Blackstone Stock Hits Record High as Assets Under Management Jump
43 minutes ago
Blackstone (BX) shares soared to a record high Thursday after the world’s largest alternative asset manager reported its profit skyrocketed as a result of bringing in more investments.
Net income for the third quarter soared 41.5% from a year ago to $780.8 million, or $1.02 per share. Revenue from management and advisory fees was 8.4% higher at $1.79 billion.
Assets under management (AUM) at Blackstone jumped 9.9% to $1.11 trillion, exceeding analyst expectations, with total inflows of $40.5 billion for the quarter. The gains were led by Blackstone’s credit and insurance unit, which had inflows of $21.4 billion.
Blackstone shares were up about 7% at more than $170 a share in Thursday afternoon trading, and have added nearly one-third of their value so far in 2024.
What Wall Street Thinks of Netflix Stock Ahead of Earnings
1 hr 45 min ago
Netflix (NFLX) earnings are coming after the bell Thursday, with analysts generally bullish on the streamer’s stock—though they aren’t currently calling for large price appreciation.
Of the 20 analysts covering Netflix tracked by Visible Alpha, 15 have “buy” ratings on the shares; there’s only one “sell” rating.
The consensus price target is $732.26, about a 4% premium to Wednesday’s $702 close. The price targets used to determine that average vary from $550 to $820.
Analysts expect the streaming giant to post year-over-year revenue, profit, and subscriber growth ahead of the final quarter of 2024. Netflix shares dipped following the company’s quarterly reports in April and July.
The shares were down about 1% Thursday afternoon, leaving the stock up more than 40% this year.
TSMC Earnings Signal Strong AI Demand, Boosting Chip Stocks
2 hr 54 min ago
Chip stocks rose Thursday after the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), reinvigorated Wall Street’s AI enthusiasm with better-than-expected quarterly results and a rosy financial outlook.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) advanced about 2% on Thursday morning, led by TSMC, up 12%. Shares of Broadcom (AVGO) climbed more than 3%, while Nvidia (NVDA), the chip designer at the heart of the AI craze, rose 2%, as did chip designer Arm Holdings (ARM).
TSMC on Thursday morning said net income increased by more than 50% in the third quarter, far exceeding Wall Street’s estimates. CFO Wendell Huang attributed the company’s results to “strong smartphone and AI-related demand.” CEO C.C. Wei estimated that the contribution of AI processor sales to TSMC’s total revenue would triple this year.
The results underscored the diverging fortunes of companies within the broader semiconductor industry. “While there continue to be strong developments and upside potential in AI, other market segments are taking longer to recover,” said Christophe Fouquet, CEO of Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASML Holding (ASML), earlier this week.
ASML’s warnings sparked a semiconductor sell-off, sinking the SOX index more than 5% on Tuesday. Despite Thursday’s TSMC-led rally, the index remained 3% below its Monday close.
Euro Declines as ECB Cuts Rates Amid Weakening Economy
3 hr 51 min ago
The euro declined against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates for the third time this year as the world’s third-largest economy shows signs of weakening.
The ECB cut its benchmark rate to 3.25% from 3.5% on Thursday, following up on a similar cut at its last meeting in September. The euro declined 0.2% against the dollar.
“Inflation is expected to rise in the coming months, before declining to target in the course of next year,” the ECB said in a statement.
The reduced rate widens the gap between borrowing costs in the European Union and the U.S., where the benchmark federal funds rate stands between 4.75% and 5%.
Elevance Health Stock Plunges on Fall in Medicaid Memberships
4 hr 46 min ago
Elevance Health (ELV) shares cratered Thursday after the insurer posted a lower-than-expected profit and slashed its outlook on falling Medicaid enrollments.
The company reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $4.36, missing analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue was up 5.3% from a year ago to $45.11 billion, which was higher than expected.
Medical membership dropped 3.3% to 45.76 million. Medicaid membership plunged 19% to 8.93 million, which the company blamed on eligibility redeterminations in the government-sponsored health program and other changes in several states.
Elevance said that given its third-quarter results and “the timing mismatch between Medicaid rates and acuity,” it now anticipates full-year adjusted EPS of $33, down from its earlier outlook of $37.20.
Shares of Elevance Health sank over 13% in early trading Thursday, sending them into negative territory for 2024.
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TSMC Stock Jumps on AI-Fueled Earnings Beat
5 hr 30 min ago
U.S.-listed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) shares jumped 9% Thursday morning after the chipmaker posted robust quarterly earnings and projected a buoyant outlook on the back of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
The company, which supplies tech heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), reported a 54% year-over-year rise in third-quarter net income of 325.26 billion New Taiwan dollars ($10.12 billion), up from NT$211 billion. The profit figure beat the NT$300.78 billion consensus estimate of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.
TSMC also reported a 39% jump in revenue to NT$759.69 billion ($23.64 billion) for the quarter and a 57.8% gross margin, above analysts’ estimates and the guidance it gave for both in the second quarter.
TSMC’s upbeat earnings, in contrast to Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding’s (ASML) downbeat outlook earlier in the week, bolstered investor faith in the AI boom, sending shares of AI chip giants Nvidia (NVDA), Arm Holdings (ARM), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) higher.
With Thursday’s gains, TSMC shares have doubled this year.
Stock Futures Advance as TSMC Fuels Chip Stock Rebound
6 hr 38 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2% in premarket trading on Thursday.
S&P 500 futures advanced 0.5%.
Nasdaq 100 futures were nearly 1% higher, lifted by rising semiconductor stocks.