(Boursier.com) — There have been numerous financial publications on Wall Street since last night, including three of the Magnificent Seven, Apple, Amazon And Meta. Apple still worries the markets, particularly due to the Chinese market, but Amazon has shown good profitability. Meta is the star of the day, his title rising by almost 17% in pre-session…
Meta Platforms impressed last night with its financial publication. Mark Zuckerberg’s group largely exceeded the profit consensus for the closed quarter, announced a new share buyback program, and also revealed a first dividend! For the just-ended fiscal fourth quarter, adjusted earnings per share were $5.33, while revenue was $40.1 billion. The consensus was $4.94 EPS for $39 billion in revenue. A year earlier, during the same period, revenues stood at $32.2 billion. Advertising revenues for the closed quarter were 38.7 billion, against 37.8 billion consensus.
Reality Labs, which notably houses the effort in the ‘metaverse’, lost 4.6 billion dollars in the quarter ended against 4.3 billion a year before, but the division is starting to generate significant revenues at 1.07 billion dollars.
Meta also strengthened its share buyback authorization by $50 billion and initiated its first dividend, at 50 cents per quarter or $2 over the year. Bloomberg measures that Zuckerberg alone will receive around $700 million in cash per year in dividends, since he holds around 350 million shares.
Meta expects revenues of $34.6 to $37 billion for its first fiscal quarter, which also quite clearly exceeds the consensus, which is close to $34 billion. The social media giant now claims 2.11 billion daily active users on Facebook, compared to 2.07 billion consensus… For 2024, the group plans expenses ranging from 94 to 99 billion dollars.
Amazon, the American online commerce giant, unveiled accounts last night that exceeded market expectations, propelling the stock to Wall Street after market trading. For its fourth quarter, the group achieved revenues of 170 billion dollars, an increase of 14% year-on-year, compared to a consensus of 166 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $1, well above the consensus of around 80 cents. Net profit reached $10.6 billion. Andy Jassy, general manager of the group, who speaks of a record holiday season, is also continuing efforts to integrate generative AI into the various services. He believes this is starting to improve results. Concerning AWS, giant of cloud services, quarterly turnover reached 24.2 billion dollars, very close to market expectations and growing by 13%.
For the current quarter, the group envisages revenues ranging from 138 to 143.5 billion dollars, against 142 billion consensus.
AppleCalifornian giant from Cupertino and second world market capitalization behind Microsoft, fell 3% after market trading on Wall Street last night. Tim Cook’s group was not completely convincing, despite its figures being higher than market forecasts. Operators are particularly concerned about the situation in China, where the group posted disappointing sales. In the quarter ended in December, a crucial period of the holiday season, the group achieved total sales of 119.6 billion dollars, against a consensus of 117.9 billion. Quarterly earnings per share were $2.18 versus $2.10 consensus. iPhone sales rose 6% to $69.7 billion, compared to analysts’ average forecast of $67.8 billion. Services revenue was $23.1 billion in the quarter, a new record and growth of 11%.
Nonetheless, markets view Apple as lagging behind in AI compared to other big tech names, and the recent launch of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset is unlikely to have a major impact on accounts in the near term. In addition, Apple faces tough competition in China, particularly with the Huawei threat. The Apple group’s Chinese sales in the fourth quarter were only 20.8 billion dollars, while the consensus was at 23.5 billion… Among the group’s other flagship products, Mac computers posted a slight increase in sales to $7.78 billion over the quarter, in line with expectations, while iPad sales fell 25% to $7 billion.
Intel, a microprocessor giant, has pushed back a $20 billion chip manufacturing project in Ohio due to market challenges and the slow implementation of U.S. subsidies, according to the Wall Street Journal. The initial schedule called for production to begin next year. However, construction of the facilities is not expected to be completed before the end of 2026, according to WSJ sources. The group, for its part, says it is determined to complete the project and ensures that construction continues.
Microchip Technology, the American chip designer, exceeded market expectations in terms of profits for its fiscal third quarter, posting adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 compared to a consensus of $1.06 and a level of 1. $56 a year ago. Revenues totaled $1.77 billion, compared to $2.17 billion a year earlier and slightly below expectations. Thus, sales fell 22% sequentially and 19% year-on-year. For the fourth fiscal quarter, the group expects revenues ranging from 1.225 billion to 1.425 billion and adjusted EPS ranging from 46 to 68 cents.
Clorox, the American cleaning products player, climbs before the market on Wall Street. The group published accounts yesterday evening that exceeded expectations and raised its forecasts. For the closed quarter, adjusted earnings per share were $2.16, significantly above consensus. The group forecasts annual adjusted earnings per share ranging from $5.30 to $5.50, compared to a previous range of $4.30 to $4.80. Revenue is now expected to decline in the low single digits, compared to a previously expected mid- to high-single digit decline and a 5% decline according to consensus.
Cigna, the American health insurance group, announced for its fourth fiscal quarter a net profit of 1.03 billion dollars, compared to 1.19 billion a year before. On an adjusted basis, however, EPS increased 35% to $6.79, well above expectations. Total revenues for fiscal 2023 were $195.3 billion, while net income accounted for $5.2 billion and adjusted profit from operations $7.4 billion. Cigna now anticipates annual adjusted earnings per share of at least $28.25, compared to at least $28 previously and a market consensus of $28.3. Thus, the adjusted profit from operations for the 2024 financial year would be more than $8.025 billion.
ExxonMobil posted its second best annual profit. The American oil giant beat consensus with adjusted profit of $9.1 billion for the closed quarter and $38.6 billion for the year. The group returned more than $32 billion to shareholders last year through dividends and share buybacks. Over the past quarter, earnings per share reached $2.48 versus around $2.2 consensus, while revenues totaled $84.3 billion versus $86 billion market consensus.
AbbVie revealed adjusted earnings per share of $2.79 for the closed quarter, slightly above consensus, for revenues of $14.3 billion also better than expected. The quarterly dividend is increased by 5%. The group anticipates adjusted earnings per share ranging from $11.05 to $11.25 for the 2024 financial year, guidance which surrounds the market consensus.
Chevron announced adjusted earnings per share of $3.45 for the past quarter, well above consensus, but revenues of $47.2 billion too short. The oil group increases its dividend by 8% to $1.63 per quarter. Quarterly consolidated net income was $2.3 billion, while adjusted profit was $6.5 billion. Annual global and American production is record high.
Regeneron, the American biotechnology laboratory, announced fourth-quarter revenues higher than market expectations with its blockbuster Eylea, whose sales totaled $1.46 billion. Total quarterly revenues thus amount to 3.43 billion dollars against 3.3 billion consensus. Earnings per share also beat consensus at $11.86, versus $10.7.
Bristol-Myers Squibb, an American pharmaceutical group, exceeded profit and revenue expectations for the closed quarter, and revealed 2024 earnings per share guidance higher than expectations. In the fourth quarter, the group generated adjusted earnings per share of $1.70 versus a consensus of $1.53. Revenues totaled 11.5 billion, while analysts expected 11.2 billion on average. 2024 adjusted earnings per share are anticipated between $7.10 and $7.40.