What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after concerns about the health of the U.S. economy grew following a significant downward revision of job market data.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs from April 2024 through March than initially estimated. These "benchmark revisions" are issued annually to more accurately account for new and defunct businesses. The report detailed that the leisure and hospitality sector added 176,000 fewer jobs, professional and business services 158,000 fewer, and retailers 126,000 fewer. This weaker-than-expected data has fueled investor anxiety, as it suggests businesses may be becoming more reluctant to hire amid economic uncertainty. The numbers issued are preliminary, with final revisions scheduled for February 2026.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon added that the U.S. economy is "weakening," though he stopped short of predicting a recession. "Whether it's on the way to recession or just weakening, I don't know," he said. Dimon's remarks are closely watched, given his influence as head of one of the nation's largest banks.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Aerospace company Redwire (NYSE:RDW) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy Redwire? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Maintenance and Repair Distributors company Transcat (NASDAQ:TRNS) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Transcat? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Air Freight and Logistics company GXO Logistics (NYSE:GXO) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy GXO Logistics? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Law Enforcement Suppliers company Byrna (NASDAQ:BYRN) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Byrna? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Heavy Transportation Equipment company Wabash (NYSE:WNC) fell 2.7%. Is now the time to buy Wabash? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On GXO Logistics (GXO)
GXO Logistics’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock dropped 2.6% after a broad market sell-off driven by concerns over U.S. tariffs, rising bond yields, and signs of a slowdown in the logistics sector. The wider market tumbled after a court decision raised uncertainty about U.S. tariffs, while rising Treasury yields added to the pressure on stocks. Further weighing on investor sentiment, the ISM Manufacturing report showed that manufacturing activity contracted for a sixth straight month. The logistics sector faced specific challenges, with reports of subdued summer trade volumes and weak airfreight rates.
GXO Logistics is up 18.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $50.90 per share, it is still trading 19.2% below its 52-week high of $63.01 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of GXO Logistics’s shares at the IPO in July 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $933.92.
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