Markets News, May 24, 2024: Nvidia Rally Hands Nasdaq 5th Straight Winning Week (2024)

Stock Indexes Wrap: Nvidia, AI Stocks Surge While Enterprise Software, Health Care Slide

5 hr 31 min ago

The Dow

Tech stocks led the index Friday, with Intel (INTC) climbing 2.1% and Apple (AAPL) advancing 1.7%.

Boeing (BA) shares rose 1.3% after the company and NASA said they were aiming to launch Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for the first time in early June.

Salesforce (CRM) fell 2.3% after enterprise software peer Workday forecast softer-than-expected current-quarter subscription revenue.

Healthcare stocks underperformed. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) gave up 1.8%, while UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Merck (MRK) slid 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively.

The S&P 500

Deckers Outdoor (DECK) jumped 14.2% to a record close after its quarterly results blew past analysts’ estimates thanks to strong demand for Ugg boots and Hoka sneakers.

First Solar (FSLR) surged 10.8%, continuing its ascent as analysts raised their price targets amid bets it could benefit from surging demand for electricity from AI data centers. Green energy peers GE Vernova (GEV) and Vistra (VST) gained 9.8% and 6.2%, respectively.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI), another AI beneficiary, advanced 4.3%.

Advanced chipmakers also rose on AI enthusiasm. Qualcomm (QCOM) gained 4.3%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 3.7% and Nvidia (NVDA) climbed 2.6%.

Intuit (INTU) slumped 8.4% after the tax-preparation software maker warned its share of total IRS tax returns could drop this year as the IRS introduces free e-filing software of its own.

Dayforce (DAY), a Human Resources management software company like Workday, slumped 7.6% following the latter’s disappointing outlook.

The Nasdaq 100

Ross Stores (ROSS) rose 7.8% after topping earnings estimates and raising its full-year guidance.

Chip fabrication stocks rose alongside Nvidia. ASML (ASML) advanced 2.4% and Applied Materials (AMAT) ticked up 1.4%.

Workday (WDAY) led the index’s laggards, tumbling 15.3%. Enterprise software peers Atlassian (TEAM), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), and Paychex (PAYX) followed Workday lower.

Workday Stock Plunges Amid Soft Subscription Revenue Guidance

6 hr 10 min ago

Workday (WDAY) shares tumbled more than 15% in intraday trading Friday after the cloud-based professional services company provided softer-than-expected current-quarter and full-year subscription revenue guidance.

For the current quarter ending July 31, the company guided subscription revenue coming in at $1.895 billion, missing estimates of $1.903 billion. Looking at the fiscal 2025 full year, the company trimmed its subscription revenue forecast to between $7.7 billion and $7.725 billion from its prior range of $7.725 billion to $7.775 billion.

“Our updated subscription-revenue guidance reflects the elevated sales scrutiny and lower customer-headcount growth we experienced during the quarter,” Workday CFO Zane Rowe said in the company’s earnings statement.

For the three-month period ending April 30, the company posted net sales of $1.99 billion, slightly ahead of the $1.97 billion consensus view. On the earnings front, it posted an adjusted profit of $1.74 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.58 a share.

Workday shares were down more than 15% late in the session Friday, bringing their year-to-date decline to about 20%.

-Timothy Smith

Ross Stores Stock Jumps on Earnings Beat, Raised Guidance

7 hr 12 min ago

Shares of Ross Stores (ROST) surged over 8% in intraday trading Friday as the off-price apparel and home goods retailer posted better-than-anticipated results and raised its guidance as it cut costs.

Ross Stores reported first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.46, up from $1.09 a year ago. Revenue gained 8% from the year-ago quarter to $4.86 billion. Both exceeded forecasts. Same-store sales rose 3%.

Operating margin jumped 205 basis points (bps) to 12.2%, which CEO Barbara Rentler attributed mainly to “lower distribution, incentive, and freight costs that were partially offset by the planned decline in merchandise margin.”

She said that based on first-quarter results and forward guidance, Ross Stores boosted its full-year EPS outlook to a range of $5.79 to $5.98, up from the previous estimate of $5.64 to $5.89.

Ross Stores shares were up 8.5% Friday afternoon, propelling the stock into positive territory for the year.

-Bill McColl

Meta, T-Mobile and Disney Boosted US Dividend Growth in First Quarter

8 hr 1 min ago

Dividend growth accelerated to 7% in the first quarter, bringing the total payout to a record $164.3 billion, propelled by distributions from companies such as Meta (META), Walt Disney & Co. (DIS), and T-Mobile (TMUS), according to a recent Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index report.

Meta was the biggest contributor to the overall number with its first-ever dividend. The company paid out $1.1 billion per quarter, which was only a fifth of its share repurchase program, but enough to add two-thirds of a percentage point to U.S. dividend growth for the quarter.

Communications firm T-Mobile also made a first-ever dividend payment in December and followed it with another in Q1, adding roughly half a percentage point to the quarterly growth rate. And Walt Disney & Co. finally bounced back from its pandemic malaise with a return to dividend payments in the first quarter.

Novartis (NVS), Costco (COST), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Novo Nordisk (NVO) all ranked in the top ten biggest dividend payers for the first quarter.

-Kevin George

Intuit Stock Slumps After Warning TurboTax Could Lose 1 Million Free Users

9 hr 2 min ago

Shares of Intuit (INTU) dropped more than 8% in intraday trading Friday as the provider of financial and other software warned it will lose 1 million customers who use the free version of its TurboTax tax filing program.

Intuit said that it expects those who pay nothing to use TurboTax will decline to over 10 million users in fiscal 2024, down from over 11 million in fiscal 2023. It projects total TurboTax units falling 1% because of “share loss with pay-nothing and lower average revenue per return customers."

The news came as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched a pilot program in March that let taxpayers in 12 states file online to the IRS directly.

Intuit said it now anticipates the TurboTax share of total IRS returns to drop about 80 basis points (bps) in fiscal 2024 from fiscal 2023. However, Intuit projected TurboTax revenue could grow 17%, with average revenue per user rising about 10%.

The news sent shares of Intuit into negative territory for 2024.

-Bill McColl

Soaring Sales of Hoka and Ugg Shoes Send Deckers Stock to a Record High

10 hr 6 min ago

Deckers Outdoor (DECK) shares skyrocketed to an all-time high Friday as the maker of fashion footwear blew away quarterly profit estimates on soaring demand for its Hoka and Ugg brand shoes.

The company posted fiscal 2024 fourth-quarterearnings per share (EPS)of $4.95, more than $2 above analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue increased 21% from a year ago to $959.8million, also above forecasts.

By brand, Hoka sales jumped 34% to $533 million, and Ugg sales climbed 15% to $361.3 million. They declined 16% for Teva and 39% for Sanuk, while sales of other brands, primarily composed of Koolaburra, were flat.

Deckers said it anticipates full-year EPS for fiscal 2025 of $29.50 to $30, up from $29.16 in fiscal 2024. The company projected revenue growth of approximately 10% to $4.7 billion, in line with expectations.

Shares of Deckers were 13.5% higher Friday morning, gaining around 53% so far in 2024.

-Bill McColl

Ether Liquidations Spike Amid Volatility Surrounding SEC ETF Application Approval

10 hr 54 min ago

Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of theEthereumblockchain, remains in focus Friday after it saw a spike inliquidationsbefore and after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Thursdayapproved applicationsfor the listing of eightspot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

According to data fromderivativesanalysis platform CoinGlass, total Ether liquidations over the past 24 hours have tallied more than $150 million as volatile price swings on either side of the SEC’s application approval caughtleveragedtraders off guard.

Interestingly, nearly 70% of those liquidations occurred on thelongside of the market, meaning Ether positions that had anticipated rising prices. In the lead-up to the decision, the cryptocurrency’s price dropped suddenly to around $3,500 before surging over $3,800 minutes after the approval.

After topping out above the key $4,000 level in early March, Ether’s price traded within a fallingwedgefor several months before staging an impressive 19% breakout earlier this week as speculation mounted that the SEC could unexpectedly approve applications for spot Ether ETFs. Since Monday’swide-ranging day, the price has remained volatile on above-average trading volumes.

Looking ahead, if Ether’s price continues to move higher, monitor the March 12 high at $4,093.88 as a potential area ofresistance. A convincing breakout above this level could see Ether revisit itsrecord highset at $4,867.81 in November 2021.

Conversely, on the downside, keep an eye on the $3,150 level, an area on the chart that findssupportfrom both the wedge’s breakout point and 50-day moving average.

-Timothy Smith

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

12 hr 29 min ago

Gains:

• Deckers (DECK): Shares of the maker of Ugg boots jumped 13% after it topped Wall Street’s estimates with its quarterly revenue and earnings.
• Ross Stores (ROST): Shares of the discount retailer climbed 7% after it reported better-than-expected first-quarter results as shoppers traded down amid persistent inflation.
• Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH): Shares of the defense contractor rose 3% after swinging to a profit in the first quarter and posting revenue above Wall Street’s expectations.
• Coinbase (COIN): Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange gained 1% after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a rule change that will allow for the listing of spot ether ETFs. Most of the asset managers that have filed ETF applications with the SEC have chosen Coinbase as their asset custodian.
  

Losses:

• Workday (WDAY): Shares of the software company plunged 10% after its current-quarter and full-year subscription revenue forecast fell short of analysts’ estimates.
• Intuit (INTU): The tax-prep software maker’s shares fell 6% after it issued weaker-than-expected earnings guidance.

Stock Futures Up After Thursday's Slump

13 hr 7 min ago

Dow futures were up 0.1% in premarket trading Friday.

S&P futures were up 0.3%.

Nasdaq futures were up 0.3%.