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One key indicator of quality that fundamental investors look for is profitability, the ability to convert revenue (top line) into profit (bottom line). When profitability metrics improve over time, it suggests a company is becoming more efficient in its operations. If you’re interested in exploring this further, you can check out our blog post on profitability metrics here.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that sales of newly built homes increased (+7.4%) month over month to 682,000 in March from a rate of 635,000. The seasonally adjusted annual rate is up (+3.3%) from a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted, home sales increased in the Northeast (+80.0%) and South (+11.1%) and dropped in the Midwest (-5.0%) and West (-3.5%). The average sale price for a new home dropped to $503,100 from $521,000 the previous month, while also falling (-1.2%) from $509,200 a year ago. The median new home sale price decreased from $409,000 in February to $387,400, representing a drop of (-6.2%) from $412,900 in March 2025. There were a seasonally adjusted 481,000 new homes for sale as of the end of March, which is (-4.6%) below the March 2025 inventory of 504,000. The supply of new homes for sale decreased to an 8.5-months supply as compared to 9.1 months the previous month.
The April S&P Global US Services PMI® showed business activity returning to marginal growth, with the index rising to 51.0 from 49.8 in March. However, new business intakes fell into contraction territory for the first time in two years, hindered by high inflation and the negative impact of the war in the Middle East. Export demand also remained weak, as new export business declined for the fifth consecutive month. Despite the drop in overall demand, employment volumes edged slightly higher as firms hired part-time staff to fill ongoing vacancies. Input costs stayed elevated due to rising supplier charges and fuel prices, prompting service providers to push selling prices sharply higher to protect their profit margins. Despite economic headwinds, business confidence in the year-ahead outlook improved slightly, though uncertainty regarding the conflict and the rising cost of living kept expectations below historical trends.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 115,000 in April, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. The labor force participation rate edged down to 61.8%. The number of long-term unemployed was little changed at 1.8 million, accounting for 25.3% of all unemployed workers, while the number of people unemployed for less than five weeks rose by 358,000 to 2.5 million. Job gains were led by health care (+37,000), transportation and warehousing (+30,000), retail trade (+22,000), and social assistance (+17,000), while federal government employment continued to decline (-9,000) along with information services (-13,000). Since peaking in October 2024, federal government employment has fallen by 348,000, or 11.5%. Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm employees rose by $0.06 to $37.41 in April, representing a 3.6% increase over the past year, while revisions to February and March payroll data lowered employment by a combined 16,000 jobs.
Tuesday May 12 – CPI (MoM) (April)
Wednesday May 13 – PPI (MoM) (April)
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