Major stock markets in the United States on Friday closed mostly higher to finish their best week of the year, as continued strength in earnings reports extended the tech-led rebound from the January rout. The rebound was also driven by the better-than-expected employment data, which showed the country’s economy added as much as 467,000 new jobs last month.
At market close, the Dow Jones fell slightly by 0.06%, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% while the the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.6% to 14,098.01.
On the political font, United States House of Representatives passed on Friday a bill that would direct $52 billion into domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research and design and help the US compete with China. The bill passed the House with an almost a party line vote of 222-210, with one Democrat and one Republican voting differently than their respective party colleagues.
Among other provisions, the 2,900-page America COMPETES Act of 2022 also calls for a six-year $45 billion investment into strengthening US supply chains and domestic manufacturing of critical goods.
US Markets Earnings Report for the Week
Amazon
Amazon’s stocks soared by nearly 14% on Friday following Thursday’s earnings results. Amazon’s market capitalization rose $190 billion on Friday, setting a record for the biggest one-day gain for a company on a U.S. exchange, topping Apple’s $179 billion single-day gain last week.
Amazon.com Inc. posted on Thursday its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2021, revealing that its diluted earnings per share nearly double on an annual basis to reach $27.75 with a net income of $14.93 billion. In the same period, the tech giant’s net sales rose 9% to $137.4 billion, while on the other hand, operating income halved to $3.46 billion.
Commenting on the outlook for the upcoming quarter, Amazon said that it expects net sales to yearly grow slightly up to $117 billion, with operating income dropping to somewhere between $3 billion and $6 billion. Amazon also increased the annual price of its Prime membership from $119 to $139.
Meta Platforms Inc.
On the other hand, shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms stood slightly in red after a dive of 25% in Thursday’s session, setting a record for biggest single-day trading loss on a U.S. exchange when its market cap fell by over $230 billion. The decline was mainly driven by investors concern about Facebook’s stagnant user growth and increased competition from companies like TikTok.
Meta Platforms Inc. revealed on Wednesday that its total revenue amounted to $33.67 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, up 20% compared to the same three-month period in 2020. The company’s net income reached $10.3 billion after declining 8% from the previous year’s closing quarter.
For the full fiscal year 2021, total revenues were 37% higher, coming in at $117.9 billion, while diluted earnings per share hit $13.77, jumping 36% from the previous year. Net income surged 35% from 2020 to $39.37 billion in 2021.
There were 1.93 billion daily active users on average on Facebook for the month of December 2021, 5% up from the same month the previous year, while the number of monthly active users grew 4% annually to 2.91 billion as of December 31, 2021.
Snap Inc
Snap Inc. said on Thursday that its revenue amounted to $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, rising 42% compared to the same period a year ago.
For the entire fiscal year 2021, total revenues soared 64, hitting $4.12 billion, while diluted loss per share stood at $0.31, in comparison to a $0.65 loss per share from the previous year. The operating loss was $702 million in 2021, declining from an $862 million operating loss in the year before. The number of daily active users jumped 20% to reach 319 million at the end of the year.
Ford
Ford Motor Company announced on Thursday that its revenue stood at $37.7 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021, growing 5% from the corresponding timespan the year prior.
Fourth-trimester diluted earnings per share came in at $3.03, improving from a loss per share of $0.70 recorded a year ago, while net income increased to $12.3 billion from a net loss of $2.8 billion documented in the final quarter of 2020.
Full-year 2021 revenue was $136.3 billion, 7% higher compared to the year before. Net income rose to $17.9 billion from 2020 net loss of $1.3 billion.
Spotify
Spotify Technology S.A. said on Wednesday that the number of its total monthly active users (MAU) in the final quarter of 2021 jumped by 18% on an annual basis to reach 406 million users.
The number of the music streaming service’s premium users soared 16% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 180 million.
The company’s revenue reached €2.7 billion in the final quarter, marking a 24% increase year-over-year, while its entire-year figure came in at €9.7billion after a 22.7% yearly rise. Its net loss was €39 million compared to a loss of €125 million seen a year ago. The net loss for the entire year stood at €34 million, which translates to €1.03 per share.
Pinterest Inc. revealed on Thursday that its revenue in the fourth quarter of the year rose by 20% in comparison to the same period in 2020 to $847 million. Net income decreased by 16% on the year in the trimester, landing at $174.7 million, or $0.25 per diluted share.
For the entire year, Pinterest’s revenue surged 52% to stand at $2.6 billion, while net income amounted to $316.4 million as opposed to a loss of $128.3 million seen in 2020. The full-year net income translates into $0.46 per share. The number of global Monthly Active Users dropped 6% on the year to land at 431 million at end-December.
Sanofi
Sanofi S.A. said on Friday that its revenue soared 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to reach €9.99 billion, mainly due to Specialty Care, driven by Dupixent. Sanofi’s net income rose 6% to €1.13 billion, with earnings per share of €0.90.
Full-year 2021 net sales were €37.8 billion, 4.8% higher compared to the year before. Net income declined by 49.4% to €6.2 billion, and diluted earnings per share fell 49.3% to stand at €4.97 in 2021.
Shell Plc
Shell PLC announced on Thursday that its income attributable to shareholders in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2021 came in at $11.5 billion, improving from the loss of $4.01 billion registered in the same period the year before.
The company’s adjusted earnings advanced by 55% year-on-year to stand at $6.4 billion. Meanwhile, its earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.49 per share, which is an upgrade compared to the losses per share of $0.52 recorded in the same trimester in 2020.
Peleton
Shares of Peloton surged more than 30% in extended trading Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported e-commerce giant Amazon has approached the company about a potential deal. Other potential suitors are circling, the Journal said, but no deal is imminent and there may not be one at all.
ALSO READ; US stock market closes higher, Earnings Report
Sources; Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones, CNBC
