U.S. stock index futures slipped on Thursday as a slump in Micron Technology after a lackluster forecast dragged down other semiconductor stocks, while caution ahead of economic data and a presidential debate also dented sentiment.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 65 points, or 0.16%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.25 points, or 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 32 points, or 0.16%.
Pre-Market Movers
Micron Technology - Micron Technology reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations but shares of the memory-chip maker were falling 5.7% as revenue guidance for the current fourth quarter only matched estimates. Micron earned 62 cents a share on an adjusted basis in the quarter, better than forecasts of 48 cents. The company said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range, just better than consensus at $7.59 billion, with adjusted profit of $1.08 a share, compared with Wall Street estimates of $1.02.
Nvidia - Nvidia shares dropped 1.8% in premarket trading as shareholder meeting failed to soothe skittish investors. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang didn't say anything to sound off alarms during the meeting. But he also didn't say anything particularly reassuring about how it will fend off competitors and maintain its position at the top — or anything game-changing that hadn't already been touched on at the GTC conference in March.
Faraday Future - Faraday Future shares surged another 18.5% in premarket trading on Thursday after soaring 73% on Wednesday. The EV industry is abuzz yesterday following a major partnership between Rivian and Volkswagen. A short squeeze could possibly be behind the rise in FFIE stock.
BlackBerry - BlackBerry rose 9.1% after the cybersecurity company reported a fiscal first-quarter adjusted loss of 3 cents a share, down from earnings of 6 cents a share a year earlier, but narrower that the loss of 5 cents expected by analysts.
Trump Media & Technology - Trump Media & Technology stock rallied 5.7% in premarket trading Thursday. The shares have gained almost 42% this week as of Wednesday. President Biden and former President Donald Trump will participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
Levi Strauss & Co - Levi Strauss, the jeans maker, was tumbling 15.2% in premarket trading after fiscal second-quarter revenue rose nearly 8% to $1.44 billion but slightly missed estimates of $1.45 billion. Revenue in the Americas region jumped 17% to $712.2 million. Adjusted earnings of 16 cents a share topped expectations of 11 cents. The company reaffirmed that it expects fiscal-year revenue growth of 1% to 3%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance - Walgreens Boots Alliance was declining 5.3% after the drugstore chain reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 63 cents a share, missing analysts’ estimates of 68 cents, and reduced its profit outlook for the fiscal year, citing “reflecting “challenging pharmacy industry trends and a worse-than-expected U.S. consumer environment.”
GlaxoSmithKline PLC - GSK's shares fell 1.8% in premarket trading, a day after a U.S. public health agency narrowed its usage recommendation for all respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines and held off on recommending their use for those under 60 years of age.
International Paper - International Paper declined 11.8% after Brazilian company Suzano said it terminated discussions to acquire the Memphis paper maker. According to reports, Suzano, the world’s largest pulp manufacturer, had offered to buy International Paper for about $15 billion. International Paper, meanwhile, said earlier this week its pending acquisition of U.K. packaging company DS Smith for more than $7 billion cleared a key U.S. regulatory hurdle.
AeroVironment - AeroVironment was falling 14.8% in premarket trading. The defense supplier reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The company said it was “on track for nearly 12% top-line growth in fiscal year 2025 with expected revenue of between $790 million and $820 million.”
McCormick - McCormick & Co. posted better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal second quarter and the spices and flavorings maker reaffirmed its outlook for sales, operating profit, and adjusted per-share earnings. Shares rose 3%.
Market News
Amazon Hits $2 Trillion in Value as AI Frenzy Fuels Rally
Amazon.com Inc. has reached a $2 trillion market valuation for the first time ever as an artificial intelligence-fueled rally pushed the tech giant deeper into record territory.
Shares rose 3.9% on Wednesday to close at $193.61, pushing the market value to more than $2 trillion. The company is now a member of an elite club of a handful of peers that have surpassed the key market capitalization. Alphabet Inc. passed the $2 trillion threshold in late April, while rallies have pushed market values of Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. to more than $3 trillion.
Amazon shares have whipsawed since the company’s first quarter earnings, when the cloud unit posted the strongest sales growth in a year, helping to power the stock back above the all-time high set in April. The stock rallied in June, recovering losses from the end of May to gain 27% so far this year.
SpaceX Tender Offer Said to Value Company at Record $210 Billion
SpaceX will sell insider shares at $112 apiece in a tender offer, a higher-than-expected price that boosts the value of Elon Musk’s space and satellite company closer to $210 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company was last valued at $180 billion in a transaction in December, Bloomberg News reported.
The world’s second-most valuable startup decided to price its current tender offer — a transaction that enables employees and insiders like investors to sell shares — at higher than the $200 billion valuation that was discussed last month, due to significant investor demand, the people said, who declined to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly.
The new valuation is a record for an American private company, but is still lower than the $268 billion valuation of ByteDance Ltd., parent of social video phenom TikTok. Already, SpaceX is on par with some of the world’s largest, publicly traded companies by market capitalization.
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