DAILY UPDATE: Uber Profits with Extended Stock Market Gains

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

By Staff Reporters

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Stat: $1.43 billion. That’s Uber’s first full-year profit since 2018. And, it’s the first time the rides hare giant has shown a profit from its operations. The company has had $30 billion in operating losses since 2016. (the Wall Street Journal)

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

Stocks ticked up, putting the S&P 500 over the 5,000-point milestone for the first time, as more strong company earnings poured in. And, Arm soared 48% after it surprised investors with record computer chip sales.

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

  • The S&P 500 index added 2.85 points (0.1%) to 4,997.91, after briefly rising to 5,000.40, breaching the 5,000 level for the first time; the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48.97 points (0.1%) to 38,726.33; the NASDAQ Composite climbed 37.07 points (0.2%) to 15,793.71.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) rose more than 5 basis points to 4.154%.
  • The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX) fell 0.04 to 12.79.

Semiconductor shares were among the strongest performers Thursday behind Arm Holdings (ARM), which soared 48% after the chip maker reported a better-than-expected quarter profit. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gained 1.6%. Energy shares were also firm as WTI crude oil (/CL) futures surged 3.6% to a high for the month above $76 per barrel, reflecting growing concern the Middle East conflict may disrupt supplies.

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META: Stock Up!

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

By Staff Reporters

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2022 was a rough year for Meta. Inflation and high interest rates dinged the company, and Apple made changes to its operating system that made it harder for brands to target customers, and rival TikTok kept on growing. Meta’s stock price fell more than 60%.

But the company saw a dramatic turnaround of its fortunes in 2023. Its full-year net income rose 69% over 2022 to $39.1 billion. Its diluted earnings per share went from $8.59 to $14.87, a 73% YoY jump. Q4 2023 was especially good for Meta: Its net income more than tripled and its revenue rose 25%.

And for the first time, the company gave out cash dividends to investors. Technology analyst Ben Barringer described the move to CNBC as a “symbolic moment” that showed Meta viewed itself as a “mature, grown-up business.”

Meta’s success, though, required paring down. It reduced operating expenses in 2023 by laying off some 20,000 people, slashing its headcount by 22%. It spent $2.5 billion on “facilities consolidation,” or reducing its office footprint. The changes were part of a plan to make the company “leaner” so it would be better able to weather volatility over the next five to 10 years, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

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