The S&P 500 index was trading about flat before U.S. markets opened on Wednesday. About half an hour after the opening bell, the index traded up about 0.3%.

Here’s a look at four of the early movers among S&P 500 stocks.

Caesars Entertainment

Casino and resort operator Caesers Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: CZR) reported quarterly earnings after markets closed Tuesday. Both earnings per share and revenue came in above consensus estimates.

The company reported that adjusted EBITDA in its digital business rose from a loss of $38 million in the prior quarter to a profit of $2 million in the third quarter. Revenue rose 4% sequentially in Ceasars’ Las Vegas segment. 

For the first nine months of the year, Las Vegas revenue was up 7.9%, and digital revenue was up 115.1% to $669 million. Total revenue is up 8.9% year over year to $2.99 billion. 

Shares traded up more than 6% at $42.40 in a 52-week range of $38.33 to $60.27.

Esteé Lauder 

Health and beauty products maker Esteé Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) reported first fiscal quarter EPS of $0.11, well above the consensus estimate for a loss per share of $0.21. The bad news is the company missed the revenue estimate and reported sales that were 10.6% lower than in the same quarter ‌last year.

Then everything got worse. Lauder issued downside guidance for adjusted second-quarter EPS: $0.48 to $0.58 compared to a consensus estimate of $1.21. Net sales are guided in a range of down 2% to up 1%. EPS guidance for the 2024 fiscal year ending in June was $2.17 to $2.42, a far cry from the consensus estimate of $3.60. Net sales were guided in the same range as second-quarter sales. 

Lauder also expects full-year gross margin to grow through price increases, fewer discounts and lower “obsolescence charges.” The growth will be offset by “manufacturing under-absorption.” Not sure what that really means, but it sounds like Lauder expects to manufacture more of its products that are out of fashion. As Yogi Berra once said, “If people don’t want to come to the ballpark, you can’t stop them.”

Shares traded down almost 20% at $103.13 in the first half-hour of trading Wednesday morning. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.51 to $283. 62. The low was posted early this morning.

Match Group

Digital dating service Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH) reported earnings and revenue above consensus estimates after markets closed Tuesday. Both were up sharply year over year: EPS was up nearly 30% and revenue was up nearly 9%. 

Guidance, however, is sinking the stock. For the fourth quarter, the company estimates revenue in a range of $855 to $865 million. The consensus estimate called for sales totaling $894.17 million.

Fiscal 2024 guidance is even less upbeat. Where analysts were forecasting revenue to be up about 10% year over year in 2024, the company tentatively guided next year’s revenue in the high-single digits. Match Group is watching its efforts to boost revenue at Tinder, but the company wants another quarter before committing to a firm full-year outlook.

The stock traded at around $29.00 Tuesday morning in a 52-week range of $28.63 to $54.60. The low was posted this morning.

Paycom

As we noted in our premarket report, shares of Paycom Software Inc. (NYSE: PAYC) have also been slammed by weak guidance. Investors can’t shed their shares fast enough this morning.

The company lowered fourth-quarter revenue guidance to a range of $420 to $425 million. The consensus estimate had called for revenue of $452.3 million for the quarter. The company provides human resources management software for small and mid-size businesses.

On its conference call, Paycom estimated revenue growth of 10% to 12% next year. The analyst’s consensus was around 18%. Even the consensus was less than the 22% growth forecast for this year. In 2022, revenue rose by more than 30% year over year. The pattern is not what investors want to see.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Shares plunged more than 38% to trade around $152.70 in a 52-week range of $149.25 to $374.04. And, yes, the low was posted earlier this morning.

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