Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) came rocketing out of the gate today and finished up more than 15% on the heels of Thursday night’s blockbuster earnings release, and the broader markets fended off disappointing economic news and a downgrade of Spanish debt to end the week on a winning note.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.19% at 13,229 and the S&P 500 gained 0.24% to 1,403, marking the fourth day in a row of increases for both. The Nasdaq ended up 0.61% to 3,069.
The Dow’s gains came amid sell-offs in Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Ford (NYSE:F) after each reported significant earnings declines.
P&G announced that third-quarter earnings dropped by 16% because of higher costs for raw materials and restructuring costs, and reduced 2012 guidance due to volume declines in several markets. While Procter & Gamble beat out EPS estimates by a cent, shares traded down 3.6% to $64.44. Meanwhile, Ford reported a 45% plunge in quarterly profit because of losses in Europe and a slight dip in sales. The automaker also managed to beat expectations, but the stock slid early and finished down 2.3% to $11.6%.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber (NYSE:GT) also was punished by 5% after its first earnings loss.
On the positive side of the spectrum, travel site Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) rode growth in its Hotels.com unit to crush revenue and EPS expectations. Revenues of $816.5 million were higher than the estimates of $790.1 million, and adjusted EPS of 26 cents exceeded 14-cent-per-share estimates. Investors rewarded EXPE with a 24% run-up.
Also Friday, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) joined a host of blue chips to recently announce a dividend hike, upping its payout by 7% to 61 cents per share — good for a hefty 3.7% yield on current prices.
Three Up
- Fortune Brands (NYSE:FBHS): Up 9% ($1.86) to $22.50.
- Logitech (NASDAQ:LOGI): Up 7.6% (68 cents) to $10.18.
- Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP): Up 7.5% ($2.59) to $36.97.
Three Down
- Western Digital (NYSE:WDC): Down 14.1% ($6.22) to $37.88.
- Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA): Down 9.5% (89 cents) to $8.53. (Read more about Zynga here.)
- Seagate (NASDAQ:STX): Down 4.8% ($1.51) to $29.58.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he is long JNJ