Stocks Rebound as Fed Chair Powell Says Economy in Good Shape; S&P 500, Nasdaq Set for 3rd Straight Weekly Loss

CooperCompanies Shares Tumble After Weak Sales

29 minutes ago

CooperCompanies (COO) shares fell fell sharply Friday, a day after the maker of medical equipment posted worse-than-expected quarterly sales.

The company reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 92 cents, in line with estimates from analysts who follow CooperCompanies and were polled by Visible Alpha. Its revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $964.7 million, missing estimates. 

The share-price decline came even as the California-based company raised its full-year earnings outlook, forecasting fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS in the range of $3.94 to $4.02, up from a $3.92 to $4.02 range. The range was within consensus estimates of $3.99, though the midpoint was a bit below it.

CEO Al White said the company’s results met its revenue expectations and surpassed operational targets. The company, which has two business units—CooperVision and CooperSurgical—also projected fiscal 2025 total revenue between $4.08 billion and $4.16 billion, up between 6% and 8% year-over-year. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha were looking for $4.1 billion.

CooperCompanies shares were down 6% in recent trading. The stock hit its lowest level since late 2023 earlier in the day and is down 16% over the past 12 months.

–Nisha Gopalan

Intuitive Machines Sinks for 2nd Day on Moon Mission Mishap

1 hr 9 min ago

Shares of Intuitive Machines (LUNR) crashed for a second straight session as the space exploration firm’s lunar lander ran into difficulties after touching down on the Moon’s surface, ending the mission.

The company said the IM-2 “Athena” craft came down 250 meters (820 feet) from its intended landing site, ending up in a crater. Pictures sent from Athena showed it was on its side.

Intuitive Machines said that because of the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, the company “does not expect Athena to recharge,” and the mission has concluded. 

Intuitive Machines noted that while Athena was operational, ground controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA’s Prime Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) suite. 

The company added that it was studying the data provided, and the work of Athena in the southern pole area of the Moon “will open this region for further space exploration.”

Despite diving 20% each of the last two sessions, Intuitive Machines shares remain up about 75% over the past 12 months.

–Bill McColl

McDonald’s Stock Hits All-Time High

1 hr 47 min ago

McDonald’s (MCD) shares hit an intraday record high Friday, continuing their unsteady climb since an E. coli outbreak last October.

Shares in the Dow Jones Industrial Average component were up 3.1% at around $320 in recent trading, surpassing the previous intraday high of $317.90 set on Oct. 21, the day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said dozens of cases of E. coli infection had been reported across several states.

Shares of the fast-food giant fell to as low as $276.53 on Jan. 16, but have risen about 16% since. They climbed nearly 5% in a single session on Feb. 10, when the company reported global comparable sales returned to growth in the fourth quarter.

The stock has gained 10% over the past 12 months, in line with the Dow’s performance over the period.

–Aaron Rennie

Nasdaq Plans to Launch 24-Hour Trading Next Year

2 hr 43 min ago

The Nasdaq (NDAQ) exchange plans to move to offering 24-hour trading, Monday through Friday, in a move that could make U.S. markets more accessible. 

The exchange has begun speaking with regulators and anticipates round-the-clock trading going into effect in the second half of 2026, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said Friday in a post on LinkedIn.

The goal is to “enhance access for those operating across different time zones,” Cohen said, with retail investor interest in U.S. markets higher than it’s ever been. Foreign holdings of U.S. equities reached $17 trillion in June, nearly double the level of investment just five years earlier, Cohen noted. 

In October, the New York Stock Exchange announced a similar plan to extend trading on its digital exchange to 22 hours a day, from 1:30 a.m. ET to 11:30 p.m. ET.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency tasked with regulating U.S. markets, declined to comment.

–Andrew Kessel

Gap Stock Soars as Turnaround Plan Bears Fruit

4 hr 8 min ago

Gap Inc. (GAP) shares soared Friday after the clothing retailer posted better-than-expected profit and sales in the key holiday period as its turnaround plan continued to produce positive results.

The company behind the Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands reported fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54, while Visible Alpha consensus called for $0.36. Revenue fell 3.5% year-over-year to $4.15 billion, but that also exceeded forecasts.

Comparable store sales increased 3%, well above the Visible Alpha expectation of 0.68%. CEO Richard Dickson noted that Gap had positive comparable sales in all four quarters of 2024, and “achieved one of the highest gross margins in the last 20 years.”

Dickson said in an interview with Yahoo! Finance that he’s not overly concerned about new Trump administration tariffs, saying that “regardless of inputs and tariffs and everything else, there’s always winners and losers. Our market share performance is showing us that we are doing what’s right.”

Gap anticipates full-year sales growth of 1% to 2% from 2024’s $15.09 billion.

Shares of Gap entered Friday’s session essentially flat over the past 12 months before soaring 12% in recent trading.

–Bill McColl

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Shares Plunge on Weak Guidance

5 hr 14 min ago

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares plunged Friday morning, a day after the information technology provider gave weak guidance and began cost-cutting measures.

The company expects current-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28 to $0.34, and full year of $1.70 to $1.90, Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for current-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.50 and full year of $2.12.

In the fiscal 2025 first quarter, HPE posted adjusted EPS of $0.49, also short of forecasts. Revenue increased 16% year-over-year to $7.85 billion, slightly above forecasts.

CEO Antonio Neri said that while the company “has a proven track record of consistent, disciplined execution,” it “could have executed better in some areas in the quarter.”

HPE also announced that it was launching a cost-reduction plan “to reduce structural operating costs and continue advancing its ongoing commitment to profitable growth.” It added that “the program is expected to be implemented through fiscal year 2026 and deliver gross savings of approximately $350 million by fiscal year 2027 through reductions in its workforce.”

To that end, Neri said on the earnings call that “we plan to reduce our employee base 5% over the next 12 to 18 months through the reduction of approximately 2,500 positions and expected attrition,” according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares were down 15% recently, trading at their lowest level in more than a year.

–Bill McColl

Broadcom Surges on Strong Earnings, Outlook

5 hr 43 min ago

Broadcom (AVGO) shares surged Friday after the chipmaker posted quarterly results and an outlook that topped analysts’ expectations on the back of robust demand for its AI semiconductors.

Broadcom reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60 on revenue that grew 25% year-over-year to $14.92 billion, both above Visible Alpha expectations. Its current-quarter projected revenue of $14.9 billion came in slightly ahead of the consensus. 

The company said its AI revenue jumped 77% in the quarter, with projections showing continued improvement in that area.

Citigroup stuck with its buy rating on the stock “given upside from AI” and $220 price target, noting that the chipmaker’s AI strength would offset any potential “downside” from sanctions on TikTok parent ByteDance and any loss of the business of supplying radio-frequency chips to Apple (AAPL). Both China’s Bytedance and the Apple RF chip business are projected at around 2% of Broadcom’s fiscal 2025 sales, Citi said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has an April 5 deadline for TikTok to be sold or banned, although The Hill cited him as saying Thursday that it could be extended if a deal isn’t reached.

Broadcom shares have struggled at the start of this year given mounting concerns over tech giants’ big AI spending and uncertainty about the potential impact of the Trump administration’s policies on tariffs and AI chip export curbs.

The stock was up nearly 4% at $186.50 in recent trading. Over the past 12 months, shares have gained about 32%, far outpacing the performance of the S&P 500 over that stretch.

–Nisha Gopalan

Walgreen’s Shares Jump on $10 Billion Deal to be Taken Private

7 hr 15 min ago

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares jumped after the drugstore chain agreed to be taken private in a $10 billion deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore said it would pay $11.45 per share for the company, about 8% above Thursday’s closing price. The stock was up 6.5% at $11.29 in recent premarket trading.

Investors could also receive up to $3 more per share in proceeds from the eventual sale of Walgreens’ primary care businesses, the company said, which could raise the value of the deal up to nearly $24 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

Walgreens shares rose earlier this year following previous reports of talks to take the drugstore chain private. The deal comes after a tough stretch for Walgreens, which announced in October a plan to shutter some 1,200 “underperforming” stores over the next three years. Its stock had lost about half its value in the past year though Thursday’s close.

–Andrew Kessel

Major Indexes on Pace for Worst Week of 2025

7 hr 44 min ago

Heading into Friday’s session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are each on track to post their biggest weekly losses of the year.

The Dow is down 2.9% so far this week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have declined 3.6% and 4.1%, respectively.

So far in 2025, the Dow is just barely clinging to gains, up 0.1%. The S&P 500 is down 2.4% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq has dropped 6.4%.

Major Stock Index Futures Higher

8 hr 27 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures also added 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2%.