Retail investors talked up five hot stocks during the week (Sept. 7 to Sept. 11) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI infrastructure momentum, and corporate news flow.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) and Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY), spanning gaming, consumer electronics, software, cloud computing, and convenience store sectors, reflected strong retail interest.
GameStop
- GME reported second-quarter results this week, with revenue of $790.2 million beating estimates but down year-over-year, and adjusted EPS of $0.27. Record second-quarter operating income of $160.2 million, collectibles sales up 57% to $356.3 million and now ~45% of revenue. It also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to over $650 million, followed by a wave of insider buying, notably CEO Ryan Cohen’s ~$20.4 million open-market purchase of 1 million shares on Sept. 10, plus smaller buys by directors and an announcement that select previously closed stores would begin reopening nationwide starting Sept. 11.
- Only a very few retail investors were bullish on GME’s earnings despite a good second quarter.
- The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $17.79 to $28.10, trading around $19 to $22 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 16.33% over the last year and six months. The stock was up 1.54% year-to-date.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, GME was maintaining a weak price trend over the medium and long terms and a strong trend in the short term, with a solid value score.
Apple
- Apple’s dominant news this week was its Sept. 9 "Surprise and Shine" event—the first major product keynote under new CEO John Ternus—where it unveiled its first foldable iPhone Duo, starting at $1,999, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max with A20 Pro chips, starting at $1,199/$1,299, with preorders beginning on Sept. 12, and availability on Sept. 18). It also updated Apple Watch Series 12/Ultra 4, AirPods 5, and Siri AI features; the stock initially dipped on event day but rose about 3.6% on Sept. 10 amid positive reaction to the premium lineup and foldable launch.
- Despite its new launches, some retail traders were bearish on the AAPL stock.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $229.02 to $344.57, trading around $325 to $327 per share, as of the publication of this article. It advanced by 44.00% over the year and rose 25.20% in the last six months. The stock was down 20.12% YTD.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that AAPL had a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a moderate growth score.
Adobe
- Adobe reported its third-quarter earnings this week, which showed record revenue of $6.76 billion, up 13% YoY, beating estimates, and adjusted EPS of $6.13, also a beat. It also reported a milestone of over 1 billion monthly active users and AI-first ARR growth of more than 150% YoY. The company raised full-year guidance, including revenue to about $26.58–$26.63 billion and adjusted EPS to $24.45–$24.50, while issuing in-line-to-slightly-soft fourth-quarter targets.
- As the ADBE stock fell after earnings, some retail investors were happy to dilute their positions.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $190.12 to $370.86, trading around $236 to $249 per share, as of the publication of this article. It fell by 28.94% over the year and 9.56% in the last six months. The stock was down 28.90% YTD.
- ADBE maintains a weak price trend over the long, medium, and short terms, with a good quality score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Oracle
- ORCL also reported first-quarter earnings this week, which showed total revenue of about $19.3–$19.35 billion, up 30% YoY, beating estimates; adjusted EPS of $1.92 was also a beat. Its cloud infrastructure revenue surged 121% to $7.4 billion, and remaining performance obligations rose to a record $664 billion after booking more than $30 billion in new AI cloud contracts. The company also raised full-year guidance, including revenue of at least $90 billion and adjusted EPS of $8.10.
- Despite labelling ORCL as being in the center of “circular financing,” several retail investors were bullish on the stock.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $114.50 to $329.50, trading around $151 to $162 per share, as of the publication of this article. It dropped by 53.42% over the year, rose 2.37% over the last six months, and is lower by 21.53% YTD.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, ORCL was maintaining a strong price trend over the short term but a strong trend in the long and medium term, with a good growth score.
Casey’s General Stores
- Casey’s General Stores’ main news was its Sept. 8 fiscal first-quarter earnings report, which showed diluted EPS of $7.37, up 27.7% YoY and beating estimates; revenue of about $5.68 billion, up 24.3% and also a beat. It also reported higher inside and fuel gross profits with strong fuel margins and reaffirmed full-year guidance, including plans for at least 120 new stores.
- Retail investors on Reddit called CASY an "easy rebound play" after its post-earnings drop.
- The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $497.38 to $927.85, trading around $626 to $634 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 16.55% over the year, fell 9.03% over the last six months, and is up 13.56% YTD.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, CASY was maintaining a weak price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a good growth score.
Retail focus comprised AI infrastructure momentum, earnings, and corporate news-driven narratives, with broader market action during the week.
Photo: Hryshchyshen Serhii / Shutterstock
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