Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 added 0.2% on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, following sturdy quarterly outcomes from Tesla and a slew of different company earnings releases.
- Molina Healthcare shares surged as elevated premium income from Medicaid plans helped the insurer high quarterly gross sales and revenue estimates.
- Outcomes from mining large Newmont fell wanting expectations, dragged down by elevated prices, and its shares plummeted.
Main U.S. equities indexes had been blended on Thursday as traders digested the most recent company earnings reviews, headlined by sturdy monetary outcomes from electrical automobile (EV) large Tesla (TSLA).
The S&P 500 added 0.2%, notching its first profitable session to this point this week, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.8%. In the meantime, the Dow slipped 0.3%, dragged down by underperformance from IBM (IBM) and several other different constituents.
Tesla reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, and its shares powered 21.9% increased, outperforming all different S&P 500 shares on Thursday. Though Tesla’s income got here in barely shy of consensus forecasts, an enlargement of Tesla’s gross margin to 19.8% from 17.9% a yr in the past helped drive positive factors in web revenue. The corporate additionally reaffirmed its plans to launch a extra inexpensive mannequin, with manufacturing on observe to start within the first half of subsequent yr.
Molina Healthcare (MOH)Â shares skyrocketed 17.7% following the well being insurer’s launch of sturdy third-quarter monetary outcomes. The corporate’s gross sales and earnings topped analysts’ forecasts, boosted by elevated premium payouts for its government-backed Medicaid plans. Molina additionally reported a roughly 4% year-over-year enhance within the variety of folks served by its Medicaid choices.
Shares of West Pharmaceutical Companies (WST) popped 15.4% after the supplier of drug supply programs and packaging merchandise beat third-quarter gross sales and revenue forecasts. The corporate additionally lifted its steering for full-year earnings per share (EPS), citing strong demand for cartridges and syringes utilized in storing and administering injectable therapies.
Thursday’s weakest efficiency within the S&P 500 belonged to Newmont (NEM), the world’s largest gold producer, with shares plunging 14.7% after the mining large reported lower-than-expected income and adjusted earnings for the third quarter. Greater prices contributed to Newmont’s lackluster efficiency. The corporate mentioned its capital bills rose 10% from the prior quarter, reflecting enlargement initiatives in Australia and Argentina, whereas different property acquired in final yr’s takeover of Newcrest Mining additionally contributed to escalating prices.
Teradyne (TER), which offers testing programs and robotics options for semiconductor makers and different producers, topped third-quarter gross sales and revenue estimates. The agency additionally raised its steering for the present quarter, citing sturdy demand for testing merchandise from reminiscence chipmakers and cloud-computing companies as they construct out their synthetic intelligence (AI) capabilities. Nonetheless, Teradyne shares dropped 11% as analysts at TD Cowen minimize their worth goal on the inventory to $142 from $150, citing the corporate’s higher-than-anticipated projections for working bills over the approaching yr.
Service International (CARR) shares slipped 8.8% after the air-con producer and constructing automation provider missed quarterly gross sales estimates as the corporate moved to exit its Hearth & Safety enterprise. Service’s departure from the Hearth & Safety enterprise additionally prompted the agency to trim its full-year gross sales and revenue forecasts.