The Nasdaq ended higher on Friday, driven by megacap shares, as investors awaited quarterly results from some of Wall Street's biggest companies next week.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.61% to 42,114.40, the S&P 500 eased 0.03% to 5,808.12 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56% to 18,518.61.
Market Movers
Tesla Motors was up 3.3%. Shares jumped 22% on Thursday for the stock's best one-day gain in more than 11 years following better-than-expected quarterly earnings and operating profit margins from the electric-vehicle maker.
NVIDIA Corp rose 0.8% to $141.54. The stock had closed at a record high of $143.71 on Monday. The chip maker trails only Apple on the list of largest U.S. companies by market cap.
Shares of Capri Holdings Ltd , the owner of luxury brand Michael Kors, sank 49% after a judge granted the Federal Trade Commission's request to block the company's intended merger with competitor Tapestry, which announced plans to acquire Capri in August 2023. The FTC filed a suit seeking to block the $8.5 billion merger in April 2024, arguing that the acquisition would curb competition in the market for less expensive handbags. Shares of Tapestry, which owns brands such as Coach and Kate Spade, rose 13.5%.
Western Digital swung to a profit in its fiscal first quarter and adjusted earnings at the data-storage company topped analysts' expectations as cloud sales rose 153% from a year earlier. "With the continued proliferation of the AI Data Cycle, our Flash and HDD product portfolios are well-positioned to capitalize on significant opportunities as adoption continues to grow," said Chief Executive David Goeckeler. The stock jumped 4.7%.
Spirit Airlines, which has been exploring a bankruptcy filing, will cut staff, reduce its flight schedule and sell 23 planes for about $519 million. The struggling budget carrier said cost-cutting moves that will go into effect early next year would save it $80 million. Shares rose 15%.
Deckers Outdoor was up 11% after the parent company of Hoka sneakers and Ugg boots reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that smashed analysts' estimates. Sales rose 20% from a year earlier to $1.31 billion. Hoka sales surged 35% and Ugg sales rose 13%. Deckers also issued a forecast that called for a 12% sales increase in fiscal 2025.
Coursera, Inc. tumbled 9.7% after the online learning platform cut revenue guidance for the year and said it would reduce its global workforce by about 10% as part of a plan to trim expenses. The company expects revenue for the year of $690 million to $694 million, below its prior guidance of $695 million to $705 million.
Centene rose 4.2% after third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.62 a share at the health insurer beat analysts' expectations for $1.41. The company said it remained confident in the full-year outlook for adjusted earnings per share of more than $6.80.
Hca Healthcare Inc declined 8.9% after the hospital operator posted quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street estimates, and said Hurricane Helene negatively impacted results.
Newell was up 22%. The maker of Sharpie pens reported a narrower third-quarter loss and said it expects fiscal-year adjusted earnings per share of 63 cents to 66 cents, up from previous guidance of 60 cents to 65 cents.
Market News
Elon Musk’s Wealth Soars $34 Billion as Tesla Comes Roaring Back
Elon Musk added $33.5 billion to his net worth Thursday as Tesla Inc. shares posted their biggest gain in more than a decade, extending the world’s richest man’s lead atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Shares ended the day up 22% and turned positive for the year after the automaker reported its largest quarterly profit since the summer of 2023. Musk forecast as much as 30% growth in vehicle sales next year on a webcast following the release, and announced that the Cybertruck generated a quarterly profit for the first time.
Trump Media Stock Triples in Month as Insiders Mostly Hold Tight
Shares of Donald Trump’s social media venture have more than tripled in the five weeks since they bottomed out after the expiration of a lockup period that prevented insiders from selling the stock.
Trump Media & Technology is up 187% since Sept. 23, trading at more than $38, the highest in over three months. The stock had tumbled into the six-month lockup expiration on concerns that Trump and other insiders would cash out after its unexpected rally earlier this year. The Republican presidential candidate owns nearly 115 million shares valued at roughly $4.4 billion based on today’s price.
Nvidia Stock Nears a Record. It’s About to Overtake Apple’s Market Cap.
NVIDIA Corp was close to overtaking Apple’s market cap on Friday. In midday trading, Nvidia had a market cap of $3.526 trillion, while the iPhone maker had a market cap of $3.531 trillion. If Nvidia beats out Apple, it would be its first time as the largest U.S. company by market cap since June 18, 2024, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Further gains will likely require the likes of Microsoft, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Google-parent Alphabet to signal they will spend more on AI data centers housing Nvidia chips in their coming earnings next week.
Waymo Closes $5.6 Billion Funding Round From Alphabet, Others
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit, raised $5.6 billion from investors, its largest-ever funding round.
The investment was led by Google parent Alphabet and included participation from Andreessen Horowitz and big-name finance firms Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price Group and others, Waymo said in a statement on Friday.
Waymo is one of a large pack of companies pursuing robotaxi services in the US. It runs a commercial ridehailing platform in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles, where it charges fares for trips in self-driving cars. Waymo also recently partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. to offer rides through its app in new markets Austin and Atlanta, starting next year.
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