BY THE NUMBERS
Dow futures fell 200 points and the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.9% after Friday’s jobs report showed strong gains last month. Nasdaq futures rose early Friday, boosted by Amazon‘s 11% premarket surge on strong cloud-led earnings after the bell Thursday. But Nasdaq futures turned lower after the jobs data. (CNBC)
The Nasdaq on Thursday sank 3.7%, slammed by Meta Platforms‘ (FB) over 26% plunge on weak earnings. The Facebook parent’s more than $230 billion market cap loss was the largest one-day value decline in Wall Street history. (CNBC)
* Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth just fell $30 billion in just one day (CNBC)
The S&P 500 and the Dow on Thursday slid 2.4% and 1.4%, respectively. Despite those losses, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were still on track for their strongest weekly performance of 2022. The Dow was also tracking for a weekly gain as of Thursday’s close. (CNBC)
The U.S. economy created 467,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reported Friday. That was much better than estimates for a 150,000 nonfarm payrolls gain. Expectations were all over the place coming into the print on worries the spike in Covid cases due to the raging omicron variant could jolt the data. (CNBC)
In addition to the jobs numbers, the Federal Reserve is monitoring signs of inflationary pressures such as U.S. oil prices extending gains above $90 per barrel to October 2014 highs. The Fed is expected to hike interest rates multiple times this year, starting in March, to combat rising inflation. (Reuters)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Amazon’s strong fourth quarter was carried entirely by its cloud business. Amazon reported a gain of almost $12 billion from its investment in EV marker Rivian Automotive. Stripping out one-time items, a Refinitiv analysis put adjusted earnings at a better-than-expected $5.80 per share. Revenue slightly missed expectations. Amazon guided lower for the first-quarter. (CNBC)
* Cramer’s Investing Club: Amazon’s cloud-led earnings only give glimpse of its true potential (CNBC)
Amazon also hiked the price of its Prime membership for the first time in four years. The annual cost will increase to $139 from $119. Monthly it’ll go to $14.99 from $12.99. The price changes will go into effect for new members on Feb. 18, and for current members after March 25. (Reuters)
Snap‘s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings more than doubled estimates. Revenue and user growth also exceeded expectations. Shares rose over 40% in the premarket. The Snapchat parent also issued an upbeat outlook and said it’s making progress adjusting to Apple’s new privacy policies that affect ad tracking. (CNBC)
Shares of Ford (F), which have soared roughly 78% in the past 12 months, were tracking for an over 7% drop at Friday’s open. The automaker’s adjusted fourth-quarter earnings were well below estimates, while revenue also missed expectations. Ford’s stake in Rivian pumped up full-year net income. (CNBC)
* Cramer’s Investing Club: Quarterly miss doesn’t shake our belief in Ford’s long-term growth (CNBC)
Southwest Airlines (LUV) will resume alcohol sales on most of its flights this month after nearly two years, a pause it extended last spring because of a surge in disruptive passengers. The move further heightened tension between the airline and its 16,000-member flight attendants’ union. (CNBC)
A major winter storm that already cut electric power to about 350,000 homes and businesses from Texas to the Ohio Valley was set to leave Pennsylvania and New England glazed in ice and smothered in snow Friday. Airlines are cancelling flights due to expected treacherous travel. (AP & FlightAware)
The leaders of Russia and China pushed back against U.S. pressure on Friday, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing. (AP)
* China’s pandemic Olympics begins, with lockdown and boycotts (AP)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $23.72 per share, beating the $18.35 consensus estimate. Revenue also topped the forecast on strong sales of the company’s Covid antibody therapy as well as its eye drug Eylea. Regeneron said it’s “working hard” to develop an updated therapy that will be effective against omicron and other Covid variants. Regeneron shares rose modestly in the premarket.
Bristol-Myers (BMY) rose 1% in premarket trading after the drugmaker reported better than expected quarterly profit and revenue that was just slightly below estimates. The company also reaffirmed its long-term forecasts and announced a $15 billion share-repurchase authorization.
BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) rose 2% in the premarket after Deutsche Bank upgraded it to “buy” from “hold.” Deutsche Bank points to the stock’s 10% pullback so far this year as well as a shift in consumer buying habits to more value-oriented retailers.
Clorox (CLX) tumbled 12.9% in premarket action after it fell 18 cents short of forecasts with adjusted quarterly profit of 66 cents per share. The maker of household products saw revenue come in slightly above estimates, but it was hit by considerably lower profit margins due to a “challenging” cost environment.
Pinterest (PINS) came in 4 cents ahead of Wall Street forecasts with an adjusted quarterly profit of 49 cents per share. It reported better than expected revenue as well. The social site also concluded its first-ever profitable year amid strengthening ad revenue. Pinterest soared 14.4% in the premarket.
Unity Software (U) reported better than expected quarterly results and the video game content creation platform operator also projected upbeat current quarter results. Unity said a transition to interactive real-time 3D gaming presents it with strong growth opportunities for decades to come. The stock rallied 11.3% in the premarket.
News Corp (NWSA) beat top and bottom-line estimates for its latest quarter, with the media company benefiting from growth in digital real estate services, book publishing and its Dow Jones division. News Corp jumped 6.9% in premarket trading.
Skechers (SKX) came in 10 cents above analyst forecasts with an adjusted quarterly profit of 43 cents per share, with the footwear retailer also reporting better than expected revenue as it successfully bet on demand for casual and comfortable shoes. The stock surged 7.9% in the premarket.