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Williams Sonoma Inc. plunged 5.9% to $162.09 after the specialty retailer of products for the home reported a comparable brand revenue increase of 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Net revenue declined to $2.46 billion from $2.28 billion, net income jumped 16.7% to $410.72 million from $354.44 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $3.28 from $2.72 a year ago.

Net revenue in the full year dropped to $7.71 billion from $7.75 billion, net income climbed 14.6% to $1.12 billion from $949.76 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $8.79 from $7.28 a year ago.

Comparable brand revenue jumped 3.1% in the quarter and was down 1.6% for the full year.

The company increased its quarterly dividend by 16%, or 9 cents, to 66 cents per share, payable on May 24 to stockholders on record as of April 17.

Williams Sonoma guided for 2025 net revenues in the range of -1.5% to up 1.5%, comparable sales between flat to up 3%, and an operating margin between 17.4% and 17.8%.

“Over the long term, we continue to expect mid-to-high single-digit annual net revenue growth with an operating margin in the mid-to-high teens,” the company said in a release to investors.


20 Mar, 2025

 

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. dropped 4.3% to $49.65 after the Chinese insurance company reported results for 2024.

Revenue increased to 1.14 trillion yuan from 1.03 trillion yuan, profit jumped to 126.61 billion yuan from 85.66 billion yuan, and diluted earnings per share rose to 6.99 yuan from 4.74 yuan a year ago.

The sharp rise in net profit is driven by growth in the company’s life and health insurance business as demand recovered.

The new business value of the life and health insurance business, which measures the profitability of new policies sold, grew by 28.8% to 28.53 billion yuan last year.

The group's number of new customers rose 9.8% from a year earlier to 32.07 million.


20 Mar, 2025

 

Tencent Holdings Ltd. dropped 3.4% to $521.50 despite the China-based Internet and technology company reporting strong results in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven by a surge in gaming and advertising revenue.

Revenue increased to 172.45 billion yuan from 155.20 billion yuan, net income jumped to 51.32 billion yuan from 27.02 billion yuan, and diluted earnings per share rose to 5.485 yuan from 2.807 yuan a year ago.

The company more than doubled its share repurchase program to approximately HK $112 billion, as it steps up with AI investments for growth and ramps up spending on chips and servers.

Tencent paid a cash dividend of HK $3.40 per share in 2024, equivalent to approximately HK $32 billion.

For 2025, the company proposed an increase of the annual dividend by 32% to HK $4.50 per share, equivalent to approximately HK $41 billion, and the company plans to repurchase at least HK $80 billion worth of shares.


20 Mar, 2025

 

J.Jill Inc. gained 1% to $18.79 after the apparel and accessories retailer reported lower sales in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Net sales decreased to $142.84 million from $150.26 million, net income slumped to $2.25 million from $4.77 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 14 cents from 33 cents a year ago.

Comparable store sales increased by 1.9% in the quarter and were up 1.5% in the full year compared to 2023.

Net sales for the full year jumped to $610.86 million from $608.04 million, net income climbed to $39.48 million from $36.20 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $2.61 from $2.51 a year earlier.

The company opened five new stores in the fourth quarter and nine new stores during the year, bringing the total count to 525 stores.

J.Jill guided for the first quarter of 2025 net sales to decline between 1% and 4%, with comparable sales down between 2% and 5% compared to 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $25.0 million and $27.0 million, compared to $35.6 million in the first quarter last year.

For the full year, the apparel retailer estimated sales growth to be up between 1% and 3%, comparable sales flat to up 2% compared to 2024, and new net store growth of 5 to 10 stores.

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $101.0 million and $106.0 million, compared to $107.1 million in 2024.

In December, the company authorized a share repurchase program for up to $25.0 million over the next two years.

In the fourth quarter, J.Jill purchased 19,831 shares and has $24.5 million of remaining authorization.

The company increased its quarterly dividend by 14.3% to 8 cents per share from the previous dividend of 7 cents per share, equal to an annualized dividend of 32 cents per share, and payable on April 16 to stockholders on record as of April 2.


20 Mar, 2025

 

Signet Jewelers Ltd. surged 17.8% to $56.91 after the diamond jewelry retailer reported lower sales in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Sales declined to $2.35 billion from $2.50 billion, net income slumped to $100.6 million from $617.6 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to $2.30 from $11.75 a year ago.

Sales in the full year decreased to $6.70 billion from $7.17 billion, net income swung to a loss of $35.6 million compared to a profit of $775.9 million, and diluted loss per share was 81 cents compared to a profit of $15.01 a year ago.

“Signet delivered more than $400 million of free cash flow, our 5th year in a row of strong cash conversion to adjusted operating income. 

This enabled a reduction in our diluted share count by nearly 20% in FY25 by returning approximately $1 billion to shareholders, including the convertible preferred redemptions,” the company said in a release to investors.

“We are focused on real estate optimization and expect to transition over 10% of mall locations to off-mall and the e-commerce channel over the next three years, leveraging our average mall lease term of just over 2 years.”


20 Mar, 2025

 

General Mills Inc. eased 1.9% to $59.31 after the food provider and parent company of Cheerios reported lower sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 ending in February.

Net sales dropped 5% to $4.84 billion from $5.10 billion, net income declined 7% to $625.6 million from $670.1 million, and diluted earnings per share edged down to $1.12 from $1.17 a year ago.

The North America retail segment accounted for the highest percentage of total sales, down 7% to $3.01 billion from $3.24 billion a year earlier.

“The company expects macroeconomic uncertainty to continue to impact consumers in the fourth quarter. Its fourth-quarter plans include investments in consumer value, media support, and in-store visibility,” the company said in a release to investors.

Excluding new tariff threats, General Mills estimated net sales in the fourth quarter to be down between 2% and 1.5%, compared to the previous guidance of the lower end in the range between flat and up 1%.

Adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected to be down between 8% and 7% in constant currency, compared to the previous guidance range of between down 4% and down 2%.

Free cash flow conversion is still expected to be at least 95% of adjusted after-tax earnings.


20 Mar, 2025

 

Progressive Corp. plunged 4% to $271.86 after the car and residential property insurance company reported results for 2024.

Revenue increased to $75.4 billion from $62.1 billion, net income jumped to $8.5 billion from $3.9 billion, and earnings per share rose to $14.40 from $6.58 a year ago.

Revenue in the fourth quarter climbed 8% to $623.3 million from $577.4 million, net income edged up 19% to $2.36 billion from $1.99 billion, and earnings per share rose to $4.01 from $3.37 a year earlier.

During the year, the company repurchased 665,095 shares at $201.31 per share for a total worth $134 million.

The insurance company has no debt maturities until 2027.

“In 2024, we announced a $4.50 per share annual variable dividend and finished the year with a debt-to-total capital ratio of 21.2%, which is near the lower end of our historical range,” the company said in a release to investors.

During the year, the company’s investment portfolio returned 4.6%, the fixed-income return was 3.8%, and the equity portfolio returned 22.9%.


20 Mar, 2025

 

Duolingo Inc. surged 1.7% to $299.18 after the language learning platform operator reported higher revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue jumped 39% to $209.6 million from $151.0 million, and net income edged up 15% to $13.9 million from $12.1 million a year ago.

During the quarter, subscription bookings surged 50% to $236.5 from $157.8 million, and total bookings rose 42% to $271.6 million from $191.0 million a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 49% to $52.3 million from $35.2 million, and free cash flow surged 84% to $87.8 million from $47.7 million in the same quarter in 2023.

The number of daily active users in the quarter surged 51% to 40.5 million from 26.9 million, and the monthly active users edged up 32% to 116.7 million from 88.4 million a year ago.

The company guided for the first quarter of 2025 revenue to be between $220.5 million and $223.5 million, up from $167.6 million a year ago, and bookings between $252 million and $255 million, compared to $197.5 million in the same period in 2024.

For the full year, Duolingo estimated revenue to be between $962.5 million and $978.5 million, up from $748.0 million in 2024, and bookings between $1.08 billion and $1.10 billion, compared to $870.6 million last year.


18 Mar, 2025

 

Eastman Kodak Co. surged 2.6% to $7.16 after the print and advanced materials and chemicals company reported fourth quarter of 2024 results.

Revenue declined 3% to $266 million from $275 million, and gross profit edged up 9% to $51 million from $47 million a year ago.

Operational EBITDA increased to $9 million from $2 million a year earlier.

Revenue in the full year decreased 7% to $1.04 billion from $1.12 billion, and gross profit dropped 3% to $203 million from $210 million in 2023.

Operational EBITDA edged down 42% to $26 million from $45 million a year earlier.

"Kodak ended the year with a cash balance of $201 million, compared to $255 million on December 31, 2023, which reflects ongoing investments in growth initiatives and optimizing processes in areas such as finance and manufacturing,” the company’s CFO David Bullwinkle said in a release to investors.


18 Mar, 2025

 

Getty Images eased 0.9% to $2.13 after the visual content creator reported revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue increased to $247.32 million from $225.94 million, net income declined to $24.43 million from $39.11 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to 6 cents from 9 cents a year ago.

“Our healthy and growing subscription business, strong cash flow generation, and improved balance sheet—with our net leverage falling below 4x for the first time in over a decade—position us well for 2025,” said Jenn Leyden, Chief Financial Officer of Getty Images, in a release to investors.


18 Mar, 2025

 

Li Auto Inc. dropped 1.1% to $27.15 after the Chinese automaker reported higher vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue increased 6.1% to 44.27 billion yuan from 41.73 billion yuan, net income edged down 38.6% to $3.53 billion yuan from $5.75 billion yuan, and diluted earnings per share fell 37.8% to 3.31 yuan from 5.32 yuan a year ago.

Sales for the full year jumped 16.6% to 144.46 billion yuan from 123.85 billion, net income slumped 31.9% to 8.04 billion from 11.81 billion, and diluted earnings per share fell 31.7% to 7.58 yuan from 11.10 yuan a year ago.


17 Mar, 2025

 

Buckle Inc. gained 2.8% to $36.13 despite the fashion retailer reporting declining sales in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Sales edged down to $379.20 million from $382.38 million, net income fell to $77.20 million from $79.58 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to $1.53 from $1.59 a year ago.

Sales in the full year decreased to $1.22 billion from $1.26 billion, net income fell to $195.47 million from $219.92 million, and diluted earnings per share edged down to $3.89 from $4.40 a year ago.


17 Mar, 2025

 

Charles Schwab Corp. surged 4.9% to $77.11 after the financial services company released its monthly activity report for February.

Core net new assets brought to the company by new and existing clients totaled $48.0 billion, an increase of 44% from $33.4 billion a year ago.

Total client assets equaled $10.28 trillion as of month-end, up 16% from $8.88 trillion in February 2024 and down 1% from $10.33 trillion in January 2025.

New brokerage accounts opened during the month totaled 362,000, representing the fifteenth consecutive month of at least 300,000 new account openings.

February daily average trades rose 1% month-over-month to 7.45 million, driven by a continued interest in equity securities.

Transactional sweep cash increased by $4.7 billion to end February at $404.3 billion, compared to $399.6 billion in January 2025 and compared to $403.2 billion in February 2024.


17 Mar, 2025

 

Emerald Holding Inc. surged 12% to $4.09 after the producer of trade shows and their associated conferences, content, and commerce reported higher revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue increased 5.2% to $106.8 million from $101.5 million, net income rose to $5.1 million from a loss of $17.9 million, and diluted earnings per share edged up to 3 cents from a loss of 46 cents a year ago.

The company repurchased 1,776,884 shares for $8.4 million in the quarter at an average price of $4.68 per share.

The company extended its share repurchase program for the repurchase of $25 million through December 31, 2025.

Since the restart of the share repurchase program in 2021 through December 31, 2024, the company has bought back a total of 13.3 million shares for $53.7 million.

In February 2025, Emerald proposed a dividend for the quarter ending March 31 of $0.015 per share, payable on March 20 to shareholders on record as of March 10.

Following quarter end, the company agreed to acquire This is Beyond, the UK-based architect of luxury travel B2B trade shows, and completed the acquisition of Insurtech Insights, an operator of large-scale insurance technology conferences across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“These strategic acquisitions expand and diversify our portfolio, reinforcing Emerald’s leadership in high-value, growth-oriented industries while sharpening our competitive position,” the company said in a release to investors.

Emerald guided full-year revenue to be between $450 million and $460 million, up from $398.8 million in 2024, and adjusted EBITDA between $120 million and $125 million, up from $101.7 million a year ago.


17 Mar, 2025

 

DocuSign Inc. surged 11.6% to $83.40 after the e-signature development company reported increased revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 ending in January.

Revenue jumped to $776.25 million from $712.39 million, net income surged to $83.49 million from $27.24 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to 39 cents from 13 cents a year ago.

The company completed stock repurchases for $161.7 million in the quarter and $683.5 million in the full year, compared to $145.5 million in 2024.

DocuSign guided for the first quarter revenue to be between $745 million and $749 million, up from $709.6 million in the same period in fiscal 2025.

For the full year, revenue is estimated to be between $3.13 billion and $3.14 billion, up from $2.98 billion a year ago.


14 Mar, 2025