U.S. Stock Movers: Alphabet, Boeing, CoStar Group, HCA Healthcare, Microsoft, Moody's, Snap Inc

Scott Peters
25 Oct, 2023
New York City

Stocks faced selling pressure after Treasury yields rebounded, and tech stocks fell after the release of Google earnings.

The S&P 500 index increased 0.8% to 4,252.43, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.0% to 13,147.32.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 5.09%, 10-year Treasury notes inched higher to 4.89%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged up to 5.03%.

Google-parent Alphabet Inc. dropped 8.9% to $126.48 after the search company reported quarterly results.

Revenue in the third quarter increased 11% to $76.7 billion from $69 billion, net income jumped to $19.7 billion from $13.9 billion, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $1.55 from $1.06 a year ago.

Google cloud revenue increased to $8.4 billion from $6.9 billion, but the growth in revenue fell short of some investors expectations.

Microsoft Corp. increased 3.4% to $343.87 after the software developer reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter increased by 13% to $56.5 billion, net income surged by 27% to $22.3 billion, and diluted earnings per share soared to $2.99 from $2.35 a year ago.

Cloud services revenue rose 19% to $24.3 billion, office and business productivity software, including LinkedIn, rose 13% to $18.6 billion, and personal computing revenue, which includes Windows and Xbox content, inched up 3% to $13.7 billion.

Microsoft returned $9.1 billion to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases and dividends in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Snap Inc. jumped 4.7% to $10.15 after the online chat platform operator reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Snapchat's parent said third-quarter revenue increased 5% to $1.19 billion from $1.12 billion, net loss increased 2% to $368 million from $359.5 million, and diluted loss per share edged up to 22 cents from 20 cents a year ago.

The company said daily active users increased by 12% to 406 million, and the board of directors approved a $500 million stock repurchase plan over the next 12 months.

Boeing Company increased 0.8% to $183.76 after the aviation company and defense contractor said quarterly losses shrank and the company said it expects to deliver fewer-than-anticipated 737 Max planes this year.

Revenue in the third quarter increased 11% to $18.1 billion from $16 billion, net loss shrank to $1.6 billion from $3.3 billion, and diluted loss per share eased to $2.70 from $5.49 a year ago.

Third quarter results were negatively impacted by defense performance and lower 737 deliveries.

In the quarter, the plane maker delivered 105 planes, 6% fewer than 112 delivered in the period a year ago.

The company confirmed a backlog of $469 billion, including over 5,001 commercial airplanes.

During the quarter, the company booked 398 net orders, including 150 737 MAX 10 airplanes for Ryanair, 50 787 airplanes for United Airlines, and 39 787 airplanes for Saudi Arabian Airlines.

HCA Healthcare Inc. fell 1.4% to $226.95, and the hospital chain operator reported mixed quarterly results.

Revenue in the third quarter increased to $16.2 billion from $14.97 billion, net income attributable to shareholders decreased to $1.08 billion from $1.13 billion, and diluted earnings per share were flat at $3.91 compared to a year ago.

Same-facility admissions increased 3.4%, emergency room visits rose 3.5%, inpatient surgeries inched up 1.6%, and outpatient surgeries edged up 0.9%.

Same facility revenue per equivalent admission advanced 3.6% from the year-ago period.

The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of 60 cents per share payable on December 28 to share shareholders on record on December 14.

The company revised its 2023 revenue guidance to between $63.5 billion and $64.5 billion from the previous range of between $63.25 billion and $64.75 billion.

HCA tightened its range for net income attributable to shareholders between $4.94 billion and $5.13 billion from the previous range between $4.90 and $5.255 billion.

HCA also narrowed its diluted earnings per share range to between $17.80 and $18.50 from the previous guidance between $17.70 and $18.90.

CoStar Group dropped 5.7% to $70.03 after the company's outlook disappointed investors.

Revenue in the third quarter increased 12% to $625 million from $557 million, net income advanced 25% to $91 million from $72 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to 22 cents from 18 cents a year ago.

The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to range between $630 million and $635 million, an increase of 10% at the midpoint of the range.

The company forecasted revenue in full-year 2023 to range between $2.445 billion and $2.45 billion.

The company expects non-GAAP net income per diluted share in a range of $1.21 to $1.22 for the full-year 2023 and between $0.31 and $0.32 in the fourth quarter based on 407 million shares.

Moody's Corp. advanced 2.8% to $314.05 after the investment information provider reported quarterly results.

Revenue in the third quarter increased 15% to $1.5 billion from $1.27 billion, net income advanced to $389 million from $303 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $2.11 from $1.65 a year ago.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 77 cents per share payable on December 15 to shareholders on record on November 14.

During the quarter, Moody's repurchased 0.5 million shares at an average cost of $337.46 per share and issued 0.1 million as part of its employee stock-based compensation program.