Nasdaq futures fell nearly 1% on Thursday as Tesla shares tumbled after the electric-vehicle maker posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years, while prospects of U.S. interest rates staying higher for a longer kept investors jittery.
Market Snapshot
At 7:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 168 points, or 0.49%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 30 points, or 0.72%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 130 points, or 0.99%.
Pre-Market Movers
Tesla (TSLA) - The electric-vehicle leader, reported first-quarter earnings that met Wall Street expectations, but automotive gross profit margin, excluding regulatory credits, was below 16%, down from about 21% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Including leases, the auto business generated gross profit margins of about 19%, below Wall Street expectations of 21%. The stock was falling 7.3% in premarket trading.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) - Bed Bath & Beyond is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of the company tumbled 23.6% in premarket trading Thursday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) - U.S.-listed shares of TSMC rose 0.4% after the chip-manufacturing giant’s first-quarter profit beat expectations but the company forecast a revenue slowdown in the second quarter.
AT&T (T) - Telecommunications giant AT&T reported first-quarter earnings and revenue lower than a year earlier, while subscriber growth slowed. AT&T was down 4.6% in premarket trading.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) - the casino operator, reported first-quarter gambling revenue of $1.54 billion, up from $627 million a year earlier. Sands said a “robust” recovery in travel and tourism spending was underway in both Macau and Singapore. Shares of Las Vegas Sands jumped 5.3% in premarket trading.
Nokia (NOK) - American depositary receipts of Nokia declined 8% after the Finnish telecommunications company’s first-quarter profit missed analysts’ estimates.
F5 (FFIV) - F5 said it was cutting its global headcount by 9%, or 620 employees, citing the “current demand environment.” The stock tumbled 7%.
Philip Morris (PM) - The tobacco company fell 0.5% after offering second-quarter earnings guidance that landed below expectations.
American Express (AXP) - Shares of American Express fell 1.1% in premarket trading Thursday after the credit card company delivered worse-than-expected first-quarter earnings even after posting record-high quarterly revenue.
International Business Machines (IBM) - The information technology company, posted first-quarter revenue about in line with estimates, while profit slightly topped expectations. IBM also issued a solid full-year outlook, while acknowledging some softness in its consulting business due to a weaker economy. The stock was rising 1.1% in premarket trading.
D.R. Horton (DHI) - D.R. Horton shares rose 4.6% in premarket trading after the home builder posted better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings.
Zions Bancorp (ZION) - Zions Bancorp fell 4.5% after the regional bank reported first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates and said deposits declined 16%.
Comerica (CMA) - Comerica shares lost 2.3% after the regional bank posted a decline in deposits, and KeyCorp (KEY) fell 3.2% after reporting worse-than-expected quarterly earnings.
AutoNation (AN) - AutoNation shares were fall 2.8% after the car dealer posted first-quarter earnings of $6.07 a share, higher than $5.78 a share recorded a year earlier.
Alcoa (AA) - In the first quarter, Alcoa posted an unexpected adjusted loss of 23 cents per share. Analysts had expected a profit of 3.1 cents per share. The shares dropped 2.6% in premarket trading Thursday.
Market News
Tesla’s Profit Margins Drop on Aggressive Discounts
Tesla missed market estimates for first-quarter total gross margin on Wednesday, throttled by a series of aggressive price cuts meant to spur demand in a sagging economy and fend off rising competition.
Elon Musk-led Tesla reported a total gross profit margin of 19.3 percent, compared with expectations of 22.4 percent, according to 14 analysts polled by Refinitiv. This was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2020.
Elon Musk indicated Tesla will keep cutting prices to stoke demand even after markdowns early this year took a significant toll on profitability.
Elon Musk's SpaceX Set to Launch First Test Flight of Starship Rocket System
Elon Musk's SpaceX aimed on Thursday to launch the company's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket for the first time, on a highly anticipated but brief uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Final preparations were under way at the company's Starbase launch site east of Brownsville, Texas, for a liftoff three days after an earlier launch attempt was scrubbed near the end of the countdown due to a frozen pressurization valve.