Yahoo Finance 
Josh Schafer
Stock market today: Tesla surges 12%, stocks go nowhere amid earnings rush
Updated
The major stock indexes were little changed Wednesday as Tesla (TSLA) surged in the aftermath of its earnings report and investors awaited more quarterly updates.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) finished positive, adding about 0.1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished narrowly above the flatline while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down about 0.1%.
Bond yields ticked higher on Wednesday, which had notably been a recent headwind for stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) rose about six basis points to 4.66%, hovering near its highest level of 2024.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares jumped around 12% after the EV maker's vow to speed up the launch of more affordable models eclipsed its quarterly earnings and revenue miss. That cheered up investors worried about growth amid a strategy shift to robotaxis and the planned cancellation of a cheaper model.
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The results from the first "Magnificent Seven" to report have intensified the already high hopes for Big Tech earnings, that the megacaps can revive the rally in stocks they powered.
After hours, the spotlight shifted to more quarterly reports as Meta (META) shares slid more than 10% after the tech giant reported revenue guidance for the current quarter that underwhelmed investors. Meanwhile, both Ford (F) and Chipotle (CMG) shares popped several percent after topping Wall Street's forecasts for both revenue and earnings per share.
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Chipotle, Ford rise in after hours on earnings beats
Ford (F) and Chipotle (CMG) both surprised Wall Street to the upside with quarterly reports after hours.
For Chipotle, the fast-casual restaurant posted earnings per share of $13.37, above expectations for $11.68, while same-store sales rose 7%, above consensus estimates for a 5.2% rise.
Meanwhile, Ford reported revenue of $42.8 billion, beating estimates of $40.04 billion, and up 3% compared to a year ago. Ford posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.49, topping forecasts of $0.42, with adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) coming in at $2.8 billion, compared to estimates of $2.54 billion.
Chipotle rose more than 3% following its release, while Ford was up less than 2%.
Correction: A previous version of this post misstated Ford's adjusted earnings per share number. We regret the error.
- Josh Schafer
Meta shares sink after disappointing
Meta (META) stock dropped as much as 10% in after-hours trade after the company's forecast for second quarter revenue came in short of analyst expectations.
Meta says it will see second quarter revenue between $36.5 billion and $39 billion. Estimates were calling for $38.24 billion.
Meta did, however, top estimates for the current quarter. Meta reported earnings per share of $4.71 in the quarter on revenue of $36.46 billion. Wall street was anticipating EPS of $4.30 on revenue of $36.12 billion, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Shares of Meta had been on a tear, climbing 116% over the last 12 months and more than 45% year to date. That’s far better than chief rival Google (GOOG, GOOGL) which is up 45% in the last 12 months and 16% year to date.
- Josh Schafer
Another day of a 'bond-driven equity market'
Stocks struggled to gain traction on Wednesday as bond yields once again ticked higher, sending pressure down the cap spectrum to areas like the Russell 2000 (^RUT), which fell about 0.6% on the day.
The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) rose about six basis points on Wednesday to 4.65%, hovering near its highest levels of 2024.
"We're living in a very bond-drive equity market today," Piper Sandler chief investment strategist Michael Kantrowitz told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.
From a broad perspective, stocks did little on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the gains, adding about 0.1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished narrowly above the flatline while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed just barely in negative territory.
- Josh Schafer
What to watch in earnings after the bell on Wednesday
A slew of major companies are set to report earnings after the bell. Below are the key metrics to watch for each.
Meta
Meta (META) will report its first quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, with Wall Street looking for another sizable jump in revenue for the social media giant. Shares of Meta have been on a tear, climbing 116% over the last 12 months and more than 45% year to date.
For the first quarter, Wall Street is expecting Meta to report earnings per share of $4.30 on revenue of $36.1 billion, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would mark another huge jump in EPS and revenue from the same quarter last year when the company reported earnings of $2.20 on revenue of $28.6 billion.
Read more from Yahoo Finance's Dan Howley.
Chipotle
Limited-time offers like the return of the Carne Asada and Chicken al Pastor, which are priced at a premium, can help boost results against a difficult macro consumer backdrop. The chain, which saw its foot traffic hold up in 2023, is battling against higher labor costs and sticky inflation — though it implemented higher prices to offset those headwinds.
Here's what Wall Street expects from Chipotle, according to Bloomberg estimates:
Revenue: $2.67 billion, up 12.9% from Q1 2023 ($2.37 billion)
Adjusted earnings per share: $11.66, up 11.1% from Q1 2023 ($10.50)
Same-store sales growth: 5.13%
Menu price increases: 2.87%
Transactions growth: 3.03%
Average check growth: 2.00%
Digital sales growth: 3.39%
Read more from Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma.
Ford
Ford (F) will report first quarter results after the bell on Wednesday. Its changing product game plan will be front and center with its focus on gas and hybrid offerings to offset heavy spending on EVs.
For the quarter, Ford is expected to report revenue of $40.04 billion, per Bloomberg consensus, a result that would be 3.5% lower than a year ago. Ford is also expected to post adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 on adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of $2.54 billion. Ford’s results should be slightly better than those in Q4, when it was dealing with the lingering effects of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.
Read more from Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian.
- Josh Schafer
A big test for the economic growth narrative awaits
Economists spent the large part of the last three months boosting their projections for first quarter economic growth.
On Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, investors will find out just how close these projections came when the advance estimate for first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be released. Consensus projects the economy grew at a 2.5% annualized pace during the first three months of the year.
And risks once again appear to be on the upside, with the Atlanta Fed GDPNow tool projecting 2.7% annualized growth for the US economy in the first quarter and the economics team at Goldman Sachs calling for 3%.
As seen in the graph below, these projections are a far cry from where economists saw the economy headed to start the year. The upgrades to economic forecasts have been a key talking point from the various equity strategy teams that have boosted their year-end targets for the S&P 500 (^GSPC).
"The US equity market is really taking its cues from the rapidly improving perceptions of the US economy," RBC Capital Markets head of US equity strategy Lori Calvasina wrote in a research note on Sunday night.
And given this move, what Thursday's reading from the Bureau of Economic Analysis says about the prior quarter, and how economists extrapolate that into growth projections for the rest of the year, could be key to whether the broadening out of the equity rally continues in 2024.
- Josh Schafer
Stocks turn positive in afternoon trade
The three major indexes bounced back into the green in afternoon trade.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up about 0.3%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was just above the flatline.
Consumer Discretionary (XLY), led by Tesla's (TSLA) more than 10% surge, was still the leading sector in the S&P 500. Meanwhile, small caps lagged amid another chug higher in bond yields. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index (^RUT) was off about 0.5% on the day.
- Josh Schafer
Tesla 'appeasing' market with product announcements helps stock survive tough earnings print
Tesla shares are up about 10% on Wednesday, helping the stock regain traction after a dismal first quarter.
But as Yahoo Finance's Hamza Shaban reports, investors appear more focused on what the electric vehicle maker is promising could come down the line rather than the current bumpy earnings report:
By the numbers, Tesla painted a dismal picture through its latest quarterly results. But the stock told a different story: excitement. New models are on the way, Musk said. And beyond that, Tesla will prosper as a pioneer in autonomous ridesharing.
As Tesla car sales faltered, Musk delivered an optimistic pivot: Tesla isn't a car company.
Sales fell 9% from a year ago in the most recent quarter, the first drop in four years. Operating profit tumbled more than 50% from the same period last year. Guidance, too, was a drag, as executives foresee "notably lower volume."
But the market loved Tesla reassuring the world that, actually, cheaper cars are coming. As Jefferies analysts said in a note after the report, "first impression for us is CEO Musk appeasing the market by accelerating new product launches."
And Musk on the earnings call emphasized over and over again that investors shouldn't view Tesla as an automaker but rather as a digital platform akin to Uber (UBER) and Airbnb (ABNB) for an autonomous fleet.
During the call, when vice president of vehicle engineering Lars Moravy dodged a question about the specific timeline for a mass-market $25,000 vehicle, Musk interjected to say that more details will come at Tesla's August 8 robotaxi unveiling. But he added his patented visionary flourish: “The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet.”
- Josh Schafer
First quarter earnings season is looking like a "beat and hold" quarter, and that's not enough for investors
As we noted in earlier this week, stocks have had a worse reaction to earnings releases this quarter than normal.
And at large, strategists attribute that to the position of the market after a massive rally to start the year. Citi strategist Drew Pettit told Yahoo Finance that areas of the market, like semiconductors, already have a large amount of growth priced into their stock.
"You don't just need a beat [on earnings and revenue estimates] and hold [on guidance], you need a beat and raise and confidence in the very long-term trajectory of these companies," Pettit said.
And to this point, few companies have been able to deliver that for investors. Netflix (NFLX) and JPMorgan (JPM), whose stocks have both rallied significantly over the past year, disappointed investors by not boosting their guidance despite beating estimates.
In the semiconductor space, ASML (ASML) disappointed on bookings, and TSMC (TSM) was cautious on demand for the rest of the year. Both stocks traded lower following their reports. On Tuesday night, Texas Instruments (TXN) beat Wall Street's estimates for current quarter revenue guidance, and shares popped more than 6% following the report, adding to Pettit's point that a beat and raise is the key this quarter.
The large expectations have Pettit's team at Citi preaching "patience" on the next leg of the market rally. He, like many other strategists who recently spoke with Yahoo Finance, believes that could likely come from better performance in sectors where the comparisons to grow earnings from last year aren't as stiff.
"While the growth names in the index may have a tougher time growing off of tougher comparisons from last year, the cyclicals and that part of the market needs to contribute to the earnings growth story for the index," Pettit said.
- Josh Schafer
President Biden signs bill that could bank TikTok from the US
President Biden signed a bill Wednesday morning that gives China's ByteDance up to one year to divest TikTok or face a US ban on the app.
Social media stocks were little changed following the news.
Yahoo Finance's Ben Weschkul reports on what could come next:
The long-debated measure is fraught with political implications for the 2024 election and will also kick off a complex set of steps over the coming 12 months likely to take place both in boardrooms and in courtrooms.
The bill gives the company 270 days to sell, but the president can extend the deadline up to a year. The process could end with a ban on an app that is currently used by more than 170 million monthly users in the US.
"This is another front in the ongoing US-China trade war that started during the Trump administration," Georgetown business professor Stephen Weymouth said in an interview this week.
He noted that the aggressive law will likely spur reactions from many fronts — including possible retaliation by the Chinese government. Previously, "Congress has had a relatively hands-off approach to tech regulation overall," he said.
The effort comes after lawmakers and the Biden administration have repeatedly charged that TikTok poses an urgent national security threat because the Chinese government could compel the company to share its data.
TikTok itself has denied the Biden administration’s charges and insists it would never share US data. It has responded to this week's action on Capitol Hill by charging that the law will be "a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans."
TikTok and ByteDance have also said that they have no intention of trying to sell, saying in a recent statement that the effect of passage will be to "shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually."
But it's unclear if the company will change tack and begin actively looking for buyers now that the law is on the books.
- Josh Schafer
Narrow leadership in Wednesday's action
After a two-day rebound that saw many pockets of the market recover from the recent drawdown, Wednesday's market action has a different flavor to it.
Only two sectors in the S&P 500 are higher on Wednesday morning, Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Technology (XLK).
Source: Yahoo Finance Meanwhile, bond yields, which have been a recent headwind for stocks, are on the rise again. The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) rose 7 basis points to 4.67%.
- Josh Schafer, Pras Subramanian
Earnings movers Wednesday morning
Tesla (TSLA) shares rose more than 14% early Wednesday after the EV maker said it would accelerate the launch of more affordable vehicles, countering reports earlier this month the company would scrap these plans.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) shares ticked higher by about 1% after the company's first quarter results came in better than Wall Street analysts feared. Boeing reported a quarterly core (or adjusted) loss per share of $1.13, narrower than the $1.72 loss estimated, on revenue of $16.57 billion, which was above forecasts of $16.25 billion but an 8% decline from a year ago.
AT&T (T) shares were on both sides of the flatline after the company reported earnings per share of $0.55, topping estimates for $0.53. The telecom company's free cash flow of $3.1 billion came in above estimates of $2.4 billion.
Texas Instruments (TXN) shares rose more than 6% following the company's latest quarterly release after the close on Tuesday. The chipmaker issued revenue guidance with a midpoint of $3.8 billion, above estimates for $3.7 billion.
- Josh Schafer
Tech leads at the open
Tech stocks rose on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market as investors welcomed Tesla's (TSLA) cheaper car pledge and waited for the next rush of corporate earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose roughly 0.6%, coming off a sharp closing gain. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2%, continuing a rebound from its longest losing streak of 2024, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%.
- Brian Sozzi
Just off the phone: Otis CEO Judy Marks
Many in the Yahoo Finance newsroom know of my joy in reading up on elevator and escalator maker Otis Worldwide (OTIS). I am fascinated by what the company makes, how it makes it, and what it all says about the health of the global economy.
I just got off the phone with Otis CEO Judy Marks. Her comments to me on China — following her trip in March to the country (an important market for Otis) — left an impression:
"The message from the Chinese government is: 'We want economic development. We want foreign direct investment. We're going to celebrate 40 years in China this year, and it's an important market to us.' But we've watched as the market has developed and some of the challenges in the property market, and they're really continuing. I would tell you that the property market and the new equipment market, similar to the last 18 to 24 months, it remains weak. Liquidity and credit constraints are weighing on the developers, and the top 50 developer sales this quarter were down almost 50% versus this quarter last year. So on the equipment side, we're calling this a down high single-digit to down 10% market for the year."
Marks doesn't see growth returning to Otis' China business in 2024.
- Brian Sozzi
Hilton continues to buy its company back
Hilton (HLT) continues to be one of the most aggressive acquirers of its stock out of the gazillion companies I follow closely.
In many respects, it almost feels like Hilton is taking itself private again! The hotel and resorts company went public again in 2013 after being bought by Blackstone in 2007.)
This is from the company's just-released earnings report:
"During the three months ended March 31, 2024, Hilton repurchased 3.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $196.17, for a total of $662 million, returning $701 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter including dividends. The number of shares outstanding as of April 19, 2024 was 250.0 million."
For perspective, Hilton ended 2022 with a share count of 277 million.
- Brian Sozzi
Toymaker earnings not coming in fun
No playing around here, earnings from major toymakers Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS) aren't very fun to look at.
Not exactly a great earnings report from Mattel last night — which is now saying it will return to revenue growth in 2025. Mattel is unique in that the Barbie movie really drove up its results last year, so things mathematically will be down. Sales fell 1% year over year in the first quarter.
Hasbro’s earnings this morning are also tough on the eyes for investors. The company is calling out a 21% sales plunge in its key consumer products business due to "broader industry trends, exited businesses, and reduced closeout sales as a result of last year's inventory clean-up."
Both weak reports say a lot about where shoppers' minds are at right now — not with buying dolls, action figures, and board games.
- Brian Sozzi
One stat to know on AT&T
I am still wading through AT&T's (T) long earnings report, but one number caught my attention right off the jump: $4.7 billion.
That's how much debt AT&T repaid in the quarter as it continues to try to bring down leverage in life after Time Warner. CEO John Stankey has told me a few times within the past year that paying down debt is one of the most important goals for his management team.
As it should be — AT&T still ended the first quarter with about $132.8 billion in total debt! The company's market cap is $118 billion.
- Brian Sozzi
A list of questions Tesla investors need to ponder
The day after.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has played investors like a fiddle. He gave them what they were clamoring for ahead of earnings — details on a cheaper Tesla — and they are eating it up. Shares are up 10% in premarket trading, and the company's ticker is dominating the Yahoo Finance Trending Ticker page.
All of that is fine and good, but it all detracts (likely by Musk’s design) from the main story at Tesla that has weighed on its stock price this year: The company is struggling, and any bold promises by Musk that sends its stock higher inside an awful year for the company should be questioned big time.
Here are some questions the Tesla bulls need to ask themselves:
Musk promised robotaxis and showed off what its ridesharing app may look like in the earnings slide-deck. But...
What do regulators have to say about this? How feasible is this launch within the next 12 months?
Musk does know that Uber (UBER) exists right? And that it’s finally making nice profits and investing aggressively in its business.
Musk seems to think people will want to share their Teslas and make this platform a success. What happens if they don’t want to share their tricked-out Model 3?
Musk mentions Tesla will own some of the robotaxi fleet. What does that do to its cash flow and margin profile? Do investors and analysts want to see Tesla saddled with these extra costs while the pure EV business is under pressure and as they are trying to make humanoid Optimus robots?
Musk promises he is fully engaged at Tesla. But...
There was some interesting dialogue on the earnings call on how long Musk plans to stay CEO of Tesla. He didn’t answer precisely with a timeline and said he works on Sunday and seemingly around the clock (like many other humans). He then questioned whether Tesla could get out its robots if he wasn’t leading the company. Is now the time to ponder a Musk-less Tesla within the next few years? What does that even look like for investors? So many of his top execs have left or are leaving, including one of the guys on the earnings call last night! If buttoned-up corporate Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger is seen as failing at succession planning, then Musk could be seen as one of the worst succession planners in CEO history.
Musk pounds the table on Tesla being an AI company again. But...
Sure, Tesla has some amazing technology. But doesn’t Tesla make cars first that then use its technology? Who would you rather own stock in? A pure-play AI company such as Microsoft (MSFT) or a car company masquerading as an AI company?
Musk hypes a cheaper Tesla. But...
Tesla is no stranger to recalls and concerns about product quality. Just check out the Cybertruck recall last week! So how high quality is a $25,000 Tesla going to be? This sounds like it could be a dreadful ownership experience, not unlike when my parents bought a cheap 1986 Ford Tempo and a 1987 Ford Escort when they came out.
