U.S. Movers: Alcoa, Apple, Discover Financial, HB Fuller, Taiwan Semiconductor

Scott Peters
18 Jan, 2024
New York City

Discover Financial dropped 9.6% to $97.25 after the credit card company reported a higher net charge-off in its latest quarterly results.

Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 13% to $4.2 billion from $3.7 billion, net income declined 62% to $388 million from $1.0 billion, and diluted earnings per share dropped to $1.54 from $3.74 a year ago.

Total net charge-off jumped 198 basis points to 4.11%, reflecting "seasoning of recent vintages with higher delinquency trends."

Apple Inc. increased 2.2% to $186.64 after the stock received an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" from Bank of America.

The bank said that the company is likely to benefit from a multi-year hardware upgrade cycle supported by generative AI features.

The bank sees more than 20% upside for the stock from the current price level.

Alcoa Inc. decreased 1.0% to $26.80 after the aluminum company reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss of 56 cents per share.

Sales in the fourth quarter were flat at $2.6 billion, net loss attributable to shareholders declined to $150 million from $350 million, and diluted loss per share fell to 84 cents from $2.24 a year ago.

Alumina production decreased 1% sequentially to 2.79 million metric tons on lower production from the Australian refineries.

In aluminum, Alcoa produced 541,000 metric tons, a 2% increase from the third quarter's strong output.

HB Fuller decreased 0.2% to $76.45 after the adhesive manufacturer reported mixed quarterly results. 

Revenue in the December quarter declined 5.8% to $902.8 million from $958.2 million, net income attributable to shareholders declined to $45 million from $48.3 million, diluted earnings per share declined to 80 cents from 87 cents a year ago. 

Taiwan Semiconductor soared 6.6% to $109.83 after the company reported quarterly results that exceeded market expectations.

Revenue in the fourth quarter was flat at NT$ 625.5 million, but net income declined 19.3% to NT$ 237.8 million from NT$ 295.9 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to NT$ 9.21 from NT$ 11.41 a year ago.

In U.S. dollars, fourth quarter revenue was $19.62 billion, which decreased 1.5% year-over-year but increased 13.6% from the previous quarter.

The company guided first quarter 2024 revenue between $18.0 billion and $18.8 billion, based on the exchange rate of 31.1 NT for one U.S. dollar.

Gross margin in the quarter is expected to range between 52% and 54%, and operating margin between 40% and 42%.

Capital expenditure in 2024 is estimated to range between $28 billion and $32 billion.