Stocks were mixed Thursday after two straight days of gains have taken major indexes back near all-time highs.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. Stocks are coming off of two winning sessions after a rocky start to the week, as concerns about the possible impact of U.S. tariffs have subsided, while quarterly corporate results have been generally strong.
The S&P 500 and Dow both ended Thursday’s session less than 1% away from their all-time closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was slightly less than 2% below its record close.
Several noteworthy stocks moved after the release of earnings reports. Eli Lilly (LLY) rose 3% after the drugmaker’s adjusted earnings were higher than expected while revenue came in soft. Ford (F) slid 7% after the automaker reported strong fourth-quarter results but issued a disappointing outlook. Qualcomm (QCOM) shares dropped 4% even as the chipmaker’s results topped analysts’ estimates, while chip designer Arm Holdings (ARM) also slipped 4%.
Among other big post-earnings movers, tobacco company Philip Morris (PM) rose 11%, hotel chain Hilton Worldwide (HLT) added 4%, fashion brand Ralph Lauren (RL) jumped 9% and exercise equipment maker Peloton (PTON) also soared 12%.
Shares of Dow component Honeywell International (HON) dropped more than 5% after the conglomerate said it would split into three independent, publicly traded companies.
Large-cap tech stocks mostly advanced. Nvidia (NVDA) climbed 3%, while Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta Platforms (META) posted smaller gains. Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO) retreated. Amazon shares wavered in extended trading after the company’s cloud revenue and outlook fell short of expectations.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the January jobs report, which is scheduled for release before the opening bell on Friday. Market participants are looking for information that could affect the Federal Reserve’s decision-making on interest rates, and labor market data are among the key inputs for the central bank.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is correlated with expectations about where interest rates are headed, ticked up to 4.45% from 4.42% at Wednesday’s close.
Bitcoin was at $96,500 Thursday afternoon, down from an overnight high of $99,200. Gold futures declined 0.4% at around $2,880 an ounce, after hitting a record high yesterday, while crude oil futures fell slightly.
The Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday
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Advancers:
- Shares of Tapestry (TPR), the parent company of the Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman brands, surged 12.0%, securing the S&P 500’s top performance. The stock’s push higher came after the luxury goods company topped sales expectations for the critical holiday quarter and lifted its full-year guidance, highlighting strong sales growth at Coach.
- Tapestry was not the only luxury lifestyle stock enjoying strong gains on Thursday. Ralph Lauren (RL) shares jumped 9.7%. The apparel and accessories designer posted better-than-expected quarterly sales and profits as well as boosted its revenue forecast.
- Philip Morris (PM) also beat sales estimates for its fourth quarter, and shares of the tobacco giant popped 11.0% higher. The company highlighted strong demand for its Zyn nicotine pouches, motivating efforts to increase production of the popular smokeless tobacco product.
Decliners:
- Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) shares plummeted 24.7%, the most of any S&P 500 stock. The semiconductor manufacturer warned of growing competition in supplying chips for Apple (AAPL). Since Apple is Skyworks’ largest customer, the competitive challenges could significantly impact overall sales.
- Military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and profits, and its shares sank 18.3%. Elevated costs at its key shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, where Huntington constructs aircraft carriers and other large vessels, dragged on the results.
- PTC (PTC) shares lost 9.6% following the design software firm’s quarterly earnings release. Analysts said the provider of product lifecycle management systems forecasts suggests it may be challenging for the company to sustain its growth trajectory. BMO analysts trimmed their price target on PTC stock after the release.
Amazon Earnings Top Estimates, But Cloud Revenue and Guidance Disappoint
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Amazon (AMZN) reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, though its outlook underwhelmed.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
The e-commerce and cloud services giant saw net sales rise 10% year-over-year to $187.8 billion, surpassing the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Earnings came in at $20 billion, or $1.86 per share, up from $10.62 billion, or $1 per share, a year earlier, also above expectations. Amazon Web Services revenue increased 19% to $28.79 billion, slightly shy of projections.
Looking ahead, Amazon forecast first-quarter revenue of between $151 billion and $155.5 billion, below the analyst consensus of $158.58 billion.
Amazon said the forecast reflects “an unusually large, unfavorable impact” from foreign exchange rates to the tune of $2.1 billion.
Shares of Amazon wavered following the report, dipping about 2% in extended trading. The stock has gained more than 40% over the 12 months through Thursday’s close.
Palantir Stock Surges to an All-Time High on Thursday
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Palantir (PLTR) shares surged to an all-time high Thursday, extending gains earlier in the week after the company gave a stronger-than-expected outlook on growing demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform.
Shares of Palantir climbed nearly 10% to a closing record of $111.28 on Thursday after more than quadrupling in value over the past year. The stock led gains in the Nasdaq 100 and was one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Thursday.
Several analysts have raised their price objectives for the stock since Palantir on Monday gave a strong forecast for 2025, with Bank of America, Citi, UBS, Wedbush, Morgan Stanley and others boosting their targets.
Palantir on Thursday also announced it would integrate Grok, the chatbot from Elon Musk’s xAI, into its Artificial Intelligence Platform.
In a note to clients Tuesday, Bank of America analysts suggested Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration’s focus on artificial intelligence could present a “major opportunity” for Palantir.
Hilton Stock Hits All-Time High as CEO Says Business Travel Demand Is Rising
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Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) shares hit an all-time high Thursday as executives said the hotel chain has seen an uptick in business demand.
Hilton reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76, above analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Its comparable revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key metric for hotels, also came in above analysts’ expectations with 3.5% growth year-over-year.
“All segments drove RevPAR outperformance, with strong trends in leisure occupancy, as well as continued growth in business transient and group results, and we expect favorable trends to continue into 2025,” Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a release.
During the company’s earnings call, Nassetta added that Hilton expects continued improvement in business travel could be “driven by further momentum in large corporates, coupled with steady demand across small- and medium-sized businesses,” according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.
Nassetta attributed the rise in business demand in part to expectations of greater certainty in the regulatory environment after November’s presidential election.
“If you talk to large, medium, small [businesses], almost without exception, people are broadly saying that they’re going to travel more,” Nassetta said. “And they broadly understand that they’re going to pay more for their travel because they understand that the environment they’re living in. And so, I do think that bodes well for business transient recovery.”
Shares were up over 5% to about $271 Thursday afternoon, on track to close at an all-time high after setting an intraday record at $273.78. They have gained almost 40% over the past year.
Ford Stock Drops as Soft Forecast Offsets Upbeat Q4 Results
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Ford (F) shares tumbled Thursday after the automaker posted a downbeat outlook weighed on by losses in its electric vehicle business that offset higher-than-estimated quarterly results.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker projected 2025 adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of between $7.0 billion and $8.5 billion, marking a sharp decline from 2024’s $10.2 billion. The company attributed the soft outlook to “headwinds related to market factors.”
Ford Model e, the company’s EV division, reported a 2024 EBIT loss of $5.1 billion, “as the company continues to invest in future products” and projected a 2025 EBIT loss of $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion. Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said in an earnings call on Feb. 5—a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense—that the EV market is facing “increased competition with increased pricing pressure.”
Still, the company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $48.2 billion, up 5% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 39 cents. Both surpassed consensus estimates from Visible Alpha.
Farley said during the earnings call that the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on American trading partners would affect the industry as well as mean “higher prices for customers.”
“There’s no question that tariffs at 25% level from Canada and Mexico, if they’re protracted, would have a huge impact on our industry with billions of dollars of industry profits wiped out and adverse effect on the US jobs, as well as the entire value system in our industry,” Farley said.
Ford shares were down more than 6% Thursday afternoon. They have lost more than a fifth of their value in the past year.
Philip Morris Stock Hits All-Time High on Demand for Smoke-Free Options
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Philip Morris International (PM) shares traded at an all-time high Thursday after the tobacco giant posted better-than-expected results and guidance on soaring demand for its non-smoking alternatives.
The maker of Marlboro cigarettes and ZYN nicotine pouches reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.55, with revenue rising 7% year-over-year to $9.7 billion. Both exceeded Visible Alpha forecasts.
Sales of its smoke-free products gained 9% to $3.9 billion, while sales of combustibles added 6% to $5.8 billion. Shipment volume grew 2% to 193.1 billion, with oral smoke-free products soaring 22% to 4.6 billion, heated tobacco products up 5% to 35.7 billion, and cigarettes 1% higher to 152.8 billion.
CEO Jacek Olczak said Philip Morris had “strong momentum across all categories,” and that it was confident its “smoke-free transformation and unparalleled brand portfolio will continue to deliver excellent performance and create value” for shareholders.
The company sees full-year adjusted EPS between $7.04 and $7.17, ahead of the Visible Alpha estimate of $7.01.
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Shares of Philip Morris International were up 10% to $144 in afternoon trading after earlier touching a record $146.78. They have added more than 50% of their value over the past year.
Tapestry Hits Record High on Soaring Coach Sales
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Tapestry (TPR) shares jumped to a record high Thursday as the owner of fashion retail brands set record holiday-quarter revenue and boosted its guidance on strong sales of its Coach products.
The parent of brands that also include Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman reported fiscal 2025 second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00, with revenue up 5% year-over-year to $2.20 billion. Both were above Visible Alpha estimates.
Coach sales soared 11% year-over-year to $1.71 billion, while sales at Kate Spade fell 10% to $416.4 million and they dropped 15% to $69.7 million at Stuart Weitzman.
The company said that during the period it advanced its strategic priorities, “resulting in accelerated revenue and adjusted EPS growth, and significant cash flow generation against a complex global economic and consumer environment.”
Tapestry now sees full-year 2025 EPS of $4.85 to $4.90 compared to the earlier $4.50 to $4.55. It anticipates revenue at $6.85 billion, about 3% above 2024 and ahead of the 1% to 2% growth it predicted in its previous outlook.
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Shares of Tapestry were up 12% recently at around $84, after touching an all-time high of $87.87 early in the session. The stock has doubled over the past year.
Supermicro Levels to Watch as Stock Continues Soaring
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Super Micro Computer (SMCI) moved sharply higher for the third straight day on Thursday.
The stock jumped yesterday as the embattled server maker announced that it’s ramping full production availability of its latest AI data center server solution. That followed news earlier in the week that the company plans to provide a second-quarter business update next Tuesday. Investors are eager to hear if the company remains on track to meet a Feb. 25 deadline given by the Nasdaq for submitting several delayed regulatory filings that are required to meet exchange listing requirements.
Supermicro shares have oscillated within a descending broadening wedge since mid-July last year, with the price tagging the pattern’s upper and lower trendlines on several occasions since that time. More recently, the stock has traded towards the top of the formation, raising the possibility of a breakout attempt.
In another win for the bulls, Wednesday’s jump occurred on the highest volume since early December, indicating buying conviction by larger market participants, such as institutional investors. It’s also worth pointing out that the relative strength index (RSI) climbed back above the 50 threshold, confirming improving price momentum.
Investors should eye crucial overhead areas on Supermicro’s chart around $34.50, $50, and $70.
The stock was up 7% at $33.70 in recent trading.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Eli Lilly Rises After Mixed Q4 Results
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Eli Lilly (LLY) shares moved higher in early trading after the drugmaker reported a better-than-expected adjusted profit even as revenue came in soft.
The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $13.53 billion, compared with the $13.56 billion that analysts had expected, based on Visible Alpha data. After adjusting for one-time costs, Eli Lilly’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.32 topped expectations of $5.11.
Sales of the company’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound grew to $3.53 billion and $1.91 billion, respectively, below expectations of $3.65 billion and $2.04 billion.
Eli Lilly said it expects 2025 revenue between $58.0 to $61.0 billion, with adjusted EPS of $22.50 to $24.00. Those ranges are largely in line with or above expectations.
The results come one day after rival Novo Nordisk (NVO), the Danish company behind weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, topped estimates in its fourth-quarter report.
Eli Lilly shares were up 2% in the opening minutes of Thursday’s session.
Major Index Futures Inch Higher
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Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% in recent trading.
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S&P 500 futures added 0.2%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were up fractionally.
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