Equity Indexes Wrap: Micron, Broadcom Lead AI Rally; Apple Sinks on DOJ Suit

The Dow

Goldman Sachs (GS) climbed 4.3% to its highest level in two and a half years. Other financial stocks advanced Thursday, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), up 1.4%, and American Express (AXP), up 0.5%. 

Nike (NKE) rose 0.5% ahead of its earnings report after the bell. That was preceded by an announcement that Nike would become the German Football Association’s official supplier starting in 2027, replacing German competitor Adidas. 

Boeing (BA) finished flat amid reports airline CEOs demanded to meet with the jet maker’s board to discuss recent safety issues. 

Apple (AAPL) tumbled 4.1% after the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging the company has engaged in anticompetitive behavior to reinforce its dominance in the U.S. smartphone market. 

The S&P 500

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) jumped 8.4% amid an AI stock rally. 

Western Digital (WDC), a maker of computer memory hardware, got a boost from memory chip maker Micron’s earnings. Shares rose 5%. 

Home improvement retailers Lowes (LOW) and Home Depot (HD) rose 3.6% and 2.8%, respectively, after data showed existing homes sold at their fastest pace in nearly a year last month. Tool company Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) rose 3.5%. 

Microsoft (MSFT) added 1% after the company unveiled its first AI laptops. 

Accenture (ACN) fell 9.3% after it lowered its full-year sales and earnings guidance amid an “uncertain macro environment.”

FactSet Research (FDS) slid 7.7% after its quarterly revenue and full-year sales estimate fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. 

Darden Restaurants (DRI) fell 6.5% after it said same-store sales declined last quarter at its flagship chain, Olive Garden. 

Paramount (PARA) shed 5.5% amid reports controlling shareholder Shari Redstone was not interested in private equity firm Apollo Global Management’s $11 billion offer for the company’s TV and film studio. Shares jumped Wednesday following news of Apollo’s offer.

The Nasdaq 100

Micron (MU) shares soared 14.1% after the memory chip maker’s quarterly earnings blew past analyst estimates amid strong demand for artificial intelligence. 

Broadcom (AVGO) shares jumped 5.6% after receiving several upgrades from analysts following its Enabling AI in Infrastructure investor meeting on Wednesday. 

Micron and Broadcom led a broad semiconductor rally, that sent Applied Materials (AMAT) 2.8% higher and Qualcomm (QCOM) up 1.9%. Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.2%. 

Tesla (TSLA) fell 1.6% after Chinese competitor Li Auto (LI) lowered its full-year delivery estimate amid slumping demand. 

Alphabet (GOOGL) slid 0.8% amid reports it would be among the first companies to be investigated for compliance with new European Union regulations.

Papa John's Stock Sinks After CEO Leaves for Shake Shack 

Shares of Papa John’s International (PZZA) dipped more than 4% in intraday trading Thursday after Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK) announced the pizza giant’s chief executive would be taking the same position at the hamburger chain.

Shake Shack said Papa John’s chief executive Rob Lynch would replace Randy Garutti, who has been with the company since its inception and served as CEO since 2012. Garutti had announced in December that he would be stepping down this year. Lynch, who will be the first outsider to lead Shake Shack, takes over May 20. 

Lynch became Papa John’s CEO in 2019 and will be acting in an advisory role until April 30. The pizza chain said the board has chosen CFO Ravi Thanawala as interim chief and is conducting a comprehensive search to find a new leader.

Shares of Shake Shack traded near their highest level in almost three years Thursday afternoon. They have gained nearly 50% so far this year.

Papa John’s shares have lost more than 10% year-to-date.

-Bill McColl

What You Need To Know Ahead of Nike's Earnings Report Thursday

Nike (NKE) is set to report its fiscal third-quarter earnings of 2024 after the bell Thursday, with analysts expecting revenue and income could fall from the previous quarter and year-ago period amid weakened demand.

Analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha project the apparel giant to report $12.28 billion in revenue, net income of $1.11 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of 73 cents, all of which would represent a decline from what Nike reported a year earlier. In the year-ago period, Nike posted $12.39 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.24 billion or 79 cents per share.

Thursday's earnings report will be the first since Nike announced plans in December to cut an estimated $2 billion in costs over the next three years.

A key metric to watch will be Nike's gross margin, as it could offer an idea of what progress the company is making in implementing those cost cuts. Analysts project a gross margin for the third quarter of about 45.14%, an increase from the 43.35% Nike posted in the year-ago period, as well as the 44.6% margin the company reported in the second quarter.

For more on what to expect from Nike's earnings, see here.

-Aaron McDade

Accenture Lowers Guidance Citing an 'Uncertain Macro Environment' and Its Stock Tumbles

Accenture (ACN) shares tumbled over 8% in intraday trading Thursday after the provider of tech and consulting services for businesses lowered its guidance as sales and new bookings slowed.

The company reported second-quarter fiscal 2024 revenue fell less than 1% from a year ago to $15.80 billion, missing estimates. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.77 came in better than anticipated.

Accenture said it anticipates current-quarter revenue in a range of $16.25 billion to $16.85 billion, below analysts’ forecasts. It projects full-year sales growth of 1% to 3%, down from its previous projection of a rise of 2% to 5%. The company reduced the top end of its expected adjusted EPS range to $12.20 from $12.32, compared to the $12.24 analysts expected. Shares of Accenture were 9% lower at $346 Thursday. afternoon They've lost about 1% year to date but have gained close to 35% over the past 12 months.

-Bill McColl

Expectations and Excitement High Heading Into Reddit Debut

Reddit’s big IPO day has arrived, and, contrary to previous reports, users are psyched.

Some 8% of the initial shares have been reserved for account holders, and they aren’t subject to a lockup period—meaning they can buy and sell them as soon as trading begins. That led to fears of mass selling, and even shorting, but r/WallStreetBets moderator Noor Al doesn’t see that happening.

“The community has turned quite bullish on the stock. We’re seeing it in the daily thread that people are very excited to see what’s happening,” Al said in a telephone interview. “A lot of the, ‘Oh, we’re gonna short it’ sentiment has actually kind of disappeared, at least for today.” Al said the fact that the offering was oversubscribed and the pricing hit the top of the range at $34 may account for the change in sentiment. Redditors can claim up to 1,000 shares each. “I'm gonna buy as many shares as I can,” Al said.

-Christiana Sciaudone

Darden Restaurants Stock Sinks as Sales Hurt by 'Tougher' Operating Environment

Shares of Darden Restaurants (DRI) dropped 6% in early trading Thursday after the restaurant chain’s quarterly sales fell and it reduced its full-year revenue outlook, citing difficult conditions. 

The operator of Olive Garden and The Capital Grille reported third-quarter fiscal 2024 revenue increased 6.8% from a year earlier to $2.97 billion, short of forecasts. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $2.62, in line with estimates.

Total sales were driven by the addition of 79 company-owned Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurants and 53 other net new restaurants. Darden purchased the Ruth’s Chris chain last year for $715 million.

Same-store sales declined 1% and were down at its biggest revenue generator, Olive Garden. Sales for Olive Garden fell 1.8%. Darden's Fine Dining segment recorded a 2.3% drop and its Other Business segment declined 2.6%. Sales were up 2.3% at LongHorn Steakhouse.

The company lowered its outlook for full-year revenue to $11.4 billion from $11.5 billion, and same-store sales growth to a gain of 1.5% to 2% from an increase of 2.5% to 3%. Shares of Darden Restaurants were down 6% to $164.12 midday Thursday. They've gained close to 8% over the past year.

-Bill McColl

Apple Stock Slips as DOJ Files Antitrust Suit

The Justice Department sued Apple (AAPL) on Thursday, alleging the consumer tech giant restricts the development of features that could loosen its grip on the U.S. smartphone market. 

“Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers. Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others,” the suit alleges.

The Department of Justice is joined in its suit by the attorneys general of 15 states and the District of Columbia.  Apple shares fell more than 3% Thursday following the news. The stock has lost about 10% of its value this year. 

Reddit To Begin Trading Thursday—What You Need to Know

Reddit priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $34 per share Wednesday evening and is set to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the "RDDT" ticker.

This price band values Reddit at about $6.4 billion. Reuters cited sources familiar with the deal who said the offering was around four to five times oversubscribed, with the company set to easily raise its targeted $748 million from the public market.

In its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company highlighted investments in cryptocurrency and noted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was an investor in the firm, with 9.2% of the voting rights as of Feb. 22, 2024.

The filing also revealed 2023 revenue of $804 million, up 21% over the year, but the company has yet to book a profit in its nearly 20-year history. Some hope that will change with the company's CEO recently looking to leverage the huge amounts of data on the platform to train generative artificial intelligence models.

However, there are also challenges ahead for Reddit, which disclosed an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a patent dispute with Nokia Corp. (NOK) in its recent regulatory filings.

-Kevin George

Gold Trades Near Records, and Could Go Higher, Says BofA

Gold’s hitting record after record, and it’s still one of Bank of America’s favorite trades for 2024 with different factors seen pushing prices higher. Spot gold rose to as much as $2,233 Wednesday, while futures climbed as high as $2,225 in the evening.  It’s the fifth time this month that the precious metal has hit an all-time high, this time on the heels of yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting in which it signaled that there could be three rate cuts this year. That forecast sent Treasury yields lower, increasing the attractiveness of gold, which offers no investment yield. One major factor behind the rally is that central banks have been buying gold “at an unprecedented pace,” BofA analysts led by Jared Woodard said. Another factor that could eventually pump prices even higher is the return of mom & pop investors, BofA said. Total ETF gold holdings, which are considered a proxy for investor demand, have seen outflows of $16 billion in the past two and a half years. BofA thinks more investors could enter the market and prompt prices to go as high as $2600.

-Christiana Sciaudone

Micron Stock Jumps To Record High After Strong Earnings, Upbeat Guidance

Micron Technology (MU) shares soared to a record high in early trading Thursday after the memory and storage chip maker reported quarterly results that sailed past Wall Street’s expectations and issued a better-than-expected outlook amid artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand.

The stock was up 14.5% at $110.23 about half an hour after Thursday's opening bell. Shares have now gained 29% since the start of the year.

The Boise, Idaho-based company late Wednesday posted fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, up from a loss of $1.91 a share in last year’s corresponding quarter and significantly ahead of analysts’ expectations for a loss. Revenues in the period of $5.82 billion grew from $3.69 billion a year earlier and handily topped the $5.34 billion consensus view.

Looking ahead, the memory chip maker projects current-quarter midpoint adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share on revenue of $6.6 billion, plus or minus $200 million. Both metrics far surpass the Street expectation of 8 cents a share on sales of $5.98 billion.

Taking a look at the weekly chart, Micron's share price broke out from a 16-month ascending channel in late February, climbing to a new all-time high in the process. However, since that time, the stock has consolidated on average trading volumes near the pattern’s top trendline as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of the company’s earnings release. 

Amid the post-earnings breakout, keep an eye on a prior double top pattern that formed on the chart around $98—a region that may now turn into a future price support level during retracements.

-Timothy Smith

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gains:

• Micron Technology Inc. (MU): Shares of the memory and storage chip maker jumped 18% after it reported a surprise profit in its fiscal second quarter and offered better-than-expected guidance amid strong AI demand. 
• Astera Labs (ALAB): Shares of the AI chip company rose more than 5% after surging 72% yesterday on its first day of trading. 
  

Losses:

• Accenture Plc (ACN): Shares of the IT services provider fell 6% after it cut its full-year revenue forecast amid a slowdown in IT spending. 
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI): Shares of the Olive Garden parent fell more than 5% after revenue fell short of Wall Street’s estimates amid a decline in same-store sales.
• Chewy Inc. (CHWY): Shares of the pet goods e-retailer fell more than 4% after it warned it expects pet ownership to grow at a below-average rate this year. 

Futures Point to Gains for Stocks, Already at Record Highs

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% in premarket trading on Thursday.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.5%.

Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.9% higher a little more than an hour before markets opened.