It was a mixed day for U.S. equities as telecom stocks grew 0.3%, while basic materials fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1% Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 0.2% gain and the Nasdaq Composite fell a fraction of a percentage.
Several companies reported on their latest quarterly data, including Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX).
Here’s how they did:
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Microsoft recently announced its earnings figures, which helped to drive the stock higher.
The tech giant managed to earn non-GAAP earnings of 83 cents a share, exceeding the consensus estimate of 79 cents per share. It was a good period for the company’s cloud business.
Microsoft has been focusing on expanding its cloud unit, which it is succeeding in doing, as this segment grew 8% — or 10% in constant currency — year-over-year to $6.9 billion. Wall Street was calling for this business to rake in between $6.55 billion and $6.75 billion.
Combined with the rest of the company’s revenue, net sales reached $26.1 billion. Analysts were expecting Microsoft to bring in $25.3 billion on average, according to StreetAccount and FactSet.
Company CEO Satya Nadella was recently appointed as a member of Starbucks’ board of directors. The coffee chain may raise its board size from 11 to 14 members.
MSFT shares grew 1.2% after the bell Thursday.
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL)
PayPal announced its latest quarterly results, which were higher than expected.
The payment service managed to increase its revenue from $2.56 billion in its fourth quarter of 2015 to $2.98 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts projected revenue of $2.98 billion.
Earnings amounted to a total of 30 cents a share, or 42 cents per share on an adjusted basis. The results met estimates thanks to the growth of its person-to-person payment app Venmo.
Total payment volume was 22% higher to $99 billion. However, PayPal’s inability to come out on top of what the consensus estimate called for had a negative effect on its stock.
PYPL shares fell 0.7% after hours yesterday.
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
Starbucks shares plummeted on the company’s earnings miss.
Visits in U.S. stores were 2% weaker over the three months year-over-year. Earnings came in at 51 cents per share, a cent below the forecast that Wall Street had eyed for the stock.
Starbucks’ global sales were 3% better compared to the same quarter in 2015, which was weaker than the 3.8% and 4.2% rise that analysts were expecting globally and domestically, respectively.
The coffee chain also missed the consensus estimate with its revenue of $5.73 billion. The figure was $120 million short of what analysts were calling for, according to FactSet.
Starbucks recently updated its parental leave benefits, offering up to 18 weeks of full pay to new mothers. The company previously offered less time for a partial salary, and workers can now get 100% of their salaries.
SBUX stock sunk 4.2% after Thursday’s market close.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
