U.S. stocks closed near flat on Tuesday ahead of inflation and other economic data that could shed light on the possible timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite resumed its climb Tuesday, closing within striking distance of a record high hit in 2021.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96.82 points, or 0.25%, to 38,972.41. The S&P 500 gained 8.65 points, or 0.17%, at 5,078.18 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 59.05 points, or 0.37%, to 16,035.30.
Market Movers
Beyond Meat shares skyrocketed more than 78% after the plant-based meat company beat revenue estimates in the fourth quarter. Beyond Meat reported revenue of $73.7 million, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv forecast $66.7 million.
The online marketplace eBay added 4% after announcing a dividend raise of 2 cents a share and an additional share buyback of $2 billion. Ebay’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, while guidance for first-quarter earnings per share was above analysts’ estimates.
The solar company First Solar gained more than 3% after full-year guidance met Wall Street estimates. Fourth-quarter earnings of $3.25 per share beat analysts’ estimates of $3.13 per share, according to LSEG.
Agilent Technologies shares surged 5% after Agilent posted adjusted earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street’s estimates in the fiscal first quarter. The company forecasts full-year revenue of $6.71 billion to $6.81 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG forecast $6.74 billion.
The weapons and technology stock Axon Enterprise ticked up nearly 6% after Axon issued full-year revenue guidance that exceeded expectations at the high end. Axon forecasts revenue of $1.88 billion to $1.94 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.88 billion.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss but the cruise operator’s outlook sent the stock up 20%. It was the best performer in the S&P 500 on Tuesday. Norwegian said it expects to post an unexpected profit in the first quarter, seeing adjusted earnings of 12 cents a share compared with analysts’ expectations that called for a loss of 20 cents.
Unity Software tumbled 6.1% after the company said it expects fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $45 million to $50 million, well below analysts’ expectations of $112 million. Unity, which operates a platform for developing videogames and other software applications, said in a letter to shareholders that it was resetting its portfolio to focus on its core businesses—its engine, cloud, and monetization business units—which it refers to as its strategic portfolio. Unity said it anticipates first-quarter revenue for its strategic portfolio of between $415 million and $420 million versus analysts’ predictions of $534 million.
Viking Therapeutics shares surged 121% after the biopharmaceutical company said patients in a mid-stage trial of its weight-loss drug VK2735 lost 14.7% of their body weight on average after just 13 weeks, or 13.1% on a placebo-adjusted basis.
Constellation Energy jumped 17% after issuing strong long-term guidance and announcing plans to grow its dividend by 25% this year. The company said it was targeting long-term base earnings per share growth of at least 10% through the decade.
Workday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that slightly beat analysts’ estimates, and the enterprise software company reiterated its outlook for fiscal 2025. Workday said it expects subscription revenue of $7.73 billion to $7.78 billion, up 17% to 18%, in fiscal 2025. Workday also announced an agreement to acquire HiredScore, a New York-based start-up that sells “AI-powered” talent software. Workday shares fell 4%.
Zoom Video Communications rose 8% after the videoconferencing company’s fourth-quarter adjusted profit topped expectations and revenue of $1.15 billion beat estimates of $1.13 billion. Enterprise revenue in the period rose 4.9% and the number of enterprise customers increased 3.5%. Zoom Video’s fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings forecast also topped Wall Street consensus. The company’s board authorized Zoom Video to buy back $1.5 billion of stock.
Hims & Hers Health surged 31% after the telehealth-consultation platform said it expects fiscal-year revenue of $1.17 billion to $1.2 billion, higher than analysts’ estimates of $1.11 billion. The company also expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the year of $100 million to $120 million. Hims & Hers posted earnings in the fourth quarter of 1 cent a share compared with analysts’ estimates that called for a loss of 2 cents.
AutoZone shares rose 6.7% after the car-parts retailer’s fiscal second-quarter earnings of $28.89 a share rose from $24.64 a year earlier and topped analysts’ expectations of $26.30.
Lowe’s reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.77 a share on revenue of $18.6 billion. Analysts had expected the home-improvement retailer to post adjusted earnings of $1.68 a share on revenue of $18.5 billion. Same-store sales in the quarter fell 6.2%, with Lowe’s citing a “slowdown in DIY demand and unfavorable January winter weather.” Guidance for the fiscal year missed analysts’ estimates. The stock rose 1.8%.
CarGurus, the online car-selling platform, reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue but issued a fiscal first-quarter forecast that missed Wall Street estimates. The company said it expects adjusted profit in the first quarter of between 24 cents and 29 cents a share, below expectations of 31 cents. Shares fell 1.6%.
Macy’s rose 3.4% after the retailer said it was planning to close 150 unproductive stores as it gears up to fight a proxy battle being waged over the company’s expansive real estate portfolio. The company also reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that topped analysts’ expectations.
Market News
Macy’s to Close 150 Stores in Latest Turnaround Bid
Macy’s new boss Tony Spring says the department-store chain needs to shrink. He wants to make sure it doesn’t become less relevant to millions of shoppers as a result.
The retailer said Tuesday that it would close about 150 underperforming Macy’s stores, or about 30% of its fleet, over the next three years. It will focus on upgrading its remaining 350 Macy’s locations, while also opening smaller versions of its namesake chain and adding Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury locations.
Apple cancels work on electric car, source says
Apple has canceled work on its electric car, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, a decade after the iPhone maker kicked off the project.
Shares of the company were up 0.7% in afternoon trading, having pared some losses from earlier in the trading day.
Several employees working on the electric car project will be shifted to the firm's artificial intelligence (AI) division, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development.