The stock market showed mixed action, with the Nasdaq rising to a record high and Tesla skyrocketing on earnings, ServiceNow jumping and some megacap techs advancing. The S&P 500 slashed weekly losses, close to all-time levels. The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 fell significantly, but rebounded Friday. GE Vernova and Celestica also were big earnings winners while homebuilders struggled on mixed results and rising rates.
Stock Market Rally Mixed
The Nasdaq rose to a record high Friday, led by Tesla, ServiceNow and various megacap techs. The S&P 500 battled back to about even, right below record highs. The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 fell, but rebounded from near their 50-day lines and aren't far from rally highs. The continued rise in Treasury yields was a drag on stocks, especially early in the week.
Tesla Skyrockets On Earnings, Outlook
Tesla announced a surprise 9% EPS gain, snapping a four-quarter string of year-over-year declines. Revenue came in a little light. But investors cheered as gross margins jumped on Tesla Energy margins, lower raw material costs and other factors, CEO Elon Musk expects vehicle deliveries to rise for the full year. That will require a huge Q4, with Tesla already ramping up incentives. Musk sees deliveries rising 20%-30% in 2025. He added that the upcoming "affordable" EV will cost less than $30,000, "with incentives." If that assumes the $7,500 IRA tax credit, that suggests the list price will be below $37,500, but perhaps not by much. Tesla stock skyrocketed.
ServiceNow, SAP Jump On Earnings
The business software giants both hit record highs on Q3 results. ServiceNow earnings per share rose 27% year over year, comfortably beating. Revenue climbed 22% to $2.8 billion, slightly topping. So did subscription revenue current remaining performance obligations. ServiceNow guided slightly higher on Q4. Also, it name Amit Zavery, previously Google Cloud Computing vice president, as chief product officer and chief operating officer. Germany's SAP reported flat EPS as revenue climbed 9% to $9.21 billion, both slightly topping. Cloud computing revenue rose 25% to $4.7 billion, but just missed targets. For 2024, SAP forecast cloud and software revenue growth of 10%-11%.
Pegasystems reported Q3 EPS fell 11%, but topped estimates. Revenue declined 3% to $325.1 million, slightly missing. But shares of the financial software maker gapped out of a base to a two-year high.
GE Vernova Shrugs Off Headwinds
GE Vernova reported worse-than-expected third-quarter profit but reaffirmed full 2024 guidance early Wednesday as the spinoff from the former General Electric continues to see "incremental contract losses" from its offshore wind business. But GE Vernova ended Q3 with $7.4 billion in cash, up from $5.8 billion at the end of Q2. Shares jumped to a fresh high. NextEra Energy reported above-forecast third-quarter earnings and said early Wednesday it would be "disappointed" if it did not deliver financial results "at or near the top" of its profit forecast each year through 2027. The large-scale renewable energy utility play also continues to expect growing its dividends per share at a 10% rate per year through at least 2026. NextEra rose on earnings but fell modestly for the week.
GE Aerospace Falls On Mixed Results
Adjusted EPS grew 25%, slightly beating, but a 6% revenue gain to $8.9 billion slightly missed. CEO Larry Culp in the earnings call said the aerospace giant continues to work closely with Boeing and is "committed" to supporting the manufacturer through its ongoing strike and quality control concerns. GE added that it doesn't see the Boeing 777X delays having any changes from an operational perspective. GE Aerospace raised EPS guidance but held revenue targets. Shares fell solidly from near highs.
Boeing Workers Reject Labor Deal
Some 64% of striking Boeing workers that voted Wednesday opposed a tentative deal that would have hiked pay by 35% over four years, lifting top pay to $140,000 annually before benefits and overtime. The Machinist union said it plans to seek new talks. Meanwhile, the troubled Dow Jones manufacturer on Wednesday reported an adjusted loss of $10.44 per share, widening from $3.26 last year and slightly worse than expected. Revenue declined 1% to edge out estimates. Boeing said it has access to $20 billion in credit facilities that remain undrawn, after entering a credit agreement with multiple banks and filing to raise up to $25 billion in stock and debt. Earlier in October, Boeing announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce, affecting roughly 17,000 employees. Boeing stock fell.
Industrial Tech Firms Shine
Industrial technology providers Amphenol and Celestica delivered beat-and-raise earnings reports, sending their stocks sharply higher. Amphenol reported Q3 earnings up 28% year over year with sales up 26%. Celestica posted a 60% increase in earnings and 22% increase in revenue. Amphenol makes electronic interconnect, sensor and antenna systems. Celestica is an electronics contract manufacturer serving information technology, communications, aerospace and defense, health tech and other industries.
Wireless Giants Diverge
Verizon Communications reported Q3 fell 2%, just beating, while adding 239,000 wireless postpaid phone business and consumer subscribers, topping estimates of 218,000. Flat revenue of $33.3 billion slightly missed. AT&T EPS sank 6% while revenue from continuing operations dipped 0.5% to $30.2 billion. That beat on profit, missed on sales. A gain of 403,000 postpaid wireless phone customers missed consensus. But free cash flow easily beat, raising hopes for higher shareholder returns. T-Mobile US reported Q3 adjusted EPS leapt 36% and revenue up 5% to $20.2 billion while adding 865,000 postpaid phone subscribers, all beating. Verizon stock fell. AT&T rose, flirting with a buy point. T-Mobile jumped, extending a run.
GM Breaks Out On Strong Earnings
General Motors delivered its third earnings beat-and-raise report this year. The report defied bearish auto sentiment overall and GM CEO Mary Barra advised against "mistaking progress for winning." Still, the auto giant reaffirmed goals and plans for electric vehicles and shareholder returns next year, while guiding resilient earnings. In Q3, GM earnings surged 30% per share vs. a year earlier and revenue grew 11%, led by pickup truck demand in North America. Strong pricing offset weakness in China and higher warranty costs. For 2024, GM is now guiding EPS of $10-$10.50, with the $10.25 midpoint slightly above prior guidance. Analysts expect $10.28 after the Q3 report, a 34% increase vs. 2023, FactSet shows. GM stock gapped above a 49.86 buy point and are extended from a buy zone.
Homebuilders Fall Amid Results, Rates
PulteGroup reported a 15.5% EPS gain with revenue up 12% to $4.48 billion, both beating, though gross margins missed. NVR beat with a 6% revenue gain to $2.73 billion but a 4% EPS gain did not. Taylor Morrison Home easily beat with a 54% EPS gain while revenue climbed 26% to $2.12 billion. PulteGroup and NVR tumbled while Taylor Morrison pared weekly losses on its results. Rebounding mortgage rates are once again a headwind for the group.
Viking Therapeutics Soars On Quadruple Obesity Drug
Viking Therapeutics launched higher Thursday after unveiling unveiled additional plans for its obesity treatments. The biotech plans to test a quadruple approach to weight loss that could prove even more effective than the triple approach of Eli Lilly. Viking said it plans to file its request to begin human testing of that drug in the U.S. next year. Viking's approach would mimic the GLP-1 and GIP hormones, but also loop in the amylin and calcitonin hormones. Lilly's experimental drug, retatrutide, also focuses on GLP-1 and GIP, but adds in glucagon.
Goosehead Flies, Peers Fall
Shares of insurance providers broadly fell last week after earnings. Goosehead Insurance was the outlier, breaking out powerfully with a 10% adjusted EPS gain, with 28% growth in written premiums. Q3 revenue missed estimates, but Goosehead guided up on full-year revenue outlook. WR Berkley tumbled after edging out earnings views but missing on revenue. Arthur J. Gallagher matched earnings forecasts, but just missed revenue targets. AJG stock fell below its 50-day line. Kinsale Capital topped Q3 views, but gross written premiums missed. KNSL stock sold off Friday.
Defense Results Mixed
Defense contractors rolled out mixed results this week amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. RTX reported a 16% increase in earnings to $1.45 per share adjusted on 6% revenue growth to $20.09 billion adjusted, beating expectations. RTX also raised guidance to in line with consensus. Shares were little changed. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman beat on earnings but missed on revenue. Lockheed tumbled while Northrop fell slightly. L3Harris also beat views with shares gapping up. General Dynamics missed expectations and shares fell back to a buy zone.
Impinj Sales Jump, TI Sales Sink
Tracking-chip maker Impinj handily beat estimates for the third quarter and with its Q4 guidance. In Q3, Impinj earned an adjusted 56 cents a share, vs. break-even a year earlier, while sales surged 46% to $95.2 million. Elsewhere, Texas Instruments reported its eighth consecutive quarter of declining sales and earnings on a year-over-year basis amid a cyclical downturn in demand for automotive and industrial chips. TI topped Q3 estimates but guided low for Q4.
Medtech Firms Mixed
Boston Scientific reported a 26% EPS gain as revenue swelled 19%, but shares fell after the company halted enrollment in a study of its pulsed field ablation technology. Dexcom crashed despite coming in ahead of the Street's forecast, with U.S. sales down 2%. ResMed rallied on its strong results. Edwards Lifesciences edged past EPS views but revenue was light. That was partially due to the inclusion of Edwards' now-divested critical care business in the Street estimate. Shares rose.
In Brief
McDonald's fell solidly as the CDC linked an E. coli outbreak to its Quarter Pounders. A recall on slivered onions used in those burgers was announced.
IBM tumbled from near record highs following mixed third-quarter results. Adjusted EPS rose 5%, slightly beating but revenue grew just 1% to $14.97 billion, slightly missing.
Vertiv beat third-quarter estimates with a 46% EPS gain and 19% sales rise to $2.07 billion. But the data center infrastructure gave disappointing sales guidance for Q4.
Arm Holdings moved to cancel its technology license with Qualcomm as part of a long-running legal dispute. Analysts say the case likely will be settled out of court with the two chip giants agreeing to new licensing and royalty terms.
Roche rose Wednesday after the Swiss drugmaker reported light third-quarter sales, but kept its full-year outlook. During the September quarter, sales grew 9% – or 6% in constant currency – to about $17.33 billion. For the year, Roche expects sales growth in the mid-single digits.
Carrier earnings fell 9% in Q3, better than expected. But the 4% revenue gain to $5.98 billion was far below views. The heating and cooling play also slashed full-year targets. Shares plunged.
Texas Roadhouse missed Q3 estimates, yet the steakhouse chain managed to impress given the challenging and inflationary macro backdrop. Earnings jumped 33% vs. a year ago as revenue grew 14%, with same-store sales coming in at nearly 9%. Several analysts hiked price targets, given signs of traffic momentum in October. Shares popped to a new high.
Deckers gapped up above an early entry Friday after the Hoka shoe maker posted a 39% increase in earnings on 20% revenue growth to beat fiscal Q2 expectations. The company guided a 12% sales gain in fiscal 2025 and lifted its earnings outlook, but both fell short of FactSet forecasts.
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