U.S. Movers: Ally Financial, iRobot, Meta, Nvidia, Super Micro Computer, Regions Financial, Wayfair

Scott Peters
19 Jan, 2024
New York City

Super Micro Computer soared 12% to $349.76 after the information technology company said strong demand for its rack-scale AI and total IT solutions is driving its sales and earnings ahead of its previous guidance.

Sales in the fiscal second quarter ending in December are likely to be in the range of $3.6 billion and $3.65 billion, ahead of its previous estimates of $2.7 billion and $2.9 billion.

GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $4.90 and $5.05, compared to its previous estimate of between $3.75 and $4.24.

iRobot Corporation plunged 37% to $14.81 after the European Union's antitrust agency is expected to block Amazon's purchase of the popular home vacuum cleaners.

The news was reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials at the agency. 

Wendy's Company increased 0.7% to $19.40 after the fast food chain operator named PepsiCo executive as its next chief executive.

Kirk Tanner heads the North American beverage business of PepsiCo and has been with the company for more than three decades.

Meta Platform gained 1% to $380.0, and Nvidia jumped 1.8% to $581.30 after Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said the company is spending billions of dollars to support its artificial intelligence efforts.

Zuckerberg, without elaborating on its purchase dollar volume, said that the company is planning to purchase 350,000 H100 graphics cards from Nvidia in the current year.

Wayfair increased 8% to $55.0 after the online furniture retailer said it plans to lay off 1,650 staff, or 13% of its global staff, as a part of its restructuring.

The third restructuring, in less than two years, is expected to save the company about $280 million.

Macy's Inc. decreased 1% to $17.75 after the department store operator said it plans to close three stores and lay off 2,300 of its staff as the company looks to improve its lagging sales growth and turnaround its business performance.

Ally Financial soared 8.8% to $34.61 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Net financing revenue in the fourth quarter decreased to $1.5 billion from $1.7 billion, net income dropped to $49 million from $256 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 45 cents from $1.08 a year ago.

The financial services company attracted 52,000 net new customers and increased its retail deposits from the previous quarter by $2.2 billion.

In 2023, the company issued 13.8 million auto loans, and about 40% of the loans were issued at an origination yield of 10.7%.

Regions Financial increased 2.7% to $18.43 after the bank reported a decline in quarterly profit.

Net interest income in the December quarter declined to $1.2 billion from $1.4 billion, net income dropped to $367 million from $660 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 39 cents from 70 cents a year ago.

The company paid a special charge of $147 million from the FDIC related to the regional banking crisis in 2023.

Net interest margin at the end of the fourth quarter declined to 3.6% from 3.99%, and the tier-1 capital ratio increased to 11.5% from 10.9% a year ago, respectively.