A tale of two prediction markets

Levi Strauss rose more than 11% in premarket trading after it beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.

For its fiscal year 2026, which ends December 1st, the apparel giant now expects to report:

• Revenue growth between 5.5% to 6.5%, up from 5% to 6%. Analysts polled by FactSet are penciling in about 6.21% sales growth.

• Adjusted earnings per share between $1.42 to $1.48, up from $1.40 to $1.46, but still a hair below the $1.49 the Street was expecting.

The company also beat expectations for its first quarter, which ended March 1. It reported:

• Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $0.42, versus $0.37 expected.

• Revenue of $1.74 billion, more than 5% ahead of the $1.65 billion that was expected, with direct-to-consumer sales making up the majority of its revenue stream for the quarter.

The stock is up nearly 11% as of 6:35 a.m. ET, having shed roughly ~5% from the start of the year to yesterday's close.

Oil prices are sharply lower Wednesday morning, extending their biggest single-day drop in six years after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil supply flows.

As of 5:10 a.m. ET, international benchmark Brent crude was down 13.6% at around $94 per barrel, while US WTI crude fell ~16% to $95 per barrel — following its steepest one-day decline since the Russia-Saudi price war in March 2020 and extending the overnight selloff.

A slew of energy stocks are also giving back some of their war-driven gains, with oil-and-gas producers including Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, ConocoPhillips, APA Corporation, Coterra Energy, and EOG Resources all down 6-9% in premarket trading.

Oil majors Exxon and Chevron both fell more than 5%, while fuel refiners including Marathon Petroleum, Valero, and Phillips 66 moved 4-6% lower.

Oilfield services names like Halliburton and natural gas producer EQT Corp fell 4-5%, while Chemical makers Dow, Inc. and LyondellBasell, along with fertilizer company CF Industries, are also trading lower. Natural gas exporter Cheniere Energy was also deeply in the red.