Closing Bell: Circle Soars, Kroger Beats, Nvidia Slumps

On this episode of Stock Movers:

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Scarlet Fu, Alix Steel, Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.

- Circle (CRCL) shares soared 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 earlier 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) shares were higher after its 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. Interim Chief Executive Officer Ronald Sargent said he’s optimistic about the rest of the year while citing broader economic uncertainty.

- Nvidia (NVDA) shares slumped, along with shares throughout the chip sector on the Wall Street Journal's reporting that a top US official told chipmakers that it's possible waivers they've used to access American technology in China could end up revoked.

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