For a second straight session, Brexit soaked up all of Wall Street's attention on Monday as banks, airline stocks, and just about any business with significant exposure to Europe declined, while the British pound fell to a 30-year low against the dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) followed European markets lower at the open and then continued to sink through the session. At the closing bell the Dow had lost 161 points, or 1.5%, and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.46%) had shed 37 points, or 1.8%. Even with the carnage over the past two trading days, though, indexes are down just marginally so far in 2016.
Meanwhile, individual stocks making headlines on Monday included Dow giant Walt Disney (DIS -1.01%) and casual dining darling Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 6.33%).
Disney's movie magic
Disney shares did slightly better than the Dow following a second straight week of box-office dominance for its animated film Finding Dory. The Pixar movie pulled in $73 million to bring its total ticket sales to nearly $300 million. Dory is already the 13th most-popular animated release of all time just 10 days after its debut, according to Box Office Mojo.
Image source: Disney.
For investors keeping track, this marked the 12th weekend (out of 26) that The House of Mouse has owned the top spot in theaters so far this year. With that performance, Finding Dory joins a deep portfolio of hits from each of Disney's other studios -- Disney Pictures (The Jungle Book), Marvel (Captain America), and Disney Animation (Zootopia). At this pace, Disney just might lead all U.S. studios in ticket sales this year for the first time since 2003.
Movies play a relatively small role in Disney's operating results. The studio business is responsible for less than 20% of revenue over the past six months, after all. Yet the entertainment giant's entire model revolves around exploiting valuable intellectual property. That begins with a good run at the box office, before Disney can ring the register in future years through its theme parks and consumer products divisions.
Chipotle's latest giveaway
Chipotle is pulling out all the stops in hopes of getting its customer base to come back into stores following a food-safety scare that led to its first-ever quarterly net loss as a public company. Following an expensive burrito giveaway, the fast-food chain on Monday announced a three-month-long loyalty program through which diners can earn free meals. The move appears to serve two purposes: to promote repeat visits and to collect customer feedback for a more permanent loyalty program. "We will be carefully listening to our customers and using what we learn as we consider the design of an ongoing rewards program," executives explained in a press release.
Image source: Chipotle.
Wall Street is bracing for continued fallout from the food-safety scare when Chipotle posts earnings results on July 21. Sales are expected to slump by 12% as earnings crater by 80% to $0.95 per share. Investors will be watching comparable-store sales trends for any evidence that customers are returning. "Sales are on a gradual path to recovery," CEO Steve Ells said in late April. To add weight to those optimistic words, the company will need to show significant improvement over its 30% comps decline in Q1.
