TWTR Twitter Inc

By Laine Higgins 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (July 28, 2018).

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.

Write to Laine Higgins at laine.higgins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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