Key Takeaways
- Earnings Season Is Halfway Over
- Chinese Stocks Have Best Day In Two Years
- Disney Reporting Earnings After Close
Some of the big-name tech stocks that have been leading the market this year took a break yesterday. However, that allowed other companies to do the heavy lifting for the day. While shares of Meta and Nvidia dropped by 1% and 1.6%, respectively, the overall market managed to stay positive. The S&P 500 gained 0.23% while the Nasdaq Composite was up fractionally.
We’re about halfway through earnings season at this point. According to FactSet, between reported earnings and what is forecast for the remaining companies, overall earnings are on pace to be up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. We had a slew of companies report last night and more scheduled for after the close today.
Overnight, we heard from Chipotle, who reported better than expected earnings on strong demand. My younger self never would have guessed the popularity of a burrito. That stock is indicated higher by 2% premarket. UberUBER also reported earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line. Uber stock has had an impressive rally this year, gaining nearly 15% but is off about 1.5% in premarket trading. We also have earnings from cybersecurity company FortinetFTNT. That company beat expectations and issued a positive forecast. Shares of Fortinet are trading 9% higher in premarket. One company that didn’t report great news was CVS Health. CVS cut its 2024 outlook amidst rising costs. Shares of CVS are indicated higher by a little less than 2%.
One company that didn’t report earnings but is making news premarket is TargetTGT. According to reports, the company is exploring launching a subscription service similar to Amazon Prime or Walmart+. Details on the project are scarce at the moment, but a subscription service could certainly help better position the company to compete. Shares of Target are higher by 2% in the premarket.
There’s also interesting news in the world of sports. ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. are in discussions to offer a new sports streaming service. The package would offer sports from all major league sports. Noticeable absent from the group are NBC and CBS. Pricing and other details are not yet known but this is certainly a story worth watching.
Elsewhere, Chinese companies had their biggest day in two years on Tuesday. The Chinese market was up 3.2% after what’s been a miserable start to 2024. However, those gains may be in jeopardy today following earnings from Alibaba. The company reported earnings that missed on revenues; however, they did announce a $25 billion increase to their share buyback program. In premarket trading, shares of Alibaba are down nearly 4%.
Looking forward to today, I’m keeping an eye on volatility. Even though stocks were little changed yesterday, volatility fell and the VIX is down almost 0.5% premarket. Volatility has been very subdued since as far back as November. I’m also watching Disney, which is scheduled to report earnings after the close. Shares of Disney gained 3% on Tuesday and I’ll be interested to hear more details about this proposed sports streaming service when the company reports. As always, I would stick with your investing plans and long-term objectives.
tastytrade, Inc. commentary for educational purposes only. This content is not, nor is intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation that any investment product or strategy is suitable for any person.
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