to spend their money.
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We believe that the best way forward is to not charge tariffs on pharmaceuticals.But create an environment that attracts investment through an attractive corporate tax rate. Uh, the higher costs we expect to incur for infrastructure hardware this year really comes from, you know, suppliers who source from countries around the world. Um, and there’s just a lot of uncertainty around this given the ongoing, um, trade discussions. We’re also working on, you know, um, on our end on mitigations byOptimizing our supply chain and our outlook is really trying to reflect our best understanding of the potential impact this year, you know, across all of that uncertainty.
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Post clarity from the presidential actions of Tuesday, we are expecting a 4 to $5 billion impact from tariffs. This includes about.$2 billion coming from vehicles we import from Korea as well as tariffs on vehicle imports from Mexico and Canada in addition to indirect material imports. Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add $900 million to our
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costs. We’ve seen some heightened buying in certain categories that may indicate stocking up in advance of any potential tariff impact. When you’ve got.A 2 million plus sellers, they’re not all going to take the same strategy if there ends up being higher tariffs. I mean, they’re going to be plenty of sellers that decide to pass on those higher costs to and consumers. I think when you’ve got larger diversity like we have, we have a better chance of some of those sellers deciding that they’re going to capture share and um and they’re not going to pass on all or any of those tariffs to.Uh, um, the customers.Mortgage rates ticked slightly lower in the past week but still remain well above levels that we saw from 2020 to 2022. A higher than expected jobs report today showed the US economy added more jobs and unemployment remains historically low, but our next guest says that we’re in the midst of an affordability crisis. Here with a read on the housing market, we’ve got Jenna Soffer, who is the Sotheby’s.Realty global real estate adviser Jenna, good to have you back on the program with us. So the affordability crisis is a major hurdle and it’s something that we’ve talked with multiple guests and economists about as well. What are you seeing in your region?
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Well, absolutely affordability is such a big factor for so many Americans. There’s so many Americans that just continue to be held back. They want to enter the housing market, but they can’t due to affordability constraints, and I, I feel like I’ve been talking about this affordability crisis for a while now. This isn’t.Anything new, it’s just something that continues and unfortunately I think there were some expectations that maybe this year we were going to see some more buyers enter the market and we are seeing, you know, buyers enter the market. We’re seeing inventory levels pick up so buyers have more homes to choose from, but there’s still so many that.Held back by affordability constraints and then also you add on top of that there’s a lot of economic uncertainty. You have a lot of cautious buyers out there due to just all the transition that’s unfolding right now.
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So on kind of a broad scale, why are you seeing buyers become more cautious right now?
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Well, I would say that buyers are becoming more cautious, of course, due to economic uncertainty. I think that if you’re gonna be making one of the biggest purchases of your life, you want to make sure that you’re in a really solid position with your job. I think there’s just a lot of uncertainty about the future. Now on the flip side, you do see some buyers in volatile times like this, they.really turn to real estate and I’ve seen that happen with buyers. They’re turning to real estate. They really view it as being an anti-fragile asset. They really view it as being such a hedge against inflation, but these are generally buyers that have large stock portfolios. These are buyers that already have a foot in the housing market. It’s those buyers that don’t have a foot.Yet that want to get into the housing market, those young buyers, those first time home buyers that are just being held back because they’re just uncertain about what’s upahead
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now Jenna, I’ve seen your listings. You’re on the luxury end of this market. What are you seeing just a double click on that that buyer sentiment that you’re sensing. What are you seeing from even the super luxury end on the buyer spectrum?
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Well, I would say that on the luxury end of the spectrum, these are typically, uh, these are your buyers that are your savvy investors. These are the ones that are really viewing real estate as an anti-fragile asset. They’re viewing real estate as something to turn to in times like these. Also, they’re taking money out of the stock market and they’re putting it into real estate, so that is something.That I have seen also there are some opportunities right now and these savvy buyers they like these opportunities. There’s homes that are sitting on the market for a while. They’re finding sellers much more willing to negotiate. They’re finding some great opportunities out there. So even in the luxury market, they’re, they’re finding these really great opportunities, so you’re still seeing movement in that sector.
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So what do you think are the key factors that can get the housing market moving once again?
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Well, of course I think interest rates need to come down lower. I think that interest rates really dictate the housing market. I think there needs to be more economic uncertainty, of course. I think that that would be a big thing to help get the housing market moving. I think people just need to feel confident. They need to feel secure with their jobs. They want to feel secure about what’s up ahead, and I, and I think all of that can help.The market moving, of course, since affordability is such a big factor, we need to see affordability improve and this is something that’s starting to happen in the housing market since our inventory levels have picked up. They’re up over 30% from where they were last year. What this means is that we see that deceleration on prices. We see more modest price growth, and this is something that’s so.Healthy for the housing market, it’s so necessary for the housing market because we really need these wages to be able to keep pace with these prices. So this is a positive thing that’s unfolding
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for any potential buyers heading into an open house this weekend. I mean, weather’s finally good here in the Northeast. We’re feeling like we get these steps in and start crossing some of these listings off of our lists as well. What are your tips?
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Well, of course, know your market. The market’s so bifurcated overall in the country. What’s happening in one part of the country can be so totally different from what’s happening in another. But my advice is because this is becoming a much more buyer friendly market, don’t be afraid to go after some homes that might be above your price budget because you can negotiate. Don’t be afraid to start that conversation with the seller. I would say also use.Little times like these to your advantage, so you are going to have a lot of buyers that are going to stay on the sideline. They don’t want to go forward. Times are too uncertain for them. So use this to your advantage. There’s some great opportunities out there, and you don’t want to miss it. Don’t just focus on the rates right now. Focus on the fact that as a buyer you finally have some power. Things are shifting in your favor.
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Jenna, thanks so much for taking the time here. Good to see you again.
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Good to see you. Thank you.
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Coming up, tech investing playbook. One tip that you can use to determine if a tech stock is too expensive. That’s next on well.We are excited to partner with Synchrony Bank, our premier sponsor for Wealth. Synchrony Bank is working with Yahoo Finance and Wealth to bring you the insights for your personal finance playbook, and help you make your money work for you. Let’s get a check on the markets. Taking a look at the major averages 2 hours into today’s trading activity. We’ve got gains across the board for the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500 kind of double clicking into the Dow Jones Industrial Average gains there over the past 5 trailing sessions.In aggregate of 2.5%, about 1% here to the upside in this trading session here that we’re tracking also the same for the Nasdaq composite, that’s up by about 1.3% right now, and the S&P 500, that’s up by about 2.6% over the past five days and then 1.2% in today’s activity. We want to take a look at some of these sectors, 11 S&P 500 sectors we’ve got them loaded up here for the screen.For you on the screen and taking a look at the financial sector that is leading the charge right now during today’s activity that’s up by about 1.7% and a lot of green on the screen here. We’ll keep it moving and check in on the Nasdaq 100 where you also have a lot of green. We had just a handful of companies that were actually in the red at the start of today’s trading activity. However, some notable ones to call out here Apple and Amazon, that coming out of the earnings report.For those two companies here as we’re taking a look at Apple, those shares moving lower by about 3.7% here over the course of today’s trading session and then additionally you have a few other spots of red here within the Nasdaq 100 Airbnb, also a company that had reported earnings yesterday. However, off of its session lows here, I’ll give you a past two day look for that one. And then additionally taking a look at Amazon, you’re still seeing that fractionally low.We’re here on the day down by about 0.1% as we’ve been tracking these Mag 7 stocks over the course of this week and my goodness, it was a big week for tech stocks with 4 of the MAG 7 members reporting quarterly results. These are some of the most powerful and expensive companies in the world. As part of our tech investing playbook, we want to talk about how investors can understand whether a tech stock is worth the price. One of the most.Commonly used metrics to measure value is something called the PE ratio, which measures the company’s share price relative to its earnings per share. So here with more we’ve got Jessica Inskip who is the director of investor research at Stockbrokers.com. Jessica, good to see you. Good to have you back here with us. So help us dig into this definition, starting with what a PE ratio tells us about a stock versus what it doesn’t tell us.
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Yeah, absolutely. So it, like you said, we’re looking at the price relative to its earnings. You may look at Berkshire Hathaway, Class A, and say that’s a very expensive stock, and then compare it to Apple and think that that is less expensive, but that’s really not normalizing it. So a PE ratio gives us an equal playing field, so we can normalize it and understand if it’s expensive relative to its earnings in comparison to something else that could be a sector, another security, the overall broader mark.It and it essentially tells us the definition anyways, what investors are willing to pay for $1 worth of earnings. But it’s important to take that such a step further when interpreting it. So, for example, if something has a very high PE, it always tends to be tech stocks, because it’s the price divided by earnings. If there is higher earnings potential, that means there’s going to be a higher PE ratio. But we expect that from tech.Because it’s gross, where you might have something that’s more low beta, um, like a consumer staples, that’s going to historically and currently have a lower PE ratio. So we have to think about the numbers and the math equation to really utilizeit.
28:37 spk_0
OK, so let’s take this one step further and expand it a little bit. What about trailing PE price to earnings versus forward price to earnings, and how are those different and when should you be kind of applying your knowledge around each of those?
28:50 spk_6
That’s such a great question and a very common misconception, especially in the self-directed investing world. I see lots of investors look at the trailing 12 months to understand if something is expensive or cheap in terms of evaluation now. That’s not necessarily true. Our, we want to look at a forward PE ratio. Right now, the S&P 500’s current For PE ratio is 20.3. Historically, their 10 year average is 18.3% and the five year.Is about 19.9. It’s more technology driven because of this AI. So I expect we’re seeing those averages increase higher as well, but that is telling us forward expectations. We want to know what is the earnings potential of this security that we’re looking at? Tech specifically, how is AI going to translate into earnings? That’s constantly what we’re saying on finance media. I expect this AI, AI agent to translate positively and.To earnings, if that translates positively into earnings and we have higher growth expectations, well then that’s gonna transfer into the way that we look at PE ratios. So meaning even if you see something that has a high PE ratio because the price is inflated, and you may think that the divisor isn’t necessarily true. So when we’re looking at this, we want to decide is the price where I think it’s going to be, that’s the top way or the very common way that PE.ratio is utilized with that trailing 12 months, which is the past, whereas the way to look at it for a future investment is looking at forward earnings potential, and you’re going to decide is the price too high or is the earnings potential not high enough or low enough and there are lots of other factors we can look at to make thosedecisions.
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And so some of the sky high valuations that we started off the year with have improved a little bit. We traced to just the smidge, the excitement of AI that you were talking about.And all of that considered, is PE still the best tool to measure the true value of tech stocks, or is there something else you’re looking to?
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Uh, I, I think it’s great to have a well-rounded toolbox. So it’s important to look at for PE ratio. That’s our first step. Then I want to look at earnings growth and earnings expectations, and I also want to look at profit margins as well. That’s extremely important. And then we have to consider our macro view as well if we’re in a restrictive environment.Usually, because there’s a lot of capex spending, there is a lot of borrowing that occurs. Well, if they’re gonna have to roll over their debt and pay more for borrowing in order to innovate, if interest rates remain high or elevated, that, that could be bad on the earnings potential. So you have to think about the overall equation. So it’s important to think about other types of, of, like, positive cash flow is a really great example. But you can also even layer on analyst expectations. You don’t have to necessarily go.Into the details of this, but the starting point, I think it’s great to utilize for PE ratio and then layer on your process from there.
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So how do you compare different areas of technology like software versus social media? I mean, it’s going to be different when you’re looking at say an Oracle versus uh meta platforms when it comes to value.
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Absolutely.
31:58 spk_6
Sothis is where you have to do your homework. Um, we can start with that PE ratio. I wanna look at earnings per share growth. Going back to the basics here, because it’s literally what you’re saying if you think this is undervalued.I think earnings potential is not recognized. There should be a higher denominator here, and that’s gonna justify the super high numerator, which is the price part of the equation. You need to look at earnings expectations, and if you think that it’s incorrect or not recognized, like in the case of AI because we don’t we don’t understand it, just like back inAnd comparing it to when the internet first came out, it was very difficult to evaluate because we don’t actually understand how it’s going to translate into earnings. But what we can look at, this is where the past is very helpful, has the company been missing earnings expectations or have they been beating earnings expectations? If they’ve been beating earnings expectations by a very large amount, well, that tells me that analysts aren’t even doing a good job coming up with that part of the equation. Therefore, you could justify those valuations and.At that point, where the earnings potential is is where I want to focus on with tech specifically, that’s when we can compare against a sector overall, bring in those same same numbers, drill down even into the industry, or even specific peers, putting Google right next to Meta, right next to Amazon, even, even though they’re different business models, but related from an AI perspective.
33:22 spk_0
Jessica, good to break down these definitions with you. Appreciate the time. Thank you.Coming up, everyone traveling the world using only credit card points. We’ll tell you how that’s next on Wealth.Imagine traveling the world almost all on credit card points and miles. Our Yahoo Finance senior credit card reporter Ben Walker did just that. He breaks down the basics of a rewards credit card.
33:54 spk_7
What are a million credit card points worth? It depends. On a 6 week trip to Asia, my family and I spent over a million points of credit card rewards to cover nearly $60,000 worth of travel expenses that included business class flights for everyone as well as all the hotels. I love to travel and I’m passionate about helping other people travel too. I write about credit cards for Yahoo Finance. Let me help you find the best rewards credit card to meet your lifestyle and goals. To get started, let’s cover some basics.There are 3 main types of rewards credit cards cashback credit cards, store credit cards, and travel rewards credit cards. So which one is right for you? It depends on your spending habits as well as if you’re a traveler, it depends on your travel preferences. Does the card reward you for your kind of spending? Take a look at your bank statements and receipts. Where do you spend the most money?For instance, if you’re mostly buying food and gas, consider a low annual fee cashback card with higher rewards rates for groceries and filling the tank. One of the reasons a cashback credit card makes sense for a lot of people is because the rewards are straightforward. You’re just getting cash back that you can use towards your credit card balance or you’re literally.Getting cash in your bank account that you can use for anything. Do you buy everything at a big box store or online? Take a look at a store rewards card where your loyalty will pay you back with points and discounts. You might have a Costco card that earns rewards, and then you can use those rewards towards your next Costco purchase. You can have one for Walmart.or Target or maybe you want a card that will generate a lot of miles for travel from a wide range of spending. In that case, a travel card should probably be on your list. So in your everyday spending, what you buy and where you buy it will help guide you toward the best rewards credit card for you. Scan the QR code for more information about the best rewards credit cards.
35:56 spk_0
Yahoo Finance credit card reporter Ben Walker joins us now. Ben, I mean, it looked like an epic trick, so walk us through how you made it happen.
36:05 spk_7
Yeah, I mean, really, it was a combined effort between me and my wife and my parents. Between us, we used about 20 different credit cards to earn rewards for the trip. And then we essentially pulled all our points together so we could have this amazing experience as a family. But honestly, it took about 2 years of planning to make it all happen.
36:24 spk_0
All right, so which credit cards did you use? I gotta know.
36:27 spk_7
Yeah, our two primary credit card reward sources were Chase credit cards and American Express credit cards. So that’s Chase Ultimate rewards points and Amex membership rewards points. We use both of these programs to book all our hotel stays and some of the flights, and then specifically for our business class flights to Tokyo, we used American miles.
36:48 spk_0
So what strategies did you have to kind of deploy to plan the trip?
36:54 spk_7
Yeah, I mean, there’s kind of 3 things we kept in mind while planning the trip. One was, we used a spreadsheet. So our spreadsheets list each credit card, the benefits, how many points or miles we have, and when those benefits expire. Having a spreadsheet can really keep things organized. Number 2 is we frequently check the flight availability.So I specifically wanted to book business class flights for this trip for our entire our entire group of 6, but there’s typically not that much award availability for business class. So you have to stay on top of things by checking the availability all the time. In the weeks leading up to our planned departure date, I was checking different award flights every single day, sometimes multiple times per day. When our flights finally became available, I was ready, and that’s because I was always checking.Number 3 is, I would suggest having a backup plan. Because airlines don’t typically release many business class awards, I didn’t actually know if I was going to be able to book the flights I wanted.So in the meantime, I booked 2 backup flights to Tokyo using American Miles. I wanted to make sure we still had options to get to Japan if our first choice didn’t work out. Fortunately, I was able to book the business class flights, so I just canceled those backup options. They were fully refundable, so there was no out of pocket cost.
38:18 spk_0
All right, that is the embodiment of if you stay ready, you don’t gotta get ready. How about strategies for earning and saving credit card rewards?
38:26 spk_7
Yeah, I think you can be thoughtful about how you use your credit cards, and there are 3 things I would suggest keeping in mind. One is you should know the card benefits. So let’s say if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or another card that earns more on dining purchases or something similar, you should always try to use that card in the category where it earns more rewards.I know it can get confusing trying to remember all the different bonus categories, especially if you have multiple credit cards. So I’d recommend making a spreadsheet or keeping notes on your phone, and that can help you keep track of which card to use for what purchase.Number 2, I’d say keep an eye out for the good sign up bonuses. A generous welcome offer can really kickstart your earning potential. For us, valuable welcome bonuses on Chase Inc business cards were especially helpful in building our Chase Point banks, which let us book all our hotel stays for the trip.Number 3, I would say use your card for everything. And so, I mean, everything within reason. As long as there’s no additional fee involved, we pay for everything we can with credit cards, and then we always pay off our balances. And I do mean everything we can. I’m talking internet bills, phone bills, groceries, you name it. Even if we’re booking an Airbnb with friends or dining out with family, we try to put the bill on our card and then we settle up with everyone later.I think this is a great way to make sure you’re always earning rewards on purchases you’re gonna make anyway.
39:59 spk_0
All right, Ben, you already got me trying to map out my next trip. I appreciate it.
40:04 spk_7
Thank you very much.
40:05 spk_0
And for more information on rewards credit cards, you can scan the QR code below.Coming up, Nvidia CEO Jenson Wong just got his first raise in a decade. We’ll tell you how much he’s worth after the break.Nvidia’s CEO Jenson Huang is getting his first base salary pay bump in a decade. Huang’s base salary as the president and CEO of Nvidia for fiscal 2025 is $1.5 million. That’s up 50% from fiscal 2024. The compensation committee calling the increase appropriate in an SEC filing in consideration of internal pay equity.With the base salaries of other top executives, his variable cash opportunity or compensation based on certain performance metrics also increased 50% from last year to $3 million and Huang’s target equity opportunity or compensation through stock options or other equity awards that rose by 25% to $27.5 million slightly above the median of his peers. As of May 1st, Jensen Huang is.The 17th richest person alive according to the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index. Wang has a net worth of nearly $98 billion the majority of which is in his ownership of Nvidia stock. He owns about 860 million shares, according to a filing from early March. Nvidia’s shares are down around 15% year to date in 2025. As a result, Huang’s net worth has declined by nearly $16.5 billion over the course of the year.That’s it for wealth, everyone. I’m Brad Smith. Thank you so much for watching. Stay tuned for market domination with Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton that comes up at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
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