Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for May 20th in 3:00 minutes.

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Today's big stories

Lowe’s posted better-than-expected quarterly results as folks continue to spruce up their homes
One sector’s stocks are set to spike even as the rest fall by the inflation-torn wayside – Read Now
JD.com’s results beat analysts’ expectations, with the Chinese consumer spending boom paying off for the ecommerce giant

Build Back Better

What’s Going On Here?

Lowe’s posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, as would-be builders looked for new ways to give their lives some much-needed structures.

What Does This Mean?

Between the surging workload of professional contractors and the relentless campaign among homeowners to craft a truly Instagram-worthy abode, Lowe’s sales rose 26% compared to the year before – outstripping the 20% growth analysts were predicting. Investors, though, are still skeptical that this isn’t all just the fading echoes of a locked-down population (tweet this). Throw in the fact that this quarter’s results will be compared to last year’s second quarter (the pandemic-fueled heyday of DIY projects), and it might make more sense why they initially sent its shares down 3%.

Why Should I Care?

For markets: Lowe’s biggest rival might have the edge.
Trouble was, Home Depot had already set expectations pretty high on Tuesday: the home improvement giant reported a 31% uptick in sales last quarter. And while Home Depot’s investors are just as aware that this DIY boom could subside any day now, they might argue that the retailer’s higher proportion of sales to professional DIYers gives it an advantage. Those handypeople, after all, are only going to become more welcome in people’s homes as the vaccines kick in, which could give Home Depot’s sales a disproportionate boost.

The bigger picture: Give us new homes already.
Surging house prices have been encouraging people to spruce up their homes, sure, but the housing market is facing new problems that could compound investor skepticism toward the home improvement retailers. Fresh data on Tuesday showed the construction of new homes had dropped by the most since the pandemic hit. Put that down to a few bottlenecks facing the industry, like the shortage of available land, the decline in available labor, or the rise in lumber prices that – embarrassingly – makes it tricky for nervous homebuilders to get wood.

You might also like: Is now the right time to invest in US real estate?

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2. Analyst Take

The Hero Your Portfolio Needs

What’s Going On Here?

You can’t go far these days without hearing about investors’ inflation worries and the impact it might have on stock prices.

But not all stock prices: there’s one industry that could actually benefit from prices of goods and services getting higher.

That’s especially when producer prices are rising faster than consumer prices, like they are now.

So that’s today’s Insight: the inflation-proof opportunity in the stock market, and three ways to invest whether you’ve got a European, US, or global portfolio.

Read or listen to the Insight here

Meeting Net Zero standards today

We all need to play our part in the transition to a net-zero world.

That’s why the Paris Agreement – signed in 2015 – committed the world to keeping the global average temperature from rising no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

And it’s why Jupiter Asset Management has made a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 across its full range of investments and operations.

But what implications does the transition to net zero have for portfolios? How fast might the transition happen? And what challenges does the process present?

Find Out Here

*Click here to read important disclosures.

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