Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, May 1
1. Meta Platforms, Club name, blowout quarter. Sales, daily active users, earnings per share and operating margins all exceeded estimates. The social media giant touches more than 3 billion users a day. Ad revenue came in at $41.39 billion vs. Wall Street projections of $40.44 billion. Still good for older demo with pharma, cars, local, consumer packaged goods — but for how long? Shares rose 6%.
2. Microsoft, Club name, blowout quarter. We did not see a beat of this magnitude coming, the biggest standout was Azure’s accelerating revenue growth. Beats nearly across the board. The company’s outlook for capex was unchanged. Shares of the tech giant shot up nearly 9%.
3. Guggenheim cut its price target on Starbucks to $79 from $83 and kept a hold rating, while Bernstein went to $90 from $105 and kept a buy rating. The coffee chain reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday, but new CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround plan showed progress.
4. Robinhood — look out established brokers, a product company is about to challenge you, one based on IRAs, credit cards, options, futures and predictions. JPMorgan called Robinhood’s Q1 beat on Wednesday “somewhat low quality” but raised its price target to $47 from $44. Keefe Bruyette went to $47 from $43. Shares jumped 4%.
5. CVS has consolidated in the absence of Walgreens and gotten its act together. The pharmacy retailer reported first-quarter revenue and profit that topped estimates and hiked its guidance. Nice bump in the stock, up 8%.
6. Did Tesla hire a search firm to replace CEO Elon Musk or not? Tesla denied a report in The Wall Street Journal that the company’s board was seeking a replacement. Shares of the EV maker fell as much as 3% overnight but are now up 1%.
7. Apple violated ruling over Fortnite, Epic? Have to open it to non-payers? Will it prove to be a sizable dent in revenue? The federal judge said the iPhone maker had “outright lied” to the court. Share fell 2% on the news.
8. Eli Lilly doesn’t want to overpromise, get the stock higher on hype. Shares of the drugmaker slid 4% after cutting its full-year profit guidance — even as Q1 profits and sales beat expectations thanks to its blockbuster weight loss drugs. The company is ahead in getting an oral GLP-1 to market, which is what matters. It will be very large scale and better than the current injection. Great overseas, too.
9. McDonald’s dipped 1% after first-quarter results showed the largest decline in U.S. same-store sales since 2020. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler raised raised its price target on Yum! Brands to $155 from $150 after Q1 earnings, and Shake Shack delivered underwhelming numbers.
10. Qualcomm gave lighter guidance, pushing shares down 5%. Not sure what will happen — not impressive. Wells Fargo slashed its price target to $140 from $175 and reiterated its sell rating.
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