KBR Slumps, Circle Soars on Stablecoin Bill, Kroger Beats

On this edition of Stock Movers:

- KBR (KBR) shares dropped nearly 9%, the most since early November after the engineering company announced its role in the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)'s Global Household Goods Contract, which is designed to improve the moving system for military service members and their families. KBR was involved in the contract in a joint venture with HomeSafe Alliance. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Scott Levine says the termination of the contract may reflect risks to government service providers due to efficiency initiatives imposed by the Trump administration.

- Circle (CRCL) shares rose as much as 17% on Friday after Seaport Global gave the stablecoin issuer its first buy rating in the wake of the US Senate’s move this week to pass legislation setting up regulatory rules for cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar. The company behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market share, has seen its shares rise more than 600% since they started trading early this month. Optimism around stablecoin regulations has driven the strength. Seaport analyst Jeff Cantwell sees the global stablecoin market having the potential to reach $2 trillion at some point, from about $260 billion now. That would translate into annual revenue growth of 25%-30% for Circle, he wrote in a note to clients Friday.

- Kroger (KR) sales surpassed expectations during the latest quarter, a sign that consumers are still spending on groceries and other essentials despite economic turbulence. The nation’s largest supermarket operator said its comparable sales, excluding fuel, rose 3.2% — better than what Wall Street analysts were expecting. The company also raised its full-year sales guidance to a range of 2.25% to 3.25%. It reaffirmed the rest of its outlook. Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley told analysts on the company’s conference call that Kroger has seen an improvement in grocery volumes in recent quarters, which contributed to growth in the latest quarter. Kroger expects further volume expansion over the rest of 2025. Shares of the supermarket operator rose.

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