The earnings season is about to get a lot more interesting with about a quarter of the S&P 500, nearly half of the Dow Jones Industrials and three of the four biggest companies in the world reporting in the week ahead. Mega-cap tech companies Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon report respectively on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Stock Market
Check out the companies making headlines after the bell Thursday: Shares of Intel dropped 7 percent following mixed earnings and weak first-quarter guidance. The semiconductor-maker reported $18.66 billion in revenue, compared to the $19.01 billion estimated by analysts. Earnings per share were $1.28, slightly higher than the $1.22 estimated on the Street. The company issued
There are certain stocks that historically post big gains after reporting fourth-quarter earnings. Bespoke looked back at the past eight fourth quarter reporting periods and found stocks that jumped the most on earnings reporting day. It found 15 large caps that rose an average 3.8 percent or more. Several stocks on the list also had
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Johnson & Johnson – Johnson & Johnson earned an adjusted $1.97 per share for the fourth quarter, 2 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped forecasts, helped by stronger sales of cancer and psoriasis treatments. Travelers – The insurance company reported adjusted quarterly profit of
Tesla – Tesla is cutting its full-time workforce by 7 percent to lower costs, according to an employee memo. In the memo, CEO Elon Musk said the cuts are needed along with manufacturing design improvements to achieve economies of scale and to maintain a viable company. (Read the full text of Musk’s email to Tesla
Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday: Netflix — Shares of the video-streaming giant fell more than 2 percent after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance for the first quarter of 2019. The company also posted lighter-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018. Schlumberger — Schlumberger’s stock rose more than 6 percent and was on track
Stocks have gotten a boost from optimismfor U.S.-China trade talks, but earnings could take a bigger role in the week ahead, when reports roll in from a diverse group of companies in tech, railroads, pharma, airlines and consumer products. Stocks closed higher for a fourth week, amid talk the market may be getting overbought. The
Compared to the rough ride down, stocks have much more quietly and gently recovered more than 13 percent of their losses from the Christmas Eve low. That’s good news for bullish investors, who expect that the turbulent Christmas lows marked the bottom of the rout that took the S&P 500 down 20 percent on an
Check out the companies making headlines on midday Thursday: Signet Jewelers — Shares of Signet Jewelers plummeted more than 20 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected holiday sales. Signet, the parent company of brands like Kay and Zales, also slashed its outlooks for fiscal 2019 and the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley — The banking giant’s stock fell
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: First Data – The financial technology company will be acquired by Fiserv in an all-stock deal with an equity value of $22 billion, or $22.74 per share. First Data had closed yesterday at $17.54. Bank of America – Bank of America reported quarterly profit of 70
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: JPMorgan Chase – The bank reported quarterly profit of $1.98 per share, below the consensus estimate of $2.20, with revenue essentially in line. Consumer, community, and business banking results beat forecasts, but investment bank and wealth management results did not. UnitedHealth Group – The health insurer
Morgan Stanley equity strategists believe the stock market priced in an earnings recession when it plunged to December’s low, and it is very likely to retest that level. But the strategists, led by Mike Wilson, also say in a note that there is nothing to fear in a potential recession, and investors should “embrace it.”
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Netflix — Shares of online streaming service rallied more than 2.5 percent in premarket trading Friday after both UBS and Raymond James urged clients to buy the stock. UBS hiked its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral,” writing that after six months of underperformance,
Stocks are quickly closing in on an important level that some traders believe could make or break the market’s post-Christmas bullish run. The S&P 500 is poised to take aim at an extremely important level in the coming week. The 2,600 level has sucked in all sorts of market watchers — technicians and non-technicians alike
After the market’s December meltdown, earnings season could turn up some winners among the rubble, analysts said. What fourth quarter results will do for the market’s rebound from December’s trough is tough to say, given other factors, like trade talks, Washington dysfunction and the UK’s upcoming Brexit vote. But analysts do see some potential for
The 20-day-old government shutdown had a minor impact on the economy so far, but it could start to have a bigger sting if it continues for much longer and hits consumer or business sentiment, economists said. As of Saturday, the shutdown will be the longest on record after it stretches beyond 21 days, going back
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Apple — Nikkei reported that Apple is cutting iPhone production by 10 percent between January and March. This would be the second time in two months that Apple trims iPhone production plans, according to the report. Facebook — CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he will host a
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Union Pacific — Shares of the freight-hauling railroad rose more than 7.5 percent in premarket trading after it hired a new chief operating officer. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said Monday that it hired longtime Canadian National railroad executive Jim Vena as COO. Vena will take the
The trade war may be hurting China more than the U.S., but by spring, China could be looking up as the U.S. slows, particularly if the friction continues, economists said. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists, the China slowdown could start to reverse in the next couple of months, due to large amounts
December’sstronger-than-expected jobs report shows the labor market remains solid, but does not alleviate fears that the economy is slowing down as the new year begins. The economy added 312,000 jobs in December, far more than the 177,000 that were expected and the largest increase in payrolls since February, 2018. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9
Trade talks between the U.S.and China will dominate the market’s focus in the week ahead, while investors are also watching to see whether other companies join the ranks of Apple and warn about an earnings miss. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who sent stocks sharply higher Friday, speaks again Thursday at an Economics Club of Washington
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell changed his tone on Fed policy, walking back a comment he made in December that rattled markets and made him sound rigid about the Fed’s balance sheet. Following the Fed’s December meeting, Powell had said that the Fed’s balance sheet wind-down was on “autopilot.” That unnerved some investors who had been
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Apple – Apple issued a rare sales warning after Wednesday’s closing bell, with CEO Tim Cook pointing to slowing iPhone sales in China. Cook reportedly is set to address Apple employees today about the warning and take questions from workers. Celgene – The drugmaker agreed to
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Activision Blizzard – The video game producer is firing Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann for cause “unrelated to the company’s financial reporting,” according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The Wall Street Journal reports that Neumann will be named as the new Netflix CFO
There’s a good chance that what ailed the market in 2018 could reverse sometime in 2019, providing strong tailwinds for stocks, some strategists said. After the worst December since 1931 and the worst year since the financial crisis, stocks enter 2019 tentatively but still susceptible to the volatility that resulted in historic intraday swings in
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Amazon.com – Amazon is planning a significant expansion of its Whole Foods grocery stores, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said Amazon is scouting new locations in more suburbs, and in areas where Whole Foods is already growing in popularity. Deutsche Bank – Deutsche
Investors are fearful the stock market is signaling that a recession could be on the way either because of a Fed policy misstep or trade wars, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Not all big market declines have signaled a recession, but once a market decline reaches 20 percent, the odds are higher,
Investors can bid farewell to the worst year for stocks in a decade, but they may not find a way to escape the volatility when the new year starts with a bang. By the first Friday of 2019, it’s back to business in a big way with the December jobs report and an unprecedented panel
The stock market is likely to remain highly volatile, but the economy is unlikely to fall into a recession and that makes it a good time to “buy the dips” again when stocks fall, Leuthold chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen said. “If there’s no recession, to me it’s a buyable correction. They don’t tend to
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: JD.com – JD.com is launching an extensive revamp of its operations, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said the Chinese internet company is planning to split its primary unit – JD Mall — into three business departments, citing an internal document. JPMorgan Chase –