Tag: STOCKS & FUNDS

Southwest Airlines posted encouraging 3Q results. The company’s quarterly operating revenue was $ 4.68 billion, up from $ 1.79 billion in the same period last year. Revenue in July-September of this year was 17% lower than Q3 2019, but above market expectations at $ 4.58 billion. by about $ 100 million and $ 200 million, respectively. Net profit in July-September amounted to $ 446 million, compared with a loss of $ 1.16 billion in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share were $ 0.73 per share versus a loss of $ 1.96 per share a year earlier. Excluding one-off factors, the company recorded a loss of $ 0.23 per share, which was better than the market forecast, which assumed a loss of $ 0.27.

Airbnb posted strong Q3 results last week. Revenue in July-September grew by almost 70% year-on-year and reached a record value of $ 2.2 billion compared to $ 1.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. Market consensus predicted an increase in the indicator to $ 2.06 billion. It is important to note that revenue exceeded the figure for the third quarter of 2019 – before the start of the coronavirus pandemic – by 36%. The total volume of orders of the company increased by 48%, to $ 11.9 billion.

At the end of last week, Uber Technologies published its 3Q financials. The company increased its net loss, but increased revenue amid easing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and most importantly, generated positive EBITDA. Uber’s quarterly revenue rose 72.6% to $ 4.85 billion from $ 2.81 billion a year earlier, significantly better than market expectations of $ 4.42 billion. The number of Uber platform users (account activity at least once a month, MAPC ) in the last quarter increased by 40%, to 109 million. The total volume of orders of the company increased by 57%, to a record $ 23.1 billion (consensus forecast – $ 23.3 billion).

Netherlands-based ASML, Europe’s largest chip maker, increased its fiscal third quarter net profit by 64%, exceeding market expectations. ASML’s revenue in the last fiscal quarter was 5.24 billion euros, compared with 3.96 billion euros in the same period in 2020. The gross margin was 51.7% compared to 47.5% a year earlier and the company’s forecast of 51-52%. The company itself expected a figure in the range from 5.2 billion euros to 5.4 billion euros. Net income for the quarter ended October 3 rose to 1.74 billion euros from 1.06 billion euros in the same period a year earlier, significantly better than the market forecast of 1.63 billion euros. According to the company’s forecast, in the fourth quarter its revenues will amount to 4.9-5.2 billion euros, with a gross margin of 51-52%. The company will pay an interim dividend of € 1.80 per share.

Pfizer released excellent third-quarter financials, which showed a 5.5-fold increase in net income and an 8.5-fold increase in revenues. The company’s management also improved its annual forecast. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue more than doubled to $ 24.094 billion from $ 10.277 billion a year earlier. The consensus forecast of analysts for this indicator was $ 22.576 billion. Net income in July-September was $ 8.146 billion, compared with $ 1.469 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share increased to $ 1.42 from $ 0.26 a year earlier. Profit excluding one-off factors was fixed at $ 1.24 per share, exceeding the market average forecast of $ 1.08 per share.

Activision Blizzard posted good 3Q results, but the company gave a weak forecast. Revenue rose to $ 2.070 billion from $ 1.954 billion a year earlier, net orders increased to $ 1.88 billion from $ 1.77 billion. Net income in July-September was $ 639 million, or 82 cents per share, up from $ 604 million. or 78 cents per share, for the same period last year. At the same time, profit excluding one-time factors increased to 89 cents per share from 88 cents. The market expected the company’s adjusted earnings of 70 cents per share, revenues – $ 1.88 billion, orders – $ 1.87 billion. The number of monthly active users at the end of September was 390 million, compared with 435 million in the third quarter a year earlier. At the same time, their number has not changed over the year.

The world’s largest online retailer Amazon.com posted weaker-than-expected net profit and revenue in the third quarter amid unprecedented global supply chain challenges and labor shortages. Amazon’s quarterly revenue increased 15% year-on-year to $ 110.8 billion, which was below the market forecast of $ 111.55 billion. Net income in July-September fell 50% to $ 3.16 billion from $ 6.33 billion for the same period a year earlier, which was the largest drop since the second quarter of 2017. Earnings per share fell to $ 6.12 from $ 12.37 and was well below market expectations of $ 8.9.

Microsoft posted excellent results for its first fiscal quarter, which ended in September. We were impressed by Microsoft’s financial statements, so we revised our valuation of the company upwards from $ 320 to $ 360 per share. Microsoft’s revenue increased 22% yoy to $ 45.3 billion, better than market expectations of $ 44 billion. Net income soared 48% yoy to a record $ 20.5 billion, up from $ 13.89 billion in the same period last financial year. Net income exceeded the previous record, set a quarter earlier, by more than $ 4 billion. Net earnings per share in July-September rose to $ 2.71 from $ 1.82 a year earlier against the market forecast of $ 2.08. The press release notes that quarterly earnings were positively impacted by a one-off effect from the return of a part of intellectual property worth $ 3.3 billion. Without this factor, earnings per share would have been $ 2.27, which is also significantly higher than market expectations.

Facebook released its Q3 results. The number of users of the social network Facebook, who are active at least once a month, reached 2.91 billion people at the end of September, having increased by 6% over the year. The number of daily active users increased by 6% to 1.93 billion. The company’s revenue increased to $ 29.01 billion from $ 21.47 billion a year earlier, which was worse than the consensus forecast of $ 29.49 billion. July-September amounted to $ 9.19 billion compared to $ 7.85 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share rose to $ 3.22 from $ 2.71, in line with market expectations. The decrease in indicators was due to the new privacy settings in Apple products on the version of the iOS 14.5 operating platform, which increases the level of privacy. For comparison, in the previous quarter, Facebook’s net profit doubled, revenue – by 56%.