U.S. Movers: Adobe, McDonald's, Ulta Beauty, Weight Watchers

Scott Peters
15 Mar, 2024
New York City

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.5% to 5,127.12, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to 16,033.73. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.72%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.32%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.43%.

Adobe declined 12.2% to $502.07 after the software developer reported mixed quarterly results and issued a weak outlook for the current quarter. 

Ulta Beauty dropped 7.6% to $522.0 after the cosmetic retailer estimated a lower-than-expected full-year sales outlook. 

Net sales in the fourth quarter ending on February 3 increased 10.2% to $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion, net income advanced to $394.4 million from $340.7 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $8.08 from $6.68 a year ago. 

The fourth quarter included one extra week compared to a year ago because of the calendar shift. 

Calendar-adjusted comparable store sales in the quarter slowed sharply to 2.5% from 15.6% in the period a year ago. 

During the fourth quarter, the retailer repurchased 352,005 shares of its common stock at a cost of $159.5 million, and in fiscal 2023, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares of its common stock at a cost of $1.0 billion. 

As of February 3, 2024, $99.9 million remained available under the $2 billion share repurchase program announced in March 2022. 

On March 12, 2024, the company’s board of directors approved a new share repurchase authorization of $2 billion, replacing the current program in place since March 2022. 

The company estimated fiscal 2024 sales to range between $11.7 billion and $11.8 billion, an annual increase between 4% and 5%. 

The retailer estimated diluted earnings per share in the fiscal year 2024 to fall between $26.20 and $27.0, based on opening net new stores between 60 and 65 and operating margins between 14.0% and 14.3%. 

McDonald's Corp. decreased 0.1% to $282.05 after the fast food chain operator faced a global technology outage, forcing some restaurants to temporarily suspend operations in Japan, Australia, and the U.K. 

WW International soared 10.7% to $2.07 and rebounded from the 52-week low after the Weight Watchers' parent company's ongoing concerns and core weight loss business.