U.S. stock index futures pared losses on Thursday as investors refrained from making big bets after inflation data.
Key Fed inflation measure rose 0.4% in January as expected, up 2.8% from a year ago
Market Snapshot
At 08:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 1 points, or 0.00%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11.5 points, or 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 75.5 points, or 0.42%.
Pre-Market Movers
Snowflake (SNOW) - Snowflake tumbled 23% after the company’s revenue outlook for the fiscal first quarter and year came up short of expectations, and the cloud-data company announced that Frank Slootman was stepping down as chief executive “effective immediately.” He will be replaced by Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president of AI at Snowflake. Ramaswamy told Barron’s in an interview that Snowflake provides guidance based on historical consumption patterns. He noted that unlike companies that sign long-term contracts, Snowflake starts every quarter with zero revenue. He said the forecast was conservative.
Salesforce (CRM) - Salesforce was falling 1% after the provider of cloud-based enterprise application software said it expects revenue in fiscal 2025 of $37.7 billion to $38 billion, below analysts’ projections of $38.65 billion. Salesforce’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street estimates and the company announced its first-ever dividend and a $10 billion increase to its stock repurchase program.
HP Inc. (HPQ) - HP Inc. declined 2.2% after the computer maker’s fiscal first-quarter earnings matched analysts’ estimates and revenue of $13.19 billion fell from a year earlier and missed forecasts of $13.57 billion. The company said it continues to see softness in its personal computer business but expressing optimism that a rebound was in the offing.
C3.ai (AI) - Shares of C3.ai jumped 15.4% after the maker of enterprise artificial-intelligence software posted a fiscal third-quarter adjusted loss of 13 cents a share, narrower than analysts’ expectations that called for a loss of 28 cents. Revenue at the company in the period was $78.4 million, up from $66.7 million a year earlier and better than analysts’ estimates of $76.1 million. Subscription revenue jumped 23% to $70.4 million.
Okta (OKTA) - Okta, the identity-management company, said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $603 million to $605 million and adjusted earnings of 54 cents to 55 cents a share. Analysts had been calling for revenue of $584 million and earnings of 41 cents. Revenue in the fourth quarter climbed to $605 million from $510 million and topped expectations of $587.2 million.The stock surged 26.4%.
Duolingo (DUOL) - Duolingo jumped 19.7% after the language learning company posted fourth-quarter earnings and sales that beat analysts’ forecasts and guided for revenue in the fiscal first quarter and year ahead of estimates. The company said daily active users rose 65% from a year earlier and monthly active users rose 46%.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) - Fourth-quarter revenue at AMC Entertainment rose nearly 12% to $1.1 billion and topped expectations of $1.06 billion. CEO Adam Aron said the company benefited from deals to distribute the concert movies of Taylor Swift and Beyonce despite a “diminished box office overall.” AMC shares fell 10.6%.
Paramount Global (PARA) - Paramount Global reported an adjusted profit in the fourth quarter of 4 cents a share, better than estimates that called for a loss of 1 cent. Revenue fell 6% to $7.64 billion, missing expectations of $7.83 billion. Revenue at Paramount’s streaming segment surged 34% in the period to to $1.9 billion. The flagship Paramount+ service reached 67.5 million subscribers. The company said it expects Paramount+ to reach profitability in the U.S. in 2025. The stock rose 2.2%.
Marathon Digital (MARA) - Marathon Digital, the crypto miner, earned 66 cents a share in the fourth quarter, a swing from a year-earlier loss of $3.13. Revenue rose to $156.8 million from $28.4 million a year earlier and topped analysts’ forecasts. The stock was down 9.1% in premarket trading. Through Wednesday, the stock has risen 395% over the past 12 months.
Best Buy (BBY) - Best Buy on Thursday posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly comparable sales, as holiday deals prompted shoppers to open their wallets for big-ticket purchases like electronics and home appliances. The shares gained 3% in premarket trading.
XPeng (XPEV) - German automaker Volkswagen and Chinese electric vehicles maker XPeng have entered an agreement for joint development of two B-class battery EVs, the companies said on Thursday, reports Reuters. XPeng shares gained 4.1% in premarket trading.
Birkenstock (BIRK) - Birkenstock Holding Plc’s earnings beat analysts’ estimates as consumers snapped up its high-end sandals and clogs while other casual footwear makers struggled. The shares gained 3% in premarket trading.
NetEase (NTES) - NetEase reported Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.32 misses by $1.36. Revenue of $3.8B (+2.7% Y/Y) misses by $130M. The shares dropped 3.8% in premarket trading.
Shoals Technologies (SHLS) - Shoals Technologies was falling 10% after the solar company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 12 cent a share, missing Wall Street estimates of 17 cents. Revenue in the period rose 38% to $130.4 million, below estimates of $132 million. The company said it expects a “softer first half of 2024 as sustained higher interest rates are resulting in project delays.”
Pure Storage (PSTG) - Pure Storage, which provides systems based on flash memory technology to enterprise customers, posted better-than-expected adjusted profit and revenue in the fourth quarter and issued an upbeat outlook for fiscal 2025. Shares rose 10%.
WW International (WW) - WW International slumped 25% after the weight-loss services firm said director Oprah Winfrey decided not to stand for re-election at the company's upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
Nutanix (NTNX) - Storage infrastructure giant Nutanix Inc. reported solid second-quarter financial results today, and its stock gained 4.2% in premarket trading Thursday even though its revenue forecast for fiscal 2024 trailed Wall Street’s expectations.
Societal CDMO (SCTL) - Shares of Societal CDMO soared 132.6% in premarket trading Thursday after the company announced it has agreed to be acquired by CoreRx for $1.10 per share in cash.
J-Long Group (JL) - J-Long Group Limited declared a substantial special dividend. The board of directors has resolved to distribute an aggregate of US$6,000,000.00 from the distributable funds to all eligible common stockholders by March 11, 2024, with the payment due the following day. The shares soared 35.2% in premarket trading.
Market News
US Lawmakers Strike Deal to Avoid Imminent Government Shutdown
Congressional leaders reached a last-minute deal to avoid a disruptive US government shutdown, setting up another clash with ultra-conservatives who swiftly blasted the agreement.
The deal would provide one week of temporary funding to avert a March 2 partial shutdown and fund parts of the government through Sept. 30. The remainder of the US government, including the Defense and Homeland Security departments, would still face a potential March 23 shutdown.
Hardline Republicans condemned the deal, with Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina telling Bloomberg TV’s “Balance of Power” that it is “an insult to the American people.” But all signs point to Speaker Mike Johnson ultimately defying his right flank and compromising to keep the government open.
SEC Investigating Whether OpenAI Investors Were Misled
The Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing internal communications by OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman as part of an investigation into whether the company’s investors were misled.
The regulator, whose probe hasn’t previously been reported, has been seeking internal records from current and former OpenAI officials and directors, and sent a subpoena to OpenAI in December, according to people familiar with the matter. That followed the OpenAI board’s decision in November to fire Altman as CEO and oust him from the board. At the time, directors said Altman hadn’t been “consistently candid in his communications,” but didn’t elaborate.
Altman returned as CEO less than two weeks later as part of a deal that also entailed a reconstituted board, which he hasn’t joined.
SEC officials based in New York are conducting the investigation and have asked that some senior OpenAI officials preserve internal documents.
