Markets News, Nov. 21, 2023: Tech and Retailers Lead Indexes Lower Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today

Here are the S&P 500 stocks that gained and lost the most today, and the stories behind the day's market movers.

Dow Dips as Retailer Earnings Put a Damper on November Rally

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62 points, or about 0.2%, Tuesday after several retailers including Best Buy (BBY) and Lowe’s (LOW) cut their sales forecasts amid a slowdown in consumer spending, souring the mood on Wall Street.

Travelers Companies (TRV) was the Dow’s best-performing stock, rising 1.7%.

Verizon (VZ) shares gained 1.4% to notch its eighth straight positive session, its longest winning streak since March 2013.

Coca-Cola (KO) shares rose 1.1% as the consumer staples sector gained 0.4%.  

Visa (V) shares rose 0.9% to close at an all-time high of more than $252. 

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) each moved up about 0.8%, contributing to the healthcare sector’s 0.6% advance. 

McDonald’s (MCD) shares rose 0.5% after it reached a deal with investment firm Carlyle to acquire its 28% stake in the food chain’s Chinese business. The deal will bring McDonald’s stake in the business to 48%, with the remaining 52% controlled by China’s state-owned CITIC.

Intel (INTC) shares declined 2.5% to lead the Dow lower. Still, the chipmaker’s shares are up nearly 30% in the past month. Intel’s decline was part of a 0.8% drop in the technology sector. 

Microsoft (MSFT) fell 1.2% after closing at a record high yesterday. The tech giant on Tuesday offered to hire any OpenAI employees who quit to protest last week’s surprise ousting of CEO Sam Altman.

Other tech stocks followed, with Cisco Systems (CSCO) losing 1% and Apple (AAPL) falling 0.4%.

-Terry Lane

Mining Stocks Rise on Rising Commodities Prices

Shares of mining companies Newmont Corp. (NEM), BHP Group (BHP), and Rio Tinto (RIO) rose on Tuesday amid a run-up in prices for precious and industrial metals. 

Gold futures topped $2,000 an ounce Tuesday, sending shares of Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, 2.5% higher.?

Copper futures traded sideways Tuesday, but have risen more than 6% in the last two weeks. Shares of BHP, a major copper miner, have gained more than 12% in the last month.?

Kohl’s Shares Plummet After Cutting Sales Outlook

Shares of Kohl’s (KSS) fell more than 10% Tuesday after it reported a bigger-than-expected drop in sales in the third quarter and subsequently trimmed its full-year sales guidance.

Kohl’s earnings by the numbers

• Adjusted net income: $59 million vs. $37 million expected, according to analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha
• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.53 vs. $0.34 expected
• Total revenue: $4.05 billion vs. $4.11 billion expected

Comparable store sales decreased 5.5% year-over-year, a larger-than-expected decline. That led the company to reduce its full-year sales guidance—it now expected sales to fall between 2.8% and 4% from 2022, a narrower range than its prior estimate of between 2% and 4%.?

However, improved margins and expense management helped the retailer top earnings estimates and raise its full-year profit guidance to a range of $2.30 to $2.70 from a previous estimate of between $2.10 and $2.70.

With Tuesday’s losses, Kohl’s shares traded about 12% lower for the year. They have lost about 73% of their value since peaking at $82.05 in September 2018.

Agilent Earnings Lift Diagnostics Stocks

Shares of life sciences and diagnostics tech companies were some of the S&P 500’s best performers Tuesday after lab instrument maker Agilent Technologies (A) beat earnings and sale estimates in the third quarter. 

Agilent reported revenue of $1.69 billion, a nearly 9% decrease from a year ago but more than the $1.67 billion consensus among analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Adjusted net income fell 10% to $404 million, or $1.38 per share, also above Wall Street’s estimates.

President and CEO Mike McCullen called 2023 “a challenging year for the industry,” but said the company was expecting “a slow but steady recovery” next year.

Agilent shares jumped 9% and took other lab tech and diagnostics stocks with them. The two biggest names in the industry, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) and Danaher (DHR), each gained more than 4%. Smaller players Mettler-Toledo (MTD) and Waters Corp. (WAT) both rose about 6%.

Midday Movers

Best Buy (BBY) shares declined after the electronics retailer said customer demand was “uneven” and hard to predict, as it reduced its full-year forecast. Lowe’s (LOW) also lowered its outlook, as consumers pulled back on do-it-yourself projects.

Shares of Jacobs Solutions (J) plunged after the professional services provider announced it was spinning off its Critical Missions Solutions and Cyber & Intelligence government services businesses and merging them with government and commercial services contractor Amentum into a separate, publicly traded firm. 

Shares of miners Newmont Corporation (NEM) and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) advanced as the price of gold crossed $2,000 an ounce.

Agilent Technologies (A) shares jumped after the maker of laboratory equipment beat profit and sales estimates as two of its three divisions posted higher revenue despite what CEO Mike McMullen called a “challenging year for the industry.”

Tesla (TSLA) shares gained as the electric vehicle maker started delivering its Cybertruck to showrooms.

-Bill McColl

Lowe's Cuts Its Forecast as Sales Drop Amid Decline in DIY Project Spending

Shares of Lowe’s (LOW) dropped over 2% in early trading Tuesday after the home improvement retailer missed revenue expectations and slashed its outlook as the booming demand for home upgrades during the pandemic faded.

Lowe’s now expects full-year earnings per share (EPS) of about $13, and revenue at $86 billion. That’s down from its previous estimates of EPS in the range of $13.20 to $13.60, and revenue of $87 billion to $89 billion.

In addition, the company projects comparable store sales falling 5% versus its earlier forecast of a drop of between 2% and 4%.

CEO Marvin Ellison blamed the lackluster results and guidance on a decline in discretionary spending for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, especially big-ticket items.

With Tuesday's losses, Lowe’s shares were little changed for 2023.?

-Bill McColl

Burlington Stores Surges on Earnings Beat, Steady Guidance

Shares of Burlington Stores (BURL) jumped 10% Tuesday morning after the off-price retailer reported better-than-expected earnings and reiterated its full-year guidance. 

Burlington Stores earnings by the numbers

• Adjusted net income: $63.8 million vs. $63.5 million expected, according to analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha
• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.98 (in line with expectations)
• Revenue: $2.29 billion (in line with expectations)

Comparable store sales grew 6% year-over-year as shoppers turned to bargain retailers like Burlington for deals. Net income was more than double the same quarter a year ago, boosted by higher sales, higher margins on merchandise, and lower freight costs. 

“November is off to a solid start,” said CEO Michael O’Sullivan in a statement. “That said, the critical high-volume weeks are still ahead of us, and we recognize that there is a lot of uncertainty in the external environment, so we are maintaining our previously issued Q4 guidance.”

Best Buy Stock Falls After Cutting Full-Year Outlook

Shares of Best Buy (BBY) fell about 4% early Tuesday after it reported a bigger-than-expected drop in sales in the third quarter as years of above-average inflation and a slowing economy forced consumers to cut back on electronics purchases.

Best Buy earnings by the numbers

• Net income: $263 million vs. $254 million expected, according to analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha
• Adjusted earnings per share: $1.29 vs. $1.18 expected
• Revenue: $9.76 billion vs. $9.89 billion expected

Comparable sales, a measure of sales growth that controls for a retailer’s expansion, fell nearly 7% year-over-year, a decline management attributed to “uneven and difficult to predict” consumer demand. Sales declined in most categories, including computing, home theater, and mobile phones. Gaming revenue increased.

Disappointing sales led the company to cut its full-year guidance on Tuesday. Best Buy now expects full-year revenue of between $43.1 billion and $43.7 billion, down from a previous estimate of $43.8 billion to $44.5 billion. Comparable store sales are expected to decline 6% to 7.5%, more than the 4.5% to 6% decline previously forecast.?

Best Buy shares are down nearly 20% year-to-date and are more than 50% off their November 2021 high of $138.

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gains:

• Burlington Stores Inc. (BURL): Shares of the discount apparel retailer gained 11% after its third-quarter sales and earnings topped Wall Street estimates. It also said the current quarter “is off to a solid start.”
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS): Shares of the sporting equipment retailer jumped 8% after it beat analysts’ estimates with its third-quarter earnings and sales, leading it to raise its full-year outlook. 
• Medtronic Plc. (MDT): Shares of the medical device maker rose 3% after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its full-year revenue and earnings guidance. 
  

Losses:

• Kohl’s Corp. (KSS): Shares of the department store fell about 5% after it said same-store sales fell more than expected in the most recent quarter, leading it to lower its full-year outlook. 
• VMWare Inc. (VMW): Shares of the cloud infrastructure provider fell nearly 5% to about $143 after Chinese regulators gave conditional approval of its merger with Broadcom (AVGO), clearing the way for that deal to close this week. According to the terms of the agreement, VMWare shareholders will receive either $142.50 in cash or 0.2520 Broadcom shares for each of their VMWare shares. Broadcom shares fell 3% to $965 in premarket trading.
• Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW): Shares of the home improvement retailer fell more than 3% after its third-quarter sales fell short of analyst estimates. The company also cut its full-year outlook and echoed competitor Home Depot (HD) in warning about a pullback in spending on big-ticket items.

Stock Futures on Disappointing Retail Earnings, Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower in premarket trading.

S&P 500 futures also slipped 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped 0.3%.