From Briefing.com: 4:35 pm Apple beats by $0.08, reports revs in-line, misses on iPhones; guides Q3 revs just below consensus; increases buyback and dividend 10.5% to $0.63/share (AAPL) :Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $2.10 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.02; revenues rose 4.6% year/year to $52.9 bln vs the $53.08 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Q2 iPhones 50.8 mln vs 52.5 mln ests 51.2 mln last year.... iPads 8.9 mln vs 9.6 mln ests vs 10.2 mln last year (first time in 6 years below 10 mln) Q2 Macs 4.2 mln vs 4.2 mln ests vs 4.0 mln last year.
Gross margin of 38.9% vs Street Expectations of ~38.8% vs 39.4% last year (guidance 38-39%)
Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $43.5-45.5 bln vs. $45.65 bln Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 gross margins of 37.5-38.5% vs Street expectations of 38.2%.
As part of the latest update to the program, the Board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $210 billion from the $175 billion level announced a year ago. The Company also expects to continue to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.
The Board has approved a 10.5% increase to the Company's quarterly dividend, and has declared a dividend of $0.63 per share of the Company's common stock, payable on May 18, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 15, 2017. From the inception of its capital return program in August 2012 through March 2017, Apple has returned over $211 billion to shareholders, including $151 billion in share repurchases. The Company plans to continue to access the domestic and international debt markets to assist in funding the program.
4:25 pm Nanometrics misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line but mostly below consensus, revs in-line with midpoint above consensus (NANO) :
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 24.8% year/year to $59.3 mln vs the $59.6 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.28-$0.34 vs. $0.34 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $64.0-$68.0 mln vs. $65.38 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Gross margin is expected to be in the range of 51.5% to 53% on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis.
"Year-to-date in 2017, we are seeing continued strengthening in the semiconductor capital spending environment, particularly for 3D-NAND devices," commented Dr. Timothy J. Stultz, president and chief executive officer of Nanometrics. "Whereas we previously forecast a relatively balanced year for revenues, the outlook for the second half of 2017 has strengthened significantly, due to continued spending in
Foundry and increased 3D-NAND investments. While first-half 2017 sales are consistent with our prior outlook, we now expect second half revenues will be at least 10% stronger than the first half of 2017.
4:22 pm Closing Market Summary: Equities Eke Out Second Win of the Week (:WRAPX) :
Investors chose to play it safe on Tuesday with Apple's (AAPL 147.51, +0.93) quarterly report on tap. As a result, the major averages never really deviated from their unchanged marks with the S&P 500 (+0.1%) trading within a seven-point range. The Nasdaq (+0.1%) settled in line with the benchmark index while the Dow (+0.2%) finished just a tad bit higher.
Apple, which is the largest company by market cap, has played a huge role in the stock market's 2017 campaign, evidenced by the company's 27.4% year-to-date gain. Consequently, investors lacked conviction in moving the market one way or the other with such an influential piece of information--AAPL's latest earnings report--looming.
Sector standings reflected the wait-and-see strategy with eight of eleven settling within 0.3% of their flat lines. The top-weighted technology space (+0.3%) showed relative strength despite the underperformance of chipmakers, which pushed the PHLX Semiconductor Index lower by 1.1%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 10.30, -3.32) led the semiconductor retreat, plunging 24.4%, despite reporting in-line earnings and revenues. However, it's important to keep in mind that AMD surged 295.1% in 2016.
Like technology, the health care sector (+0.3%) exhibited relative strength. Within the sector, Merck (MRK 62.70, +0.32) and Pfizer (PFE 33.61, -0.17) beat earnings estimates, but their top-line results differed; MRK reported better than expected revenues while PFE missed its mark.
Airlines helped the industrial sector (+0.5%) finish atop the day's leaderboard, rallying around Delta Air Lines' (DAL 47.83, +2.43) 1.0% year-over-year increase in passenger revenue (:PRASM) for the month of April. Cummins (CMI 160.56, +9.23) also contributed to the cause, adding 6.1%, after reporting better than expected earnings/revenues and providing upbeat guidance. The consumer discretionary (+0.2%), materials (+0.2%), utilities (+0.3%), and real estate (+0.1%) spaces also closed in positive territory.
On the flip side, the energy sector (-0.5%) was influenced negatively by crude oil's 2.5% decline. The energy component was weak throughout Tuesday's session, but widened its loss considerably in the afternoon ahead of the weekly crude inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute, which will be released today at 16:30 ET.
The consumer staples group also exhibited relative weakness, losing 0.6%. CVS Health (CVS 79.00, -2.96) weighed on the sector, dropping 3.6%, despite beating bottom-line estimates. The remaining sectors--financials (unch) and telecom services (-0.1%)--finished just a tick below their unchanged marks.
In the bond market, unequally distributed buying flattened the yield curve. The 10-yr yield finished three basis points lower at 2.28% while the 2-yr yield (1.27%) lost only one. Meanwhile, gold settled slightly higher, up 0.1% at $1,256.80/ozt, while the U.S. Dollar Index (98.84, -0.14) finished with a loss of 0.1%.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday, but auto and truck sales for the month of April were released throughout the day. The results were largely disappointing with American automakers General Motors (GM 33.20, -1.00) and Ford (F 10.92, -0.50) reporting declines of 6.0% and 7.2%, respectively.
Tomorrow, investors will receive several economic reports, including the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index at 7:00 ET, April ADP Employment Change (Briefing.com consensus 170,000) at 8:15 ET, April ISM Services (Briefing.com consensus 55.8) at 10:00 ET, and the FOMC rate decision at 14:00 ET.
Nasdaq Composite +13.2% YTD
S&P 500 +6.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +6.0% YTD
Russell 2000 +3.1% YTD
4:20 pm Cray misses by $0.18, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs below consensus; guides FY17 revs below consensus (CRAY) :
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.71 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.18 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.53); revenues fell 44.1% year/year to $59 mln vs the $55.28 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $60 mln vs. $79.26 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues downside guidance for FY17, sees FY17 revs of $400-450 mln vs. $584.89 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate."As expected, we got off to a slower start to the year...While activity at the high-end of the supercomputing market continues to be relatively slow and our visibility remains limited, our competitive position remains strong. We were recently awarded several significant new contracts in the worldwide weather and climate segment - a market where our leadership position continues to expand. We also released our 2017 revenue outlook today which, driven by the ongoing market conditions, is significantly lower than where we finished 2016. Despite this, we continue to be confident in our ability to drive long-term growth over time."
4:11 pm First Solar beats by $0.40, beats on revs; guides FY17 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (FSLR) :
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.40 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.15); revenues rose 5.2% year/year to $892 mln vs the $669.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues upside guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $0.25-0.75 (Prior $0.00-0.50), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.29 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $2.85-2.95 bln (Prior $2.80-2.90 bln) vs. $2.79 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Gross Margin 12.5-14.5% (Prior 11-13%)
Operating Expenses $360-405 mln (Prior $335-380 mln)
Operating Income ($25 mln)-$40 mln (Prior ($40 mln)-$35 mln)
Net Cash Balance $1.5-1.7 bln (Prior $1.4-1.6 bln)
Operating Cash Flow $350-450 mln (Prior $250-350 mln)
Cap Ex $525-625 mln (Unchanged)
2.4-2.6 GW *Unchanged)
At the close on Tuesday, the broader market was higher as the final half hour of action saw all three major US indices take a notable move up. After the final moment shakeups, the Dow Jones Industrial Average led the other two averages, up 36.43 points (+0.17%) to 20949.89. The S&P 500 gained about 2.84 points (+0.12%) to 2391.17, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced about 3.77 points (+0.06%) to 6095.37 ahead of bellwether Apple's (AAPL 147.51, +0.93 +0.63%) earnings tonight.
As it were, the Technology (XLK 54.91, +0.12 +0.22%) space finished higher as well today. Component Frontier Communications (FTR 1.93, +0.08 +4.32%) was the best performer in the space after reporting a mixed Q1. Other sectors as measured by the S&P closed IYZ +0.50%, XLI +0.48%, XLV +0.28%, XLB +0.17%, XLU +0.12%, XLY +0.11%, XLRE +0.03%, XLF -0.13%, XLE -0.50%, XLP -0.67%.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology (939.04, +2.85 +0.30%) space, trading also moved higher in the final moments, extending gains. Component First Solar (FSLR 30.32, +0.77 +2.61%) was strong after a premarket upgrade to a Neutral rating at UBS. Other names in the space which performed well today included AVGO +1.87%, INTC +1.82%, AKAM +1.66%, ADSK +1.60%, MA +1.50%, V +1.40%, VRSN +1.23%, YHOO +0.99%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Twitter (TWTR 18.25, +0.71 +4.05%) detailed twelve new premium content deals. Deals include WNBA, PGA Tour, Bloomberg Media, Cheddar, Live Nation, The Verge, BuzzFeed News, and IMG Fashion.
Angie's List (ANGI 9.51, +3.62 +61.46%) and IAC (IAC 96.24, +12.05 +14.31%) confirmed HomeAdvisor to combine with Angie's List. Angie's List stockholders will have the right to elect to receive one share of Class A common stock of ANGI Homeservices or $8.50 per share in cash.
First Data (FDC 15.84, +0.02 +0.13%) and Flywire announced a strategic agreement aimed at streamlining cross-border transactions for their respective client bases.
Cisco Systems (CSCO 34.23, +0.26 +0.77%) announced intent to acquire Viptela for $610 million.
Rambus (RMBS 12.65, +0.10 +0.80%) initiated an accelerated share repurchase program with Barclays Bank to repurchase about $50 million of common stock with initial delivery of 3,187,251 shares.
Qualcomm (QCOM 53.29, -0.31 -0.58%) extended its offering period for its proposed acquisition of NXP
Semiconductors (NXPI 105.76, -0.20 -0.19%). The company announced that required merger control filings relating to the transaction were filed or accepted for filing in China, Russia and the EU.
T-Mobile US (TMUS 66.94, -1.37 -2.01%) announced plans for a nationwide 5G wireless network.
In reaction to quarterly results:
MasterCard (MA 118.12, +1.75 +1.50%) reported better than expected Q1 EPS and revenues of $1.00 and $2.73 billion, respectively.
Fidelity Nat'l Info (FIS 83.26, -1.16 -1.37%) reported better than expected Q1 EPS of $0.86 on in-line revenues of $2.25 billion. The company also reaffirmed FY17 EPS guidance of $4.15-4.30 and GAAP revenue growth guidance of 1-2%.
SBA Comm (SBAC 128.98, +1.73 +1.36%) reported better than expected Q1 FFO of $1.69 and revenues of $423.4 million. The company also guided FY17 FFO ahead of market expectations at $6.65-6.99 and revenues in-line at $1.685-1.725 billion.
Advanced Micro (AMD 10.30, -3.32 -24.38%) reported an in-line Q1 loss per share of $0.04 on in-line revenues of $984 million. The company also guided Q2 revenues modestly ahead of market expectations at growth of 14-20% quarter-over-quarter, which equates to about $1.12-1.18 billion.
CDK Global (CDK 62.96, -1.93 -2.97%) reported better than expected Q3 EPS of $0.65 on in-line revenues of $556.3 million. The company also raised FY17 EPS guidance to $2.40-2.44 from $2.33-2.38 and reaffirmed revenue guidance for FY17 of growth of about 4.5% to about $2.210 billion.
Shopify (SHOP 82.98, +5.72 +7.40%) reported a better than expected Q1 loss per share of $0.04 on better than expected revenues of $127.4 million. Further, SHOP sees Q2 revenues ahead of market expectations at $142-144 million. For FY17, the company raised revenue guidance to $615-630 million from $580-600 million.
Companies scheduled to report quarterly results tonight/tomorrow morning: AKAM, AAPL, AZPN, CSOD, CRAY, FEYE, FSLR, FTR, GDDY, GUID, HUBS, IPHI, JKHY, MTCH, NANO, OCLR, PAYC, PRO, QLYS, QUMU, RSYS, TNAV, TNET, TWLO, VIAV, WBMD, WU/ANGI, ADP, CRCM, GIB, CVLT, CRTO, DHX, GRPN, HRS, INXN, KLIC, LFUS, ORBK, PSDO, S, VSH
Analyst actions:
FSLR was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS;
AMD was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie,
CCOI was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen,
JIVE was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley & Co.,
FTV was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley,
RTEC was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse;
OKTA was initiated at Goldman, Pacific Crest, JP Morgan JMP Securities and Canaccord Genuity,
ADBE was initiated with an Overweight at Barclays,
ELVT was initiated at Jefferies and Credit Suisse,
VRNS was initiated with a Buy at Needham
