The Score: The Business Week in 7 Stocks
28 Juillet 2018 - 1:44AM
Dow Jones News
By Laine Higgins
With 40% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings and
continued fallout from the Trump administration's saber-rattling on
trade, it was bound to be an eventful week. And it was.
Shares of Whirlpool Corp. and General Motors Co. fell after
rising materials costs caused both companies to miss earnings
forecasts and lower their guidance for the rest of the year.
Harley-Davidson Inc. and Coca-Cola Inc., however, notched gains
after announcing proactive measures to offset pricier aluminum and
steel.
After weeks of rumors, Walmart Inc. dealt a major blow to
Synchrony Financial when the retail giant said it was transferring
the issuing rights of its store credit card to Capital One
Financial Corp. Shares of Synchrony, a former GE subsidiary, fell
10% on Thursday.
The week ended with investors souring on social media, with
Facebook Inc. packing worrisome growth revelations into its
earnings call and Twitter Inc. announcing that its crusade against
fake accounts led to lagging monthly active user growth.
Hasbro Inc. - 13% Monday
Investors who had expected the bankruptcy of Toys "R" Us to hurt
Hasbro, the company behind Play-Doh and Power Rangers, were
pleasantly surprised when the toy maker reported a profitable
second quarter with revenue well above estimates. Hasbro said 26%
growth in its entertainment and licensing segment helped offset
domestic and international sales declines from the now-defunct toy
retailer. Revenue fell 7% from the year-earlier period to $904.5
million, beating the $838.1 million analysts predicted. Hasbro's
shares leapt 13% on Monday.
Mattel Inc. - 4.2% Thursday
It was a tough spring for the maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels.
After the close of Wednesday trading, Mattel said it would cut
2,200 nonmanufacturing jobs world-wide, or nearly a quarter of its
workforce, after tallying larger-than-expected losses in the most
recent quarter. The toy maker blamed the liquidation of Toys "R" Us
for its poor results, but the explanation struck investors as
little more than an excuse after rival Hasbro (see above) reported
a more successful quarter. Mattel's stock sank 4.2% on Tuesday.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV - 16% Wednesday
Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne died Wednesday, just a few
days after the auto maker said he wouldn't be able to return to
work after suffering complications from shoulder surgery. Later,
FCA disclosed the auto-industry legend had a "serious illness"
lasting more than a year, a condition it said it didn't know about.
Mr. Marchionne, who turned around struggling Fiat and Chrysler
brands by engineering a merger in 2008, also ran Ferrari NV. Shares
of Fiat Chrysler tumbled 16% on Wednesday, while Ferrari was down
2.2%.
Deere & Co. - 3.2% Tuesday
Shares of farm-equipment makers got a boost Tuesday after the
Trump administration unveiled plans to distribute $12 billion in
aid to farmers struggling to cope with Chinese tariffs against
American products, including meat, soybeans and produce. Tractor
maker Deere, whose stock had fallen 13% this year amid the
international trade spats, climbed 3.2% Tuesday as investors
anticipated less severe profit reductions for affected farmers.
Elsewhere in the agricultural sector, CNH Industrial NV was up 3.8%
and Titan International Inc. rose 0.9%.
Grubhub Inc. - 24% Wednesday
The mobile food-ordering company hit an all-time high after it
announced the purchase of ordering platform LevelUp for $390
million. The acquisition, announced during the company's Wednesday
earnings call, caps a quarter that saw Grubhub's profits double and
active diner count grow by 70%. News of the deal sent Grubhub
shares soaring 24% Wednesday as investors predicted LevelUp's
software that facilitates payments and customer-relationship
management for more than 200 restaurant companies could help expand
Grubhub's burgeoning base of hungry customers.
CBS Corp. - 6.1% Friday
Shares of CBS fell 6.1% Friday after reports emerged of a New
Yorker article alleging sexual misconduct by the media company's
chief executive, Leslie Moonves. The New Yorker declined to comment
on the article, which remained unpublished at the market close,
while CBS's independent board said it would investigate the claims.
The investigation into Mr. Moonves comes at a sensitive time as CBS
is engaged in a legal battle with controlling shareholder National
Amusements Inc., which holds nearly 80% voting stakes in CBS and
Viacom Inc.
Facebook Inc. - 19% Thursday
Facebook had the worst day in stock-market history after an
earnings call that cast doubt on the social network's growth story.
The company reported slower-than-expected revenue growth and issued
downbeat predictions for operating margins, causing shares to
plummet 19% on Thursday and wiping out $119 billion in market value
-- the equivalent of a company about the size of McDonald's Corp.
Several other tech giants turned in quarterly results this past
week to rosier market receptions: On Tuesday, shares of Google
parent Alphabet Inc. gained 3.9% after beating on earnings despite
a $5 billion fine from the European Union, Amazon.com Inc. closed
at a $900 billion market capitalization for the first time on
Wednesday and closed up 0.5% on Friday after its profit topped $2
billion for the first time. Also Friday, Twitter Inc. notched its
third consecutive profitable quarter, though the stock slid 21%
after the company disclosed falling metrics for monthly active
users.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2018 19:29 ET (23:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juin 2024 à Juil 2024
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juil 2023 à Juil 2024