The Federal Reserve’s open market committee left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, leaving them at 5.25% to 5.5%. That sent 10-year Treasury note rates down, regenerating investor interest in equities.
In early trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrials are up about 0.5%, the S&P 500 is up about 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite is up about 1.1%.
Here’s a look at some of today’s market movers.
Starbucks
| Estimate | Actual | Surprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | 9.29 | 9.37 | 0.9% |
| Adj EPS | 0.81 | 1.06 | 11.1% |
Fourth-quarter revenue reached a new all-time high on a same-store sales increase of 8% year over year. The average ticket rose 4% and total transactions rose 3%. Bigger price increases in North America lifted the average ticket by 6% and transactions by 2%.
International same-store sales rose 5%, the same as China’s increase. The average ticket was down 1% internationally and down 3% in China. Transactions picked up the slack, rising by 6% internationally and 8% in China.
In its initial outlook for the 2024 fiscal year, Starbucks said on its conference call that it expects recent momentum in China to continue. The company sees same-store sales rising by 4% to 6% in the first half of the fiscal year. Global and U.S. same-store sales were forecast to increase by 5% to 7% for the full year. (These are America’s most trusted food & drink brands.)
Starbucks expects its store count to rise by 7% globally, including a U.S. increase of 4% and 13% growth in China.
Shortly after Thursday’s opening bell, Starbucks stock traded up 11%, at $101.37 in a 52-week range of $82.97 to $115.48.
Qualcomm
| Estimate | Actual | Surprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | 8.51 | 8.67 | 1.8% |
| Adj EPS | 1.91 | 2.02 | 5.8% |
On its conference call, Qualcomm said calendar year handset sales for 2023 will fall by mid-to-high single digits, somewhat better than its earlier estimate. (U.S.-China trade wars: How nine imports threaten U.S. national security.)
Qualcomm also pointed at the AI on-device market as a potential requirement for mobile device OEMs. Without naming names, the company believes its new Snapdragon chip is a solid challenger to Apple’s latest mobile and desktop/laptop chips.
Shares traded up 6.4% early Thursday morning at around $118.00 in a 52-week range of $101.47 to $139.94.
SolarEdge
| Estimate | Actual | Surprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($M) | 769.2 | 725.3 | -5.7% |
| Adj EPS | 0.83 | 0.55 | -33.7% |
Adding to the misery, SolarEdge issued downside guidance for the fourth quarter. The company sees revenue of $300 to $350 million, compared to the previous analysts’ consensus estimate for revenue of $715.2 million.
SolarEdge stock is getting pummeled early Thursday, trading down more than 15% at the opening bell. After about half an hour, shares traded down about 5.7 $71.60. in a 52-week range of $63.25 to $345.80. The low was posted this morning.
Moderna
| Estimate | Actual | Surprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | 1.38 | 1.83 | 33.2% |
| Adj EPS | -1.93 | -9.53 | -393.8% |
Thinking ahead (way ahead), the company said it expects fiscal 2024 sales of about $4 billion and the return of organic sales growth in 2025. The company reported $12.8 billion in cash and other liquidity, a decline of $2 billion since the end of the second quarter. In its remarks about the future, Moderna said it expects a cash balance at the end of 2024 of around $9 billion. At the end of 2025, the cash balance is likely to dip to a range of $6 to $7 billion. This is not good news for investors. (These are the youngest members of the Fortune 500.)
Moderna stock was hammered early Thursday, trading down about 6%, at $71.63 in a 52-week range of $62.55 to $217.25. The low was posted early this morning.
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