by Louis Navellier
March 4, 2025
On Friday evening, I was dining at Mar-a-Lago, near our Florida home, and we were pleasantly surprised at how normal President Trump seemed after he essentially threw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House. In case you did not know, at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump likes to be a DJ and play music (very loud) in the outdoor courtyard where everyone is dining. I also noticed that Senator Lindsey Graham was on the phone for a long time before joining President Trump for dinner. I suspect that Graham may have been on the phone with his Ukrainian contacts in an attempt to salvage the contentious Ukrainian situation that evening.
The previous day, French President Macron and British Prime Minister Starmer visited President Trump in a futile attempt to get a “security agreement” for Ukraine in the wake of a cease fire. However, President Trump would not agree to any security agreement that Ukrainian President Zelensky was pressing for before he would sign an agreement for rare earth minerals. In the end, Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked President Zelensky to leave the White House, and the lunch prepared for the Ukrainian delegation was served to White House staff.
I should add that Vice President J.D. Vance and President Zelensky kicked off the kerfuffle with a contentious exchange before President Trump intervened and escalated the argument by accusing Zelensky of “not having the cards” to win, and “gambling with World War III.” President Zelensky was trying to make an argument that a cease fire with Vladmir Putin would not work, which caused President Trump to say, “You’re not really in a good position right now” and then the President abruptly ended the meeting in front of the news media.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had visited President Trump the previous day and Starmer was also unable to get Trump to agree to a Ukraine security agreement. Interestingly, Starmer’s Labour Party actively campaigned against Trump in Pennsylvania, until the Trump campaign complained of foreign election interference. Although Starmer and Trump are political opposites on government-led censorship, the environment, immigration and long-term support for Ukraine, they were amazingly polite to each other. The U.S. actually had an $11.9 billion trade surplus with Britain in 2024, so President Trump was confident that Britain and the U.S. would reach a favorable trade deal, resulting in minimal or no tariffs.
There were a couple of contentious issues that I suspect President Trump discussed with Prime Minister Starmer. First is the Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean, where Britain is turning over sovereignty to Mauritius. Secondly, Britain wants Apple to open its iCloud security, so that it can surveil its own citizens, in order to implement censorship and/or prosecute British citizens for their opinions. I expect that – behind closed doors – President Trump defended Apple and demanded that Starmer protect U.S. interests in Diego Garcia.
The meeting between French President Macron and President Trump seemed more awkward. Although Macron called the meeting a “turning point,” he could not convince Trump to provide more financial and military support for Ukraine, so Europe is now exploring ways to expand its aid packages to Ukraine. The problem is that most of the European aid to Ukraine has been via loans, which are unlikely to get repaid.
German Election Results Put the Spotlight on Germany’s New Coalition
Germany’s new chancellor did not visit the White House, as did the French and British leaders, but we now know the winner of the February 23rd election was the CDU-CSU party, led by Friedrich Merz, who won 28.5% of the vote, while the AfD party was #2, at 20.8%. This reflected a major victory for these two conservative parties in Germany. Normally, the CDU-CSU and AfD parties would form a ruling coalition, with help from a third party. However, Merz and the other major parties – the SPD (16.4%, led by Olaf Scholz), Grune/Green (11.6%) and Die Linke/Left (8.77%) – vowed not to work with the AfD party.
If they hold to that decision and incoming Chancellor Merz aligns with the socialists or other left-wing parties instead of the AfD in its ruling coalition, Germany will become dysfunctional, like France, where President Macron represents a minority and cannot work with Marine Le Pen, whose National Party controls Parliament. Furthermore, the criticisms by Vice President J.D. Vance – that Germany is suppressing democracy, and the will of the people – may intensify and be repeated by President Trump.
In response to criticism from Vance, Merz said, “It should be a priority to strengthen Europe as fast as possible so that we gradually achieve independence from the U.S.” Merz added that, “It’s clear that the Americans, at least this American administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”
He may be referring to the fact that President Trump is encouraging German companies to move some of their operations to the U.S. to avoid higher tariffs, but he is also pressuring U.S. companies to onshore their operations back home from overseas. For example, Apple announced last week that it is investing $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, which would represent its largest domestic investment. Specifically, Apple said that it will hire 20,000 workers and produce AI servers in the U.S. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, recently met with President Trump, who said Cook is “investing hundreds of billions” here.
Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tax on items imported from China, where Apple builds the vast majority of its iPhones and other products. However, Trump has traded investments in the U.S. for tariff relief in the past, so it appears that Apple is doing its best to appease the Trump Administration.
Earnings Seasons Is Almost Over – With Costco Yet to Come
Despite all the political hurricanes going on, we almost wrapped up earnings season last week with several important company reports and news releases. First, on Tuesday, AI leader Super Micro Computer complied with its update for financials that NASDAQ required. Then, on Wednesday, Nvidia announced that its fourth-quarter revenue rose 77.8% to $39.3 billion (vs. $22.1 billion in the same quarter a year ago). During the same period, earnings rose 81.6% to $22.1 billion (89 cents per share), compared with $12.3 billion (49 cents per share) a year earlier. The analyst community was expecting revenue of $37.72 billion and earnings of 84 cents per share, so Nvidia posted a 4.2% sales surprise and a 6% earnings surprise. In addition, Nvidia’s Blackwell chip accounted for $11 billion (28%) of Nvidia’s revenues, so the company’s earnings potential is expected to continue to rise as the Blackwell chip’s revenue rises.
Nvidia shares rose after-hours, then fell Thursday morning, as often happens when the short sellers attack, as I explained in last Friday’s podcast. I agree with many of you that this kind of whiplash can be frustrating, but good stocks usually bounce back “like fresh tennis balls,” so we need to be patient.
Nvidia is often the “grand finale” for earnings announcement season, but there is one more important flagship earnings announcement to watch, which is Costco (COST), coming Friday after market hours.
I was surprised at a recent visit to a local Costco in Florida, as the food section has changed. It has moved upscale. The steak packages were bigger, with thicker cuts, so they were significantly more expensive than I remember. Overall, it appears to me that Costco is striving to move more upscale and cater to more affluent consumers. If so, I expect that Costco will announce impressive same-store sales growth.
If you need any more proof that earnings are working, take a look at Sezzle, which surged in the wake of announcing better-than-expected revenues and earnings. Last Tuesday, Sezzle announced that its fourth-quarter revenue rose 100.8% to $98.2 million compared to $48.9 million in the same quarter a year ago. During the same period, the company’s earnings soared 760.8% to $4.39 per share compared to 51 cents per share. The analyst community was expecting revenue of $70 million and earnings of $3.12 per share, so Sezzle posted a 28.7% revenue surprise and a 40.7% earnings surprise! I should add that a now-defunct short seller, Hindenburg, attacked Sezzle, so some of the stock surge may have been short covering.
Navellier & Associates own; Nvidia Corp (NVDA), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), Sezzle Inc. (SEZL), and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI), in managed accounts. Louis Navellier and his family own Nvidia Corp (NVDA), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), Sezzle Inc. (SEZL), and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI), via a Navellier managed account, and Nvidia Corp (NVDA), and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), in a personal account.
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