TOP STORIES

Uber Links With Albertsons in Expansion of Grocery Delivery

Uber Technologies Inc. plans to more than double the availability of its grocery-delivery service in the U.S. this week and accelerate the roll out this year with a 1,200-store partnership with Albertsons Cos.

The company on Monday said its on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery, which launched last July, is now available in more than 400 cities and towns across the country, including major markets such as San Francisco, New York City and Washington, DC.

Tractor Supply Raises Full-Year Guidance

Tractor Supply Co. Monday raised its full-year guidance, a change the company said reflected strong performance in the first half of the year.

The Brentwood, Tenn.-based farm and ranch retailer said it now expects sales of $12.1 billion to $12.3 billion in 2021, with per-share earnings of $7.70 to $8. Tractor Supply had previously guided for sales of $11.4 billion to $11.7 billion and earnings of $7.05 to $7.40 a share.

Comparable-store sales are expected to rise by 11% to 13%, Tractor Supply said. It had previously estimated they would rise by 5% to 8%.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Chipotle Q2 Earnings Are Tuesday. What to Expect. -- Barrons.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill will report second-quarter earnings after the close of regular trading on Tuesday, and plenty of analysts are predicting results from the burrito chain, as the stock has rallied back toward all-time highs.

Consensus estimates call for Chipotle (ticker: CMG) to earn $6.53 a share, on revenue of $1.88 billion. That's up from EPS of $5.36 and revenue of $1.74 billion in the previous quarter.

Covid Worries Sap Weather Momentum for Grains -- Market Talk

11:25 ET - Although the weather outlook for US growing areas looks to be dry, hurting crop growth, CBOT grain futures are only slightly higher. This is because of worries of surging coronavirus cases globally, with the Delta variant sending markets lower across the board. "Were it not for the weather outlook concerns in the grain and soy trade that have spurred on a higher opening this week; these markets could very well be suffering that same Delta Covid concerns as many others," Dan Hueber of the Hueber Report says. "It would be premature to say if this will bleed over to the other ag markets by the time we close today, but it does appear to have dampened some of the overnight enthusiasm." Corn gains 0.2%, soybeans fall 0.5% and wheat rises 1.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Finish Lower on Covid Fears -- Market Talk

1514 ET - Livestock futures trading on the CME close down, with most-active live cattle futures off 0.1% to $1.204 per pound and lean hog futures dropping 1.2% to $1.0525 per pound. Concerns about a resurgence in coronavirus cases in certain areas weighed on both contracts, as well as the wider market--with traders concerned that new cases of the Delta variant may slow a post-pandemic economic recovery. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-19-21 1721ET