Benchmark S&P 500 closed higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, as investors weighed an uptick in Treasury yields amid positive corporate results particularly from technology giants.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.77 points, or 0.11%, to 38,460.92, the S&P 500 rose 1.08 points, or 0.02%, to 5,071.63 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 16.11 points, or 0.10%, to 15,712.75.
Market Movers
Tesla reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of $21.3 billion, missing analysts’ estimates that called for a profit of 49 cents a share on revenue of $22.2 billion. Net income in the quarter fell 55% from a year earlier to $1.1 billion, while revenue declined 9%. Operating profit margin in the period was 5.5%, below expectations of 6.6%. The stock, however, was rising 11% after the electric vehicle maker said it updated its “future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models,” including “more affordable models.”
Meta Platforms Inc. increased its spending estimates for the year and projected second quarter sales that were below Wall Street’s expectations, once again raising questions about whether its futuristic technological bets will eventually pay off for investors. The shares tumbled more than 15% in extended trading. The stock was up 39% so far this year at market close and has been trading near all-time highs for the past month, in part reflecting excitement around AI.
ServiceNow Inc. provided an outlook for sales in the quarter that fell just short of analysts’ estimates, suggesting that corporate budgets for software purchases remain tight. The shares declined about 5% in extended trading.
International Business Machines Corp. dropped over 8% in extended trading after the company’s weak consulting unit sales disappointed investors, overshadowing its acquisition of software firm HashiCorp Inc.
Texas Instruments posted first-quarter earnings of $1.11 billion, or $1.20 a share, down from year-earlier profit of $1.71 billion, or $1.85 a share. The earnings, however, beat analysts’ expectations of $1.07 a share and shares of the chip maker jumped 5.3%. Revenue fell 16% to $3.66 billion, but came in better than estimates of $3.61 billion. For the second quarter, Texas Instruments said it expects revenue of between $3.65 billion to $3.95 billion, with profit ranging from $1.05 to $1.25 a share. Analysts had been calling for revenue of $3.7 billion and and earnings of $1.15 a share.
Ford Motor Co. Wednesday reported adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents, topping the 42 cents analysts expected on average. Revenue in the period of $42.8 billion surpassed the $40 billion analysts expected. Ford’s shares rose about 2.4% in extended trading in New York.
Boeing reported an adjusted loss in the first quarter of $1.13 a share, narrower than expectations that called for a loss of $1.63. Free cash flow at negative $2.9 billion also was better than expectations for negative $4.4 billion. Shares of the plane maker fell 3.2% after rising earlier in the session.
AT&T reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, but missed on sales and some key subscriber metrics in the period. Free cash flow in the period was $3.1 billion, up from $1 billion a year earlier. Shares of the telecommunications giant were up 2.4%.
Humana’s first-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts’ expectations and it raised its guidance for Medicare Advantage annual membership growth. Shares of the health insurer, however, fell 3.2% after it cast doubt on its growth outlook, stepping back from already diminished 2025 earnings targets it laid out in January.
Enphase Energy posted first-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ estimates and the solar inverter provider’s forecast for second-quarter revenue of $290 million to $330 million was below expectations of $347 million and year-earlier revenue of $711 million. The stock slumped 6.4%.
Biogen stock was rising 3.5% after the biopharmaceutical company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and an increase in sales of its Alzheimer’s drug. First-quarter global in-market sales of Leqembi came were about $19 million, which was nearly triple the fourth quarter of 2023.
Hasbro jumped 11% after the toy maker beat quarterly estimates for earnings and sales. Fellow toy maker Mattel rose 3.6% after posting a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss.
Teledyne Technologies tumbled 10% after the maker of electronic instruments reported first-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ estimates and cut forecasts for 2024.
Seagate Technology ‘s fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings beat estimates and revenue of $1.66 billion fell 11% from a year earlier but came in roughly in line with forecasts. For its fourth quarter, Seagate said it expects revenue of $1.85 billion, give or take $150 million, with adjusted profit of 70 cents a share, plus or minus 20 cents. Wall Street had called for revenue of $1.84 billion and earnings of 59 cents a share. Shares of the disk-drive company fell 1.1%.
Market News
Nvidia Agrees to Buy Software Provider Run:AI
Nvidia on Wednesday said it has agreed to acquire Run:ai, a Tel Aviv-based provider of artificial intelligence computing workload management software. Shares of Nvidia fell over 3% on Wednesday.
Run:ai's website says its software is built for improving the efficiency of workloads running on graphics processing units, or GPUs. The company ssserts that its software allows for ten times more workloads running on the same infrastructure.
TSMC Says 'A16' Chipmaking Tech to Arrive in 2026
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said on Wednesday that a new chip manufacturing technology called "A16" will enter production in the second half of 2026, setting up a showdown with longtime rival Intel over who can make the world's fastest chips.
TSMC, the world's biggest contract manufacturer of advanced computing chips and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, announced the news at a conference in Santa Clara, California, where TSMC executives said that makers of AI chips will likely be the first adopters of the technology rather than a smartphone maker.
Comments