Leon Neal
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Meta soars 15% on beat and solid outlook; launches dividend and big buyback. (00:25) Disney (DIS) is joining the password crackdown trend. (01:31) Intel (INTC) reportedly delays $20B chip facility in Ohio. (02:15)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) jumped 15% in the first hour of postmarket action on a big earnings Thursday after its fourth-quarter report beat revenue expectations by nearly a billion dollars. The company also launched its first-ever dividend, along with an increase to its stock buyback of $50B.
The social-media giant also guided to the upside for the first quarter.
Revenues rose 25% overall to top $40.1B vs. Street consensus for $39.2B (reflecting about 22% growth).
And while operating losses at Reality Labs increased only slightly, operating income at the company’s core “family of apps” — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — nearly doubled, to just over $21B.
Meanwhile, the company initiated a $0.50/share dividend payable March 26. “We intend to pay a cash dividend on a quarterly basis going forward, subject to market conditions and approval by our board of directors,” said Mark Zuckerberg.
For the current quarter, Meta (META) expects total revenue of $34.5B-$37B, well over Street consensus for $33.87B.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is joining Netflix (NFLX) in cracking down on password sharing.
If you have Hulu, Disney+ or ESPN+ you probably received an updated subscriber agreement in your email.
At Hulu, for existing subscribers, consumers will be limited to sharing within their households starting March 14. This went into effect for new subscribers on Jan. 25.
Disney defines “household” as the “collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
The move comes as Disney looks to boost the profitability of its streaming business amid criticism from activist investor Trian Fund Management.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is delaying the construction timetable for its $20 billion chip manufacturing facility in Ohio.
Intel (INTC) had planned to start construction on the Ohio project next year.
The manufacturing plant is now expected to be completed by late 2026, according to a WSJ report on Thursday, which cited people involved in the project.
“Managing large-scale projects especially in our industry often involves adapting to changing timelines,” an Intel spokesman told the WSJ. “Our decisions are based on business conditions, market dynamics and being responsible stewards of capital.”
Intel (INTC) announced in January 2022 a $20 billion investment for a massive new manufacturing facility near Columbus, Ohio.
And now an update on our earnings watch from Thursday. Clorox (NYSE:CLX)is up more than 7% premarket after delivering a solid quarterly top and bottom line beat and updated its guidance to reflect its recovery from a cyberattack in August last year.
Clorox (CLX) reported FQ2 2024 adjusted profit per share of $2.16, which beat estimates by over a dollar. Revenue surged 15.7% Y/Y to $1.99B, also beating expectations by $190M.
Turning to Clorox’s (CLX) guidance, the company now sees fiscal year 2024 net sales to be down low single digits, compared to an earlier forecast of down mid- to high single digits. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share is now expected to be between $5.30 to $5.50, versus a prior outlook of $4.30 to $4.80.
The consensus revenue estimate for fiscal year 2024 sees a 8.4% Y/Y fall in sales. The consensus earnings per share estimate is $4.66.
Other articles to look out for on Seeking Alpha:
Apple falls as China worries overshadow sales growth
Amazon gains after holiday quarter sales shine and profits soar
BAE Systems buys Malloy Aeronautics, a British tech company
U.S. stocks on Thursday rebounded.
The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) added 1.30%. The S&P 500 (SP500) rose 1.25%. The Dow (DJI) advanced 0.97%.
All 11 S&P sectors ended in the green, with the exception of Energy.
Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. The Dow is flat, the S & P 500 is up 0.6% and the Nasdaq is up 1%. Crude oil is up 0.6% at more than $74 per barrel. Bitcoin is up 2.4% at more than $43,000.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is up 0.3% and the DAX is up 0.7%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX) is down 11% following a combination of mixed Q4 earnings and a pessimistic outlook.
On today’s economic calendar:
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8:30 Non farm payrolls Economists anticipate a strong level of 180K job additions for the month, down from the 210K job adds in December. The unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 3.8%. Average hourly earnings are forecast to be up 4.1% year-over-year.
