What Happened?
Shares of e-commerce pet food and supplies retailer Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) fell 3.1% in the afternoon session after an analyst note highlighted growing investor concerns regarding the company's profitability ahead of its upcoming earnings report. The note from Piper Sandler pointed out that investor focus had shifted from customer acquisition to profitability. Chewy had delivered only modest beats on a key profitability measure in recent quarters, a change from its historical double-digit outperformance. The company's gross margins also remained under scrutiny after missing expectations in two of the four previous quarters. This came as the stock had already taken a significant 26.7% hit over the previous six months.
The shares closed the day at $33.49, down 3.8% from previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Chewy? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Chewy’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 12 days ago when the stock dropped 2.8% on the news that markets faded the Nvidia rally in the morning session, as investors remained uncertain about future rate cuts.
While the trading day began with significant enthusiasm, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 700 points and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.6%, momentum quickly evaporated as the session wore on. The primary catalyst for this sharp reversal was a stronger-than-expected jobs report, which reduced the implied odds of a December interest rate cut to less than 40%. This macroeconomic anxiety overshadowed stellar corporate performance. Nvidia initially surged 5% on blockbuster earnings and CEO Jensen Huang's bullish outlook on "off the charts" demand for Blackwell chips. However, the stock eventually turned negative, acting as a heavy weight that dragged the broader indices into the red. The sell-off partly reflects a deepening caution regarding high-flying tech valuations in a "higher-for-longer" rate environment. Consequently, investors appeared to rotate capital away from volatile growth sectors and toward defensive staples, evidenced by Walmart's 6% gain following its own earnings beat. Ultimately, the market could not sustain the morning's euphoria, as traders prioritized rate realities over AI potential.
Chewy is flat since the beginning of the year, and at $33.63 per share, it is trading 30.2% below its 52-week high of $48.21 from June 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Chewy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $472.13.
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