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Stock Market Live December 4: S&P 500 (VOO) Gains on Lighter Regulation for Carmakers

By Joel South · Updated Dec 4, 12:40pm ET · Published Dec 4, 9:43am ET

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GE Aerospace Stock Could Fly 20% Higher

Susquehanna analyst Charles Minervino started coverage of airplane engine manufacturer GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) with a positive rating and a $350 price target this morning, implying he sees nearly 20% profit potential in the stock over the next 12 months.

“GE Aerospace is at the center of the Aerospace & Defense industry,” argues Minervino, “providing propulsion technology and advanced engine systems that power many of the world’s commercial and military aircraft. Between its own engines and those from its CFM International (GE-Safran 50-50) joint venture, GE powers three out of every four commercial engine flights globally.”

Furthermore, GE boasts “a vast installed base of 45,000+ commercial engines and 25,000+ military engines that are growing at mid-single digits.” Representing 65% of GE’s total sales, this fact alone, argues the analyst, should power “robust” revenue growth through the end of the decade.

Investors are responding to Susquehanna’s endorsement by bidding up GE stock 1.4%.

The Salesforce Rises

Investors got an update from Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) last night as well. Salesforce beat Q3 earnings by 39 cents, reporting profit of $3.25 per share. Revenue edged out expectations at $10.3 billion.

Salesforce guided close to the consensus estimate for the upcoming Q4, saying it will earn between $3.02 and $3.04 per share, with significantly higher revenue than expected — $11.1 billion to  $11.2 billion.

Salesforce stock is now up more than 1%, but the Voo has gone flat.

Dollar General Surprises to the Upside

S&P 500 component company Dollar General (NYSE: DG) beat earnings by 34 cents this morning, reporting a Q3 profit of $1.28 per share.

Revenue fell just short of analyst estimates at $10.6 billion. Dollar General, however, guided investors significantly higher for the rest of its fiscal 2025, saying earnings will range from $6.30 to $6.50, versus a consensus number of just $6.13, and sales will grow a faster than expected 4.7% to 4.9%.

Dollar General stock is up nearly 8% in response.

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The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) opened 0.1% higher on Thursday as it attempted to string together a third straight day of gains. Investors learned yesterday that President Donald Trump will ease regulation in the automotive sector, proposing relaxed “CAFE” fuel efficiency standards for the nation’s automakers, in an effort to make cars and trucks more affordable to consumers — and thereby goose sales in the crucial automotive sector.

And the economy could certainly use the help. A new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows U.S. employers announced more than 1 million job cuts through the end of November. The firm cited corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence, and tariffs as all factors contributing to job losses.

Current law requires companies such as Ford (NYSE: F | F Price Prediction) and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) (the CEOs of both companies standing with the President as he made his announcement) to achieve an average of 50 miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency across their passenger car and light truck fleets by 2031. Trump’s proposal is to slash that target to just 34 mpg.

Investors may be hoping the lighter regulation will succeed in accelerating the economy long term, at the same time as a weak jobs market encourages the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates when it meets next week. And that could boost the stock market in the shorter term.

Ford, General Motors (NYSE: GM), and Stellantis stocks are all up this morning, by the way, with Stellantis gaining most of all — up more than 4%.

Earnings

Grocer and S&P 500 component company Kroger (NYSE: KR) beat earnings by two cents this morning, reporting Q3 profit of $1.05 per share. Sales came in weaker than expected though, at $33.9 billion. Kroger also guided lower than Wall Street was expecting through the end of fiscal 2025, saying it will end up earning only $4.75 to $4.80 this year.

At the midpoint, that’s less than the $4.79 Wall Street wants to see, and Kroger stock is down more than 4%.

 

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Joel South

Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.

He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.

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