Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Market indexes put in a fine showing at the closing bell today, climbing in the final minutes of trading across major indexes and ending the day at or near session highs. The Dow gathered an impressive +317 points today, +0.71%, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were up +0.39% and +0.19%, respectively. The small-cap Russell 2000 beat the rest of the field, +1.14% for the trading day.

Ultimately, it was a mixed bag of economic data throughout today: ADP ADP private-sector payrolls came in well above expectations to +183K gains last month, while the U.S. Trade Deficit sunk to its lowest levels in nearly three years — -$98.4 billion — as global traders anticipate plenty of flak ahead on the trade tariff scenario. And while S&P final Services PMI came in just as expected at +52.9 for January, ISM Services lagged to +52.8% — second-lowest of the past five months —from +54.0 expected and +54.1% the prior year.
 

Quarterly Earnings Roundup: QCOM, F and ARM

Qualcomm QCOM notched another big beat on its Q1 bottom line this hour, with earnings of $3.41 per share flying past the $2.93 for the Zacks consensus, up +24% year over year. Revenues also demonstrated strength, with headline sales of $11.67 billion well ahead of the $10.92 billion forecast. Guidance for earnings of $2.70-2.90 are nicely beyond the $2.68 per share estimated, with revenues expected in the range of $10.2-11.0 billion, with a mid-point above the projected $10.35 billion.

Check out the updated Zacks Earnings Calendar here.

Ford F also topped expectations on both earnings and sales for its Q4 after today’s close, posting 39 cents per share on $45.2 billion in revenues which surpassed the 34 cents per share and $43.58 billion estimates for the quarter. Ford Pro vehicle margins grew +10% in the quarter, while Ford Blue was up +5.8%. But shares are trading down -5% on lighter guidance, taking Ford stock back into negative territory year to date.

Arm Holdings ARM also beat earnings expectations by 5 cents to 39 cents per share, on a record-high $983 million in revenues — well ahead of the $951 million analysts were expecting, and +    9% year over year. License & Other Revenues rose +14% year over year, while Annualized Contract Value (ACV) gained +9%. But it’s selling more than -6% in late trading; such is life when your stock runs up +40% in the five weeks since the start of 2025.
 

What to Expect from the Stock Market Thursday

Tomorrow morning, we’ll see the latest installment of Weekly Jobless Claims, with continued tepid estimates likely to continue suggesting a rugged and resilient labor market. Q4 Productivity will also hit the tape, expected to slip to +1.4% from +2.2% the previous quarter. And earnings reports from Eli Lilly LLY and ConocoPhillips COP will come out ahead of the opening bell, with Amazon AMZN released afterward.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Ford Motor Company (F) : Free Stock Analysis Report

QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

ConocoPhillips (COP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

ARM Holdings PLC Sponsored ADR (ARM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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