Qualcomm chip
Dreamstime
Markets are gaining, yields are falling, and volatility is declining. Just don’t tell that to the individual stocks making massive moves on Thursday as they respond to earnings and other events.
It’s another strong day for the stock market. The
S&P 500
has gained 1.5%, while the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
has advanced 378.99 points, or 1.2%, and the
Nasdaq Composite
has risen 1.5%.
And risk is certainly on. Bond yields are falling, with the 10-year Treasury down to 4.681%, helping to allay investor concerns. Its also there in the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, a measure of implied volatility for the S&P 500. The VIX s down 4.3% to 16.13, down from a peak of 23.08 on Oct. 23.
The moves seem to be a response to the Federal Reserve, which left interest rates unchanged at its Wednesday meeting, and to Chairman Jerome Powell, who said tight monetary policy has been putting downward pressure on economic activity.
While measures of implied volatility have been falling, stocks making 20%-plus moves higher were plentiful. Roku (ROKU) stock has jumped 26% after third-quarter revenue of $912 million rose from a year earlier and topped estimates of $857 million. Active accounts of 75.8 million rose 2.3 million from the second quarter. The streaming media company said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of $955 million, better than consensus of $952 million, and anticipates adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $10 million versus estimates of a loss of $52 million.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) jumped 21% after the data-analytics software company posted better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter, getting a boost to its commercial business from its push into AI-powered analytics applications. Shopify (SHOP) shares rose 23% after the e-commerce software provider beat third-quarter revenue and earnings estimates.
Not every stock could gain 20%, though.
DoorDash
(DASH) reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss and total orders that rose 24% to 543 million, better than analysts’ expectations. Revenue in the period rose 27% to $2.2 billion. Shares of the food delivery company rose “only” 17%.
Affirm Holdings (AFRM) and Amazon.com (AMZN) announced an expansion of their partnership that makes Affirm the first pay-over-time option available at checkout on Amazon Business. Affirm stock rose 13%, while Amazon shares were flat.
Starbucks
(SBUX) jumped 11% after the coffee chain reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $1.06 a share, topping estimates of 97 cents. Revenue rose 11% to a record $9.4 billion.
Others could only manage single-digit increases.
Qualcomm
(ticker: QCOM) issued a fiscal first-quarter revenue forecast of $9.1 billion to $9.9 billion, above the consensus of $9.2 billion at the midpoint of the range. It expects earnings in the period of between $2.25 and $2.45 a share, above estimates of $2.22. The chip maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations. Shares rose 4.7%.
E.l.f. Beauty‘s (ELF) fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue smashed Wall Street estimates as demand for its low-price cosmetic products remained strong. The company raised its full-year revenue expectations, saying it anticipates $896 million to $906 million, higher than projections of $851.6 million. Shares rose 4.2%.
Apple
(AAPL) was rising 1.5% ahead of its quarterly earnings report scheduled for after the closing bell Thursday.
And there were certainly stocks that were down for the day, notably
Crocs
(CROX), which has fallen 8.1% after the footwear firm’s lowered guidance overshadowed a strong third-quarter report, and
SolarEdge
(SEDG), which was off 6.4% after the solar-power company reported a surprise loss and a 13% drop in third-quarter revenue and issued a weak revenue forecast for the fourth quarter, citing a “slow market environment.”
That’s a lot of volatility—even if the overall stock market doesn’t show it.
Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]
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