U.S. Movers: Cisco, Macy's, Palo Alto Networks, Walmart

Scott Peters
16 Nov, 2023
New York City

The S&P 500 index jumped 0.4% to 4,512.09, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 14,134.89.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.83%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.46%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged up to 4.64%.

Walmart dropped 6.2% to $159.20 after the retailer reported quarterly results and issued a cautious outlook.

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter increased 5.2% to $160.8 million from $152.8 billion, and the company swung to a profit of $453 million from a loss of $1.8 billion. Diluted earnings per share were 17 cents, compared to a loss of 66 cents a year ago.

Sales at U.S. locations reflected ongoing challenging conditions for consumers; sales of groceries and health and wellness products rose, but discretionary items and general merchandise sales declined "modestly."

Walmart U.S. sales increased 4.4% to $109.4 billion, driven by a 4.9% increase in comparable store sales; transactions rose 3.4%; and average ticket size advanced 1.5% from a year ago.

The retailer also indicated U.S. e-commerce sales rose by 24%, and advertising sales on its online platform rose by 26% from a year ago.

The company guided full-year 2024 consolidated sales to increase between 5% and 5.5% and adjusted earnings per share to be between $6.40 and $6.80.

Cisco Systems plunged 9.6% to $48.16 after the networking equipment maker reported strong quarterly results but said product order growth is likely to slow down.

Revenue in the fiscal 2024 first quarter ending in October increased 8% to $14.7 billion, net income advanced 36% to $3.6 billion from $2.7 billion, and diluted earnings per share rose to 89 cents from 65 cents a year ago.

The company guided fiscal second-quarter revenue between $12.6 billion and $12.8 billion and earnings per share between 59 cents and 64 cents.

For the full-year 2024, the company estimated revenue in the range of $52.8 billion and $55.0 billion and earnings per share between $2.97 and $3.08.

The company declared a cash dividend of 39 cents per share payable on January 24 to shareholders on record on January 4.

Palo Alto Networks declined 6.5% to $239.52 after the cyber security company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, but the company's new orders or billing outlook fell short of market expectations.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter ending in October jumped 20% to $1.9 billion, net income advanced to $194.2 million from $20.0 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to 56 cents from 6 cents a year ago.

The company blamed the weakness in billings growth on rising interest rates.

The company guided total billings in the fiscal second quarter between $2.335 billion and $2.385 billion, representing growth between 15% and 18% a year ago.

For the fiscal year 2024, the company estimated total billings in the range of $10.7 billion and $10.8 billion, an increase between 16% and 17%.

Total revenue in the fiscal year 2024 will range between $8.15 billion and $8.20 billion, an increase between 18% and 19% from a year ago.

Macy's jumped 8.2% to $13.64 after the apparel retailer reported better-than-expected earnings because of a decline in inventories and higher margins.

Revenue in the quarter declined 7% to $4.9 billion from $5.2 billion, net income dropped to $43 million from $108 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 15 cents from 39 cents a year ago.

Fewer discounts in the quarter improved gross margin to 40.3% from 38.7% a year ago.

The retailer tightened its full-year sales outlook and estimated fiscal year 2023 sales between $22.9 billion and $23.2 billion, up from the previous estimated range between $22.8 billion and $23.2 billion.

The company also guided comparable sales, including license sales, to decline between 7% and 6%, compared to the previous estimate between 7.5% and 6%.

The company revised its adjusted diluted earnings per share range to between $2.88 and $3.13 from the previously estimated range of between $2.70 and $3.20.