Rocket Companies is a financial services company that was originally founded as Rock Financial in 1985 and is currently based in Detroit. Rocket Companies offers a wide array of services and products but is best known for its Rocket Mortgage business. The company’s mortgage lending operations are split between its direct-to-consumer lending, which sees borrowers accessing the company’s lending arm directly through either its mobile app or website, and its partner network where mortgage brokers and other firms use Rocket’s origination process to offer loans to their customers. The company has rapidly gained market share in recent years and is now the largest mortgage originator in the U.S. as well as the servicer for more than 2 million loans.

Rocket Companies is a financial services company that was originally founded as Rock Financial in 1985 and is currently based in Detroit. Rocket Companies offers a wide array of services and products but is best known for its Rocket Mortgage business. The company’s mortgage lending operations are split between its direct-to-consumer lending, which sees borrowers accessing the company’s lending arm directly through either its mobile app or website, and its partner network where mortgage brokers and other firms use Rocket’s origination process to offer loans to their customers. The company has rapidly gained market share in recent years and is now the largest mortgage originator in the U.S. as well as the servicer for more than 2 million loans.

The third quarter of 2024 has been rewarding for equity investors, as the S&P 500 increased another 5% and has gained almost 20% year to date. Surprise, surprise, though, as value was the segment leader in the quarter. The S&P 500 Value Index advanced approximately 7% in the period, while the S&P 500 Growth Index edged only 3% higher. Leading sectors included Real Estate, Utilities, Financial, Healthcare and Industrials, while lagging sectors for the past three months included Information Technology and Energy. The average stock in the Argus Universe of Coverage rose almost 8% during the quarter, while the median stock increased 9%. The average BUY-rated stock rose 8.3%, while the average HOLD-rated stock gained 6.7%. Here are the top-10 and bottom-five performers from the Argus Universe in 3Q24.

With WTI dropping below $70/barrel and the 10-year Treasury falling under 3.8%, the U.S. consumer has some tailwinds to keep the recession talk at a very low murmur. But maybe not if you accept the constant bearishness from the perma-bears who always dig deep and find obscure reasons for recessions and bear markets. Crude oil closed at $68.83 on Wednesday, its lowest level since December 2023. Oil has dropped from an intraday peak of $87.67 on April 12; that's 21% in a little over four months. There is multi-year chart support for WTI in the low- to mid-$60s range (ex. the pandemic). More relevant for consumers, gasoline has dropped to $1.95/gallon (ex. taxes, etc.) from an April 16 close of $2.82 (or by 31%). While it's not heating season yet, heating oil has fallen to $2.15/gallon from $2.96 in February (or 27%) and natural gas has plummeted 32% in less than three months. The COT data for all these energy products has improved -- so we may be approaching an intermediate-term bottom. The 10-year has fallen 94 basis points (bps) since April 25 and is close to breaking to its lowest level since mid-2023. This has led to a 90-bps drop in the average 30-year fixed mortgage since late April (to 6.35%) -- down from the peak in October 2023 (of 7.8%). With all this consumer stimulus, the Federal Reserve hasn't done a thing. The market, once again, is doing the Fed's job. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)