Shares of Salesforce (CRM), a cloud-based software company, are plummeting in premarket trading after the company issued a weak outlook and missed quarterly revenue expectations for the first time in 18 years. Costco Wholesale (COST), Dell Technologies (DELL) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) will report quarterly earnings after the close today. Shares of UiPath (PATH), an artificial intelligence (AI) software provider, are plummeting after the company announced an unexpected CEO change and gave current quarter sales guidance that was well below Wall Street expectations. U.S. stock futures continue to fall as Treasury yields remain elevated on concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high for a long time as inflation persists. One data point that could ease concerns about an overheating economy is the first revised first-quarter GDP to be released today, which is expected to show a slowdown from the initial reading. Here’s what investors need to know today.
1. Software giant Salesforce plummets after missing quarterly earnings for first time in 18 years
Shares of cloud-based software company Salesforce (CRM) plummeted more than 15% in premarket trading after the company reported its first quarterly earnings in 18 years and a weaker annual revenue outlook amid enterprise customers tightening their IT budgets and longer-than-average deal cycles. Salesforce gave weaker-than-expected guidance for the second quarter but maintained its outlook for fiscal 2025. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff added that the company could be poised to benefit from an “AI transformation” as enterprise customers build AI-powered tools.
2. Costco is expected to report increased third-quarter results under its new CFO.
Costco Wholesale (COST), which is reporting its results with the first new financial chief in decades at the warehouse retailer, is expected to report strong third-quarter results after the close. Longtime CFO Richard Galanti retired in March and was replaced by former Kroger (KR) CFO Gary Millerchip. The results are expected to show that the company continues to win over consumers as retailers such as Target (TGT) struggle with declining discretionary spending. Analysts expect Costco to post year-over-year sales and net income growth and to grow membership. Uber recently announced that Uber Eats users can order Costco products through the app, regardless of whether they are Costco members. Shares were little changed in premarket trading.
3. Dell expands profits ahead of first-quarter earnings announcement, with focus on PC maker’s AI business
Dell Technologies (DELL) shares are up about 2% in pre-market trading ahead of the company’s fiscal 2025 first quarter earnings report. Investors seem to be focused on updates on how artificial intelligence (AI) is benefiting the company’s server business. Analysts expect the well-known PC maker to post year-over-year revenue growth but lower net income. However, the company is building AI partnerships and recently announced it will expand its AI factory through a partnership with Nvidia (NVDA), boosting the stock. Dell also unveiled a new AI PC as part of Microsoft’s (MSFT) new category of Windows PCs designed for AI.
4. UiPath plummets after CEO resigns, outlook falls short of expectations
Shares of UiPath (PATH) fell by nearly a third in premarket trading after the AI ​​software provider announced a surprise CEO change and issued current-quarter revenue guidance that fell far short of Wall Street expectations. The company, which makes software to automate repetitive tasks and processes, said that CEO Rob Ensslin will step down on June 1 and be replaced by co-founder Daniel Dines, who resigned as co-CEO on January 31. Shares of the Alphabet (GOOGL) Google partner have fallen about 20% since Ensslin took sole control. For the full year, the company now expects net sales of $1.505 billion to $1.41 billion, down from its previous guidance of $1.555 billion to $1.56 billion.
5. Marvel Technology falls after the close ahead of first-quarter earnings report
Marvell Technology (MRVL) shares are edging lower after the close ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings report. Analysts expect revenue to fall and losses to widen compared to the same period last year. Investors will be looking for signs of growth in the chipmaker’s data center division and updates on AI. Analysts expect Marvell to post a net loss of $196.6 million on revenue of $1.15 billion, wider than the $168.9 million loss in the same period last year.
