Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 PRICEY CEREAL BOXES: SBS paperboard, used for packaging consumer products such as food and cosmetics, has seen several significant producers announce price hikes. The price increase represents the ninth SBS price increase since early 2021 and will likely result in a 5-7% increase in September to around $450/ton.

#2 SECOND QUARTER RESULTS: With earnings for the second quarter now reported from 90% of the S&P 500, aggregate EPS growth of 9.7% was well above the original estimates of 5.6% according to data provided by Strategas. Furthermore, revenue growth of 13.7% was also better than expected.

#3 BIG OIL: Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil firm, announced a staggering $48.4 billion in net income for the second quarter. Saudi Aramco’s second-quarter profit according to Chartr was more than Microsoft, Meta, and Apple combined.

#4 R-RATED: When adjusted for inflation, almost all of the highest grossing modern R-rated movies are now 10, 15, or even 20 years old. As reported by Axios, the golden age of kids sneaking in to see the latest R-rated blockbuster smash could well be a thing of the past.

#5 TRAVEL: The latest survey results from TripAdvisor’s Fall Travel Index reveal that nearly 61% of US respondents say that they are planning a fall trip this year which is up from 54% last year.

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