Diamonds and Dogs

8/19/19

Estee Lauder (EL) doing well in China. The cosmetic giant is up 9% to new highs thanks to strong sales in Asia. Estee Lauder beat by 10 cents as sales rose 9% to $3.59 billion. The company also issued upside guidance for the quarter and has yet to feel any impact from the U.S.-China trade war. Este Lauder is seeing strong demand for its skincare brands and sales growth in China, Hong Kong and emerging markets in South East Asia. The company's U.S. sales have been declining but Chinese consumers continue to spend big on luxury goods, boosting the Asia Pacific business, which now makes up more than a quarter of revenue.

A rollercoaster ride for PG&E (PCG) shareholders. The California utility giant is down 26% after a judge ruled that a jury can determine whether it should pay as much as $18 billion in damages to wildfire victims. PG&E has been sued in the past for causing the 2017 Tubbs fire, which killed 22 people and destroyed more than 5,600 structures in Sonoma and Napa counties. The stock fell to $5 a share back in January when the company signaled plans to file for bankruptcy. Since then the stock has rebounded to as high as $25 a share on hopes they would not be liable for the fires, but the recent judgement has put that back into question.