Thursday, April 25, 2024
The market fell again early today. The major indexes rebounded and closed near their highs, but break-even points remained favorable. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day with the worst decline of -375 points, or -0.98%. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 fell -0.46%, the Nasdaq fell -0.64% and the small-cap Russell 2000 fell -0.76%. All four indexes remain positive this week with one trading day left.
There was a whiff of “stagflation” in the early morning business papers, joined by a disappointing first quarter report in the early morning. This created a significant downdraft in sentiment, even though it likely increased the Fed’s appetite to finally lower interest rates at a time when data is showing signs of economic strain. The first quarter GDP and latest trade deficit numbers are mixed with a lack of revenue: caterpillar (Cat – Free report) and major airline companies American (AAL – free report) and southwest (love – free report).
Several major companies have reported since the deal closed. microsoft (MSFT – (Free Report) beat the typical operating performance on both revenue and bottom line (it has missed out on earnings once in the past five years), and its earnings of $2.94 per share beat the Zacks Consensus of $2.81. Revenue for the quarter was $61.9 billion, exceeding expectations of $60.6 billion and representing +17% year-over-year growth. Operating income for the quarter increased 23% year over year to $27.6 billion.
Microsoft’s cloud business (Azure) also grew +23% year-over-year to $35.1 billion, including $26.7 billion in its “Intelligent Cloud” division, which grew +21% year-over-year. Business productivity increased +12% to $19.6 billion. Shares rose +5% in late trading on the news, adding to +7.6% year-to-date and +35% over the past year. The guidance will likely be detailed in an upcoming conference call.
alphabet (Google – Free Report) also exceeded expectations in terms of sales and final profit. Earnings per share of $1.89 beat the Zacks Consensus by 40 cents per share, compared with earnings of $1.17 in the year-ago period. Revenue before traffic acquisition costs (TAC) was $67.59 billion, well above the $66.04 billion expected by analysts (the company reported a high of $80.54 billion). dollars). Advertising, especially YouTube, did better than expected. The company also announced its first-ever dividend yield of 20 cents per share. Shares rose +12.8% in late trading.
Eating cake this afternoon Snap Co., Ltd. (snap – free report). The social media powerhouse delivered positive earnings per share of +$0.03, up from expectations of -$0.05, compared with +$0.01 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue grew +21% year-over-year, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 billion, and daily active users rose +10% year-over-year to 422 million. Spotlight content grew +125% compared to his year ago. SNAP stock is up an astonishing +29% in the aftermarket.
intel (INTC – (Free Report) But things are going in the opposite direction. The semiconductor manufacturing giant beat its first-quarter bottom line (earnings of 18 cents per share versus estimates of 13 cents), but revenue fell just short at $12.7 billion (versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.76 billion). . However, it is the guidance for next quarter that is driving the stock down -8% in late trading. Earnings of 10 cents per share on sales of $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion are well below the previously expected 24 cents per share and sales of $13.54 billion. .
Have questions or comments about this article or the author? Click here>>
Free – Get 5 Dividend Stocks to Fund Your Retirement
Zacks Investment Research has released a special report highlighting five diverse stocks with amazing dividends to help you prepare for retirement. They cut across property management, luxury outlets, financial institutions, and some powerful energy production companies.
5 Dividend Stocks to Include in Your Retirement Strategy is packed with unconventional wisdom and insight you won’t get from your local financial planner.
Download now – it’s free today >>
