Dow Jones stock futures ticked lower Tuesday after McDonald's, Coca-Cola and 3M reported first-quarter results. 3M shares broke out in early trade. MCD stock retreated after missing earnings. KO stock reversed to a slight decline after raising its revenue outlook.
McDonald's Earnings
McDonald's reported that earnings increased 2% to $2.70 per share adjusted on 5% revenue growth to $6.17 billion.
FactSet analysts expected earnings to increase 3.4% to $2.72 per share on 4.4% revenue growth to $6.16 billion. The results marked three consecutive quarters of decelerating earnings growth while sales growth slowed over the last two periods.
Global comparable sales rose 1.9%, compared to FactSet views for a 2.1% increase.
The Dow Jones fast-food behemoth guided its 2024 operating margin in the mid-to-high 40% range. McDonald's expects restaurant chain expansion to increase systemwide sales growth 2% for the year. The plans for its 2024 capital expenditures range from $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion, more than half of which will be used to open more than 2,100 restaurants this year.
MCD stock faded a fraction Tuesday. Shares are down nearly 8% in 2024 and attempting to climb off the floor of a four-month consolidation.
Coca-Cola Earnings
Dow Jones soda giant Coca-Cola Tuesday morning reported adjusted earnings increased 7% to 72 cents per share while net revenue rose 3% to $11.3 billion.
FactSet expected earnings to rise 2.9% to 70 cents per share on less than 0.5% revenue growth to just over $11 billion.
Organic sales growth came out to 11% for the quarter, compared to Wall Street views for 6.9% growth. Unit case volume rose 1% year over year, driven by 4% growth in Latin America.
Coca-Cola raised its organic revenue growth outlook for the year, now expecting an 8% to 9% increase for 2024, compared to its prior guidance of 6% to 7% growth. The company maintained its 2024 adjusted earnings guidance of 4% to 5% growth. Coca-Cola kept its free cash flow outlook $9.2 billion for the year.
FactSet expects Coca-Cola 2024 earnings will increase 4.4% with organic sales growth of 7.3% for the year. Wall Street forecasts 2024 free cash flow falls about 5% to $9.26 billion.
KO Stock
Coca-Cola eased slightly Tuesday. KO stock has been trending higher since October, but running into resistance near 61 for the past two months. The stock technically logged a breakout on Friday, above what MarketSurge reads as a 61.62 buy point for an eight-week flat base.
Coca-Cola has lagged the market, up 4.8% so far this year.
3M Poised For Breakout
Adhesives, office products and communications equipment manufacturer 3M jumped 4.7% Tuesday on a solid first-quarter sales and earnings beat. Shares bolted more than 7% higher premarket.
Earnings for the quarter came in at $2.39 per share, well above views for $1.96. Adjusted revenue of $7.72 billion also cleared the analyst consensus target of $7.13 billion.
The 21% earnings gain marked a sharp acceleration following a two-quarter ramp up. Sales, meanwhile, were effectively flat — an improvement after seven quarters of declines.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based outfit provided full-year guidance, for adjusted organic revenue, ranging from flat to a 2% gain. It will also begin reporting results from spun-off health care unit Solventum as discontinued operations.
3M shares have been digging a deep consolidation since May 2021. After breaking their downtrend late last year, shares are up almost 22% from an early March low. MarketSurge marks a breakout on April 1 — the day of the Solventum spinout — with shares holding roughly even with that 91.29 entry at Monday's close.
Investors could also plot a 95.67 buy point on a four-weeks tight pattern. Solventum shares rose 2.3% Tuesday. The stock closed at 65.91 on Monday, well below the April 1 offering price of 80.
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