Snowflake (SNOW)
Snowflake reported better-than-expected second-quarter (Q2) results, beating revenue guidance, but that wasn't enough to convince investors, as its shares fell in pre-market trading.
The data cloud company reported second-quarter revenue of $868.82 million (£661.98 million), up 30% on the same period last year and beating analyst expectations.
But net loss widened from a year ago to $317.77 million, or 95 cents per share, and was bigger than Wall Street had expected.
For the current quarter that ends in October, Snowflake said it expects product revenue to be in the range of $850 million to $855 million. Analysts were expecting $851 million.
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“Snowflake surpassed the high end of our second quarter product revenue guidance, delivering another strong quarter,” Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said in the release.
Snowflake sells data analysis and management tools that run on cloud computing platforms such as Amazon Web Services.
Franklin Templeton (BEN)
The asset manager's shares plunged more than 12 percent last trading day after reports that U.S. regulators had launched an investigation into one of its subsidiaries, but recovered modestly during trading hours.
Franklin Templeton unit Western Asset Management said it was firing Chief Investment Officer Ken Leach and closing a $2 billion fund as it responded to a federal investigation into his conduct.
The bond manager said Michael Buchanan has been named chief investment officer, effective immediately, to replace Leach, who is on administrative leave after being notified by the Securities and Exchange Commission that he is facing potential civil action from the agency, the company said in a statement.
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Following Leach's departure, Western Asset Management is also closing its $2 billion Macro Opportunities Strategies fund. The firm has launched an internal investigation into past trading allocations of Treasury derivatives in some accounts and is cooperating with a “concurrent government investigation.”
These developments weighed heavily on Franklin Templeton's stock price, which fell more than 12 percent to $19.78 on Wednesday, its biggest one-day drop in four years.
Target (TGT)
Target shares fell in premarket trading, correcting after rising 11% on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter sales rose 3%, signaling a return to growth after a period of sluggish performance and squeezed margins.
The story continues
The company beat Wall Street expectations for both profit and sales, thanks to increased shopper traffic to its stores and website and strong demand for discretionary goods such as clothing.
To attract more customers, the company has reduced prices on 5,000 commonly purchased items in its stores.
“Consumers continue to seek value and are demonstrating resilience by selectively spending on discretionary items while still focusing on essentials,” Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said in a recent client note.
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Despite the strong performance, Target maintained a cautious outlook and reaffirmed its previous full-year sales forecast. The company said it expects same-store sales to be in the range of flat to up 2% this year, but indicated growth will likely fall in the lower half of that range.
But Target raised its profit outlook, raising its adjusted earnings per share to a range of $9 to $9.70 from the previous range of $8.60 to $9.60.
JD Sports (JD.L)
JD Sports Fashion reported that its sales rose year-on-year in the second quarter due to aggressive store expansion in North America and Europe, despite continued pressure in the UK market.
The sports apparel and footwear retailer posted same-store sales growth of 2.4% year-over-year for the three months ended August 3, recovering from a 0.7% decline in the first quarter as year-over-year comparisons moderated. Growth was particularly strong in North America, where sales were up 5.7%, and in Europe, where sales were up 3%. In contrast, same-store sales in the UK were down 0.8%, but a significant improvement from a 6.4% decline in the previous quarter.
JD Sports also strengthened its presence in North America with the completion of its acquisition of Alabama-based sports fashion retailer Hibbett in the second quarter, expanding to 1,169 stores across 36 states. The company opened 85 new JD stores during the period, furthering its international growth strategy.
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“We look forward to Hibbett's contributions to the growth and development of our U.S. business over the coming years,” CEO Regis Schultz said in a trading call on Thursday.
Looking ahead, JD Sports has reaffirmed its profit guidance, predicting pre-tax profit excluding Hibbett impact and adjustments to be in the range of £955 million to £1.035 billion, however the company remains cautious on its outlook due to ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty.
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