Large-cap stocks had a broad up day on Wednesday that sent the three major blue-chip indices to all-time highs. The S&P 500 Index gained a fraction, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite wafted up 0.2%, all of them marking new heights.
The second-quarter earnings season continues, with a number of stocks on the move following their most recent financial releases. Jumping into the spotlight this morning (among others) are Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL).
Here’s how they’re performing as Thursday’s trading comes close to getting underway:
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)
BWLD shares are plunging on Thursday after the company posted a weak Q2 result.
“Historically high” costs for chicken wings weighed heavily on earnings, which dropped 63% year-over-year to $8.8 million. On an adjusted basis, profits of 66 cents per share were a country mile short of analysts’ expectations for $1.05.
Revenues were soft too, however, with the top-line figure of $500 million coming in about $13 million short of the pros’ estimates. Sales were better by 2% year-over-year, though comparable-store sales fell 1.2%.
“Our profitability was pressured this quarter driven by historically high wing costs, a mix shift to our promotional days, lower than expected same-store sales, and higher operating expenses,” said Sally Smith, the current CEO of the restaurant chain — for now. Smith last month announced plans to step down by the end of 2017.
For the fiscal year, Buffalo Wild Wings now forecasts adjusted earnings of $4.50 to $5 per share, down from the previous outlook $5.45 to $5.90 per share.
BWLD shares were already down more than 20% year-to-date, and the bleeding is on pace to continue this morning, with the stock down another 8%.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)
GILD shares will tack on to their turnaround 2017 thanks to a Street-pleasing second-quarter report.
The biotechnology company raked in $7.14 billion in revenue — an 8.96% drop compared to the year-ago figure, but better than analysts’ projections for $6.33 billion on the top line.
Profits of $3.37 billion, or $2.33 per share, were lower than the year-ago quarter’s total by 24%. Adjusted earnings of $2.56 per share, however, were 27 cents higher than expectations.
Better still, Gilead’s looking for full-year revenues in a range of $24 billion to $25.5 billion, putting the midpoint higher than Wall Street’s guidance of $24.65 billion.
“Our strong performance in the second quarter was driven by a continuation of the positive trends in our non-HCV business and better than expected results from our HCV business, particularly in the U.S.,” said CFO Robin Washington.
GILD shares were up just 3% year-to-date heading into Wednesday night’s report, but have staged a roughly 15% rally since mid-June — a rally that should be extended by another 2% to 3% in Thursday’s regular trade.
PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL)
Lastly, PYPL is scratching out new all-time highs after the company posted its second-quarter earnings results following Wednesday’s market close.
The online payment services provider posted profit of $411 million, or 34 cents per share, marking a 27.2% increase compared to the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, PayPal’s profits of 46 cents per share are better than Thomson Reuters-polled analysts’ estimates of 43 cents.
Revenues of $3.14 billion also beat the Street, which was looking for $3.09 billion. The top line was better by 18.3% year-over-year, and helped out by mobile payment volume that improved by 50% YOY to $36 billion.
The company adjusted its earnings guidance for the full year, raising it to between $12.775 and $12.875 billion in revenue for the year. Giving the company’s prospects a lift is a deal with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) to allow customers to use PayPal to make iOS transactions.
PYPL stock has put up a nearly 50% rally so far in 2017, and that figure will climb a little higher if Thursday’s premarket gains of about 2% hold.
