Walmart Slumps, Dayforce Rises, Cracker Barrell Sinks

On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Walmart (WMT) shares fell after profit missed expectations for the first time in three years, overshadowing higher sales. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 68 cents for the second quarter, six cents lower than what Wall Street expected. The world’s largest retailer cited a rise in insurance claims, legal charges and restructuring costs as factors weighing down its profit. Walmart shares dropped as much as 4.4% in New York trading at 9:31 a.m., their biggest decline since May 15. Through Wednesday’s close, the stock had gained nearly 14% this year, outpacing the 8.7% advance of the S&P 500 Index.

- Dayforce (DAY) shares are up after Thoma Bravo agreed to buy the human resources software provider in what is set to become one of the investment firm’s largest-ever deals. The private equity giant will pay $70 a share in cash for Minneapolis-based Dayforce, according to a statement Thursday. The price represents a roughly 32% premium to Dayforce’s stock price on Aug. 15, the last trading session before Bloomberg News reported that a deal was in the works. The deal values Dayforce at $12.3 billion including debt and includes a significant minority investment from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Dayforce shares rose as much as 3.9% in premarket trading in New York on Thursday to hit the offer price, before giving up some of the gains. The stock closed the previous session roughly 3% higher at $67.40, giving the company a market value of about $10.8 billion.

- The slide in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.'s (CBRL) shares deepened today as a conservative backlash to the restaurant chain’s logo change intensified across social media. Shares of the Southern-inspired casual dining operator, known for its homestyle cooking, fell as much as 15% as negative posts, including one from Donald Trump Jr. after the market close the prior session, flooded X. The notable drop follows Cracker Barrel’s announcement Tuesday that it would be removing the image of an old man leaning against a barrel from its logo, leaving just the words Cracker Barrel. The stock pared losses to end the session down 7.2% — the fifth consecutive day of declines.

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