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Texas Instruments: The Chipper Mood Takes a Dip as Industrial Demand Fizzles

In a world where even chips can catch a case of the blues, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) reported some less-than-energetic third-quarter revenue and guidance, all thanks to industrial demand for chips hitting the snooze button. The news wasn’t music to investors’ ears, as Texas Instruments’ shares waltzed down 4% in the after-hours dance following the report.

The company’s performance featured an adjusted EPS of $1.85, accompanied by revenue hitting $4.53 billion. Now, the financial soothsayers polled by Investing.com were expecting an EPS of $1.82 on a slightly plumper revenue figure of $4.57 billion.

Industrial woes played a leading role in this chipper downturn, with Texas Instruments lamenting the “broadening” of demand weakness in its largest end market. Amid this symphony of gloom, analog revenue (the life of the chip party) stumbled by 16% compared to the previous year, while embedded processing put on a brave face and gained 8%.

As the curtains fell on the Q3 performance, Texas Instruments unveiled its grim forecast for the fourth quarter – revenue ranging from $3.93 billion to $4.27 billion, and an EPS dance in the range of $1.35 to $1.57. Sadly, these numbers fell flat compared to the audience’s expectations of an EPS score of $1.76 a share on revenue of $4.5 billion. Texas Instruments sure knows how to keep the chipper mood from catching on.

Dow closes higher amid better-than-expected corporate earnings

The Dow closed higher Tuesday as a slew of better-than-expected corporate earnings and steady Treasury yields lifted sentiment on the stocks ahead of the big tech earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% or 204 points, and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.

Tech adds to gains as Microsoft and Alphabet set for earnings stage

Technology stocks added to gains from a day earlier as investors looked ahead to quarterly results from Microsoft and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) due after the market closes.

For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the focus will likely be on the growth of its cloud segment Azure at a time when the proliferation of artificial intelligence is expected to ease the drag from still-modest enterprise spending.

“We expect Microsoft to continue to communicate optimizations are ongoing and new workloads remain modest as IT budgets stay tight, resulting in prudence around core Azure growth for F2Q24,” RBC said in a Tuesday note.

Google, meanwhile, is “well positioned” heading into earnings, Wedbush says, supported by ongoing digital advertising growth in 3Q and 4Q.

Treasury yields steady after recent selloff

Treasury yields steadied after a selloff a day earlier, but the move lower doesn’t appear to be a “fundamental shift in investors’ sentiment of policy or the underlying economy, but rather a number of larger players shifting positions,” Stifel said in a note.

Treasury yields sold off sharply on Monday, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury retreating after famed investor Bill Ackman announced that he had closed his bet on lower bond prices, citing “too much risk.”

The Federal Open Market Committee two- day meeting gets underway on Oct. 31, and is expected to culminate in unchanged decision next month.

Bitcoin continues to ride ETF optimism

Bitcoin (BitfinexUSD) jumped more than 7% briefly rising above $35,000 for the first since time since 2022 amid ongoing optimism that a spot-bitcoin ETF may soon be approved.

The surge in bitcoin lifted other cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum and Solana sharply higher.

Coca-Cola, GE and 3M lift guidance after delivering quarterly earnings beat

Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) closed nearly 3% higher as the beverage giant upgraded its annual guidance after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, underpinned by price hikes.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) also raised its guidance on full-year performance following earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. The conglomerate also said it was targeting a planned spinoff of its renewable energy business, GE Vernova, in Q2 next year,

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) sidestepped its recent legal troubles to deliver a Q3 report that topped analyst estimates, sending its share price more than 5% higher.

 

Source: Investing.com

LG Energy Solution: Battery Boom Sparks a 40% Profit Surge

In a performance that’s got more volts than a lightning storm, LG Energy Solution (LGES), the South Korean battery wizard, dazzled the market with a shockingly impressive 40% surge in quarterly profit. They’ve got General Motors (NYSE: GM) to thank for this electrifying boost, thanks to their supercharged output from a joint venture factory in the U.S. LGES, the energy supplier of choice for automotive heavyweights like Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and GM, flexed its financial muscles with an operating profit of 731 billion won ($543.46 million) during the July-September stretch, leaving last year’s 522 billion won in the dust.

Google’s Parent, Alphabet, Takes a Little Dip in After-Hours Trading, Blames Cloudy Skies

In a world where even tech giants have their off-days, Alphabet Inc’s Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares stumbled more than 5% in after-hours trading. The culprit? Cloudy skies, or more precisely, weaker-than-expected gains in revenue from its cloud computing operation. Google’s third-quarter earnings danced at $1.55 a share on a grand stage of $76.7 billion in revenue.

A show-stopping performance indeed, beating profit expectations of $1.46 a share and revenue expectations of $75.9 billion. However, the cloud act didn’t quite meet the hype, with revenue climbing 22% to $8.4 billion, still falling short of the anticipated $8.6 billion. Despite this hiccup, the maestros at Alphabet remain optimistic, with CEO Sundar Pichai highlighting their “AI-driven innovations across Search, YouTube, Cloud, our Pixel devices and more.”

They’re not throwing in the towel, just making sure AI shines even brighter for everyone. And hey, if your cloud has a silver lining, you’ll find that over 60% of the world’s largest companies are Google Cloud customers, and even generative AI start-ups are cozying up to Google Cloud, creating a storm of opportunity in the not-so-distant future.

Investing is like playing a game of chess with your money, where you’re not just predicting the future but also shaping it. It’s the art of turning financial dreams into reality, with a dash of strategy, a sprinkle of patience, and a whole lot of faith in your ability to outsmart the unpredictable twists and turns of the market. So, grab your financial armor, sharpen your wits, and let the battle for your future wealth begin – because in the world of investing, the only checkmate is the one on your bank statement.