Alphabet Showed Perfection, and That Could Drive the Stock’s Best Day in 9 Years

/ / Technology /

By Emily Bary Google parent puts ‘doomsday AI search share-loss fears’ to bed with latest earnings report Alphabet Inc.’s stock could see its second-best single-day performance in history on Friday, following an earnings report that drew effusive praise from analysts. Simply put, the company was “perfect,” in the view of Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik. The Google parent company faced an interesting setup headed into the report. On one hand, its shares were near all-time highs. But at the same time, Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) has spent the past year and a half drawing investor doubts over factors like its artificial-intelligence positioning and the future of its core search business in a world where AI queries come to dominate, wrote Shmulik, who has a market-perform rating on the stock. See also: Alphabet’s stock surges on first-ever cash dividend, $70 billion stock buyback, strong results He noted that the company’s results were buoyed […]

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Intel (INTC.US) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference

/ / Technology /

The following is a summary of the Intel Corporation (INTC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Intel reported a Q1 revenue of $12.7 billion, with a YoY growth of 9%. The quarter witnessed a gross margin of 45.1%, surpassing the guidance by 60 basis points. The company’s EPS stood at $0.18 for the quarter, exceeding the guidance by $0.05. Operating cash flow was recorded as negative $1.2 billion. The company anticipates stronger sequential revenue growth throughout the year and into 2025. Intel predicts peaking of costs in 2024, with revenue improvements in Q3 and Q4 that will help lift gross margins in the second half. The company projects better gross margin rates in 2025 than in 2024, targeting mid-50s margins midway between now and 2030, with an ultimate aim of 60%. Business Progress: Intel announced Microsoft as its fifth Intel 18A customer, with another meaningful customer signed on. Intel

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Southwest Airlines(LUV.US) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

The following is a summary of the Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Southwest Airlines achieved record first quarter operating revenues and passengers, continuing their trend of eight consecutive quarters of growth. Despite setbacks from Boeing’s delivery delays, managed business revenues increased by 25% YoY. To manage potential cost increases, the company trimmed its 2024 capital spending forecast from $3.5 billion – $4 billion to $2.5 billion. For Q2 2024, Southwest projects a record revenue performance, marking it the ninth consecutive quarter of top line growth. Ancillary revenue rose by 18% YoY in Q1, outpacing the company’s passenger growth. Business Progress: Southwest opened 18 new cities during the pandemic and restored its network quickly after the 2022 demand surge. However, adjustments are being made to enhance profits, including network optimizations, underperforming market adjustments, revenue performance improvements through marketing and revenue management, and efficiency initiatives. Additional

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Microsoft (MSFT) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

/ / Technology /

The following is a summary of the Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Microsoft reported $61.9 billion in revenue for Q3, a 17% increase from previous year’s period. They posted strong earnings per share of $2.94, a 20% increase year-over-year. Revenue gains were largely driven by Azure commitments, resulting in commercial bookings increasing 29% and 31% in constant currency. Microsoft’s cloud business recorded a revenue of $35.1 billion, growing at 23%, with gross margin percentage decreasing slightly to 72%. Operating expenses grew by 10%, with operating income increasing by 23%, and operating margins rising approximately 2 points year-over-year to 45%. Business Progress: Over 65% of Fortune 500 companies are now using Azure’s OpenAI service, indicating a growing business user base. Microsoft’s Copilot system is gaining traction, with plans to create Copilot-like scenarios in every business system to enhance enterprise-wide efficiency. Diablo IV’s integration into Game Pass

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Intel’s Q2 Guidance ‘Left a Lot to Be Desired,’ Wedbush Says

/ / Technology /

Intel’s (INTC) Q2 financial outlook “left a lot to be desired,” with revenue seen only rising modestly and margins projected to fall meaningfully on a sequential basis, Wedbush Securities said Friday. Late Thursday, the technology giant said it expects Q2 non-GAAP earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expect EPS of $0.11 on revenue of $13.22 billion. Intel’s outlook contrasts with its previous estimate for sequential improvement through the course of the year, Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson said in a note. “In addition, we believe some incremental color that Intel provided on the call was less compelling than might have been hoped for.” The brokerage lowered its price target on the Intel stock to $32.50 from $40.00 while keeping its neutral rating. The company’s shares were down more than 8% in recent trading.

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IBM Delivers on Two Key Metrics in ‘Solid’ Q1 Despite Revenue Miss, RBC Says

/ / Technology /

International Business Machines (IBM) delivered on free cash flow and Red Hat sales in Q1 for a “solid” start to the year despite trailing estimates on total revenue, RBC Capital Markets said Thursday in a report. “The highlight from our perspective was the performance of our two focal metrics” with free cash flow of $1.9 billion topping RBC’s $1.7 billion estimate and Red Hat revenue in line with expectations, according to the report. IBM on Wednesday reported Q1 adjusted earnings rose to $1.68 a share from $1.36 a year earlier, topping the Capital IQ consensus of $1.59. Revenue rose to $14.46 billion, trailing the consensus of $14.54 billion. “The biggest negative surprise was around the consulting space where IBM’s resiliency relative to the broader market over the past year showed some signs of softening,” RBC said. On Wednesday, IBM also agreed to buy multi-cloud infrastructure automation company HashiCorp (HCP) for

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Microsoft Q3 Shines Light On ‘AI Innovation Cycle’: Analysts See ‘Plenty Of Runway For Growth’

/ / Technology /

Technology giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported third-quarter financial results that saw revenue and earnings per share beat estimates from analysts. Analysts are praising the company’s growth of artificial intelligence platforms. The MSFT Analysts: Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan has an Outperform rating and price target of $450. Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok has an Outperform rating and raises the price target from $450 to $480. Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan has a Buy rating and raises the price target from $450 to $515. Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss has an Overweight rating and price target of $520. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has an Outperform rating and price target of $500. Bank of America analyst Brad Sills has a Buy rating and price target of $480. JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy has an Overweight rating and raises the price target from $440 to $470. BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman has an Outperform rating and price

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Microsoft Delivers Another Strong Quarter With Impressive Results, Wedbush Says

/ / Technology /

Microsoft (MSFT) latest Q3 results showcased yet another strong quarter with impressive outcomes across the board, Wedbush said in a report Friday. Microsoft Azure’s growth soared at 31%, surpassing both the Wall Street’s estimate of 29% and the company’s own guidance of 28%, driven by strong demand for their updated tech stack. “Copilot conversions continue exploding with partners/customers lining up for further Copilot deployments to increase efficiencies and profitable growth with more use cases seen across the product portfolio as the AI Revolution heats up,” Wedbush said. In Q3, Microsoft’s total revenues reached $61.86 billion, surpassing estimates, driven by successful AI integration, the firm said. Looking ahead, Microsoft anticipates solid revenue growth for Q4, “as more customers see increased use cases with MSFT’s AI technology stack to further expand profitable growth” while generating greater efficiencies across operations despite increasing investments, Wedbush said. Microsoft also issued robust guidance for 2025, anticipating

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CFRA Keeps Buy Opinion On Shares Of Exxon Mobil Corporation

/ / Energy /

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: Our 12-month target price of $130, cut $5, reflects a 6.7x multiple of enterprise value to projected 2025 EBITDA, about in line with XOM’s historical forward average. We cut our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.09 to $9.02 and 2025’s by $0.55 to $9.50. Q1 EPS of $2.06 vs. $2.83, missed the consensus view by $0.12. XOM continues to make progress on structural cost reductions, with $0.4B in such cuts in Q1, now totaling $10.1B overall, which is substantial progress toward a goal of $15.0B in structural cuts by 2027 vs. 2019 levels. Production of 3.78 mmboe/d in Q1 was 0.4% below consensus, and down 40,000 boe/d sequentially, but we expect the Pioneer transaction to close in Q2. Shares are down about 3% today, which we chalk up

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CFRA Maintains Buy Recommendation On Shares Of Kla Corporation

/ / Technology /

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We lift our price target by $23 to $778, 25x our CY 2025 EPS view ($31.13), near peers and above KLAC’s three-year average (~18x) on growing confidence that the semi industry is exiting a downcycle, driven by AI. KLAC posted Mar-Q sales of $2.36B (-3% Y/Y) and EPS of $5.26 (-4%), above consensus, including a -$0.40 impact to EPS from its March decision to exit the flat panel business. We raise our FY 2024 (Jun.) EPS view by $0.06 to $23.36, lift FY 2025’s by $1.27 to $28.56, and raise FY 2026’s by $0.70 to $33.40. We expect CY 2024 growth to be led by foundry/logic activity (64% of Mar-Q process control sales) as customers move at a faster pace toward gate-all-around and 2-nm, while advanced DRAM

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Alphabet’s Blockbuster Results Highlight Its Transition From AI Laggard To Going ‘On The Offensive’: 11 Analysts Revise Forecasts After Q1 Results

/ / Technology /

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares were climbing on Friday after the company reported its first-quarter results amid a lot of hype around the AI revolution. The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the release. Goldman Sachs On Alphabet Analyst Eric Sheridan reiterated a Buy rating while raising the price target from $185 to $195. Alphabet’s first-quarter results reflected higher-than-expected revenues from Search and YouTube, “as Google’s broader ad ecosystem benefited from a strong end demand environment and continued to demonstrate product innovation with Performance Max and YT Shorts,” Sheridan wrote in a note. “AI innovation continues to build scale in the advertising business (conversions, Performance Max and search generative experience),” he added. “Alphabet struck a multi-sided theme of investing for the long-term (highlighted by Q1 capex levels that would be sustained throughout 2024), upside in both Services and Cloud operating income margins as prior period

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Fitch Says Near-Term Financial Pressures Of Boeing To Be Mostly Offset By Near-Term Reduction Of Inventory, Production Optimization

/ / Industrials /

Fitch Says Near-Term Financial Pressures Of Boeing To Be Mostly Offset By Near-Term Reduction Of Inventory, Production Optimization; Also Forecast Around 75 787 Aircraft Deliveries During Year, With Low-To-Mid Single Digit Production Per Month

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