After-Hours Recap: Markets & Oil Fall; Earnings Have Stocks Moving After The Bell

After a strong start to the week, stocks tumbled on Thursday, after the European Central Bank (ECB) left interest rates unchanged. Also weighing on the main U.S. stock indexes were a decline in oil prices and defensive sectors, and several other earnings calls – into which we will look below.

The S&P 500 Index lost 0.52 percent, with Alliance Data Systems Corporation ADS, down 7.03 percent on its earnings call, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX, down 6.88 percent, having posted the largest declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63 percent. Among the biggest decliners were Travelers Companies Inc TRV, which lost 5.85 percent on its earnings announcement, and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, which fell 3.3 percent after warning investors about the financial impact of an ongoing labor strike.

The Nasdaq 100 Index slipped 0.05 percent, partly driven by losses at Mattel, Inc. MAT, which plummeted 5.78 percent on worst-than-expected financial results, and Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM, down 3.97 percent on Thursday trading.

On the other hand, there’s Viacom, Inc. VIAB, the largest gainer among the stocks included in the aforementioned indexes. The shares spiked 13.86 percent after the company announced a multi-year renewal of its carriage contract with DISH Network Corp DISH, which rose 1.43 percent on Thursday.

Earnings & After-Hours Movers

Shares of Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL were trading down more than 4 percent on Thursday’s after-hours session, following the announcement of the company’s first quarter financial results. The tech giant reported earnings of $7.50 per share, $0.47 below the Street’s consensus. Revenue of $20.26 billion also came in $110 million under expectations. Management said a large responsible for the miss was a decline in ad prices.

In the morning, Under Armour Inc UA posted earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.02 higher than the Street expected. Revenue of $1.05 billion also beat estimates by $30 million. Shares gained 6.8 percent on Thursday trading.

Starbucks Corporation SBUX delivered earnings of $0.39 per share, in line with the Street’s consensus. However, revenue of $4.99 billion missed expectations by $40 million. It should be noted that while global comparable store sales continued to grow, the 6 percent rate implied a deceleration from the 8 percent rate seen in the previous quarter. Shares were down more than 5 percent since the bell rang this afternoon.

Microsoft Corporation MSFT was also down about 4.2 percent in Thursday’s after-hours session, after the company retrieved third quarter earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.02 below the Street’s consensus, on in-line revenue of $22.1 billion. Although sales met expectations, they fell 5.5 percent on a GAAP basis, driven by continued weakness in the PC market and currency headwinds. On the other hand, the company’s cloud segment rose 8 percent in constant currency

Yet another decliner on Thursday’s after-hours session was Visa Inc V, which reported earnings of $0.68 per share after the market closed, beating the Street’s consensus of $0.69 per share. Revenue of $3.63 billion also came in $30 million above expectations. However, the stock was tumbling as the company warned about weak global spending driven by “continued headwinds” of the U.S. dollar, depressed oil prices, and an "uneven" global economy.

Another interesting earnings call that took place after the market closed on Thursday was that of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, which was up almost 23 percent in after-hours. The small cap tech company posted a net loss of $(0.12) per share, $0.01 slimmer than the Street expected, on revenue of $832 million, which beat estimates by $13.84 million. These results, added to a strong second quarter guidance, and the disclosure of a joint venture and licensing deal with Chinese firm THATIC, were helping the stock post such strong gains.

Among the stocks moving in after-hours on the back of their earnings calls were:

• Skechers USA Inc SKX, up 6.75 percent
• Boston Beer Co Inc SAM, down 10.2 percent
• Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC, up 4.1 percent
• Trinity Industries Inc TRN, down 3 percent
• Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. HA, down 2.1 percent
• E*TRADE Financial Corp ETFC, down 0.55 percent
• Swift Transportation Co SWFT, up 0.75 percent
• Southwestern Energy Company SWN, up 4.3 percent
• Hanesbrands Inc. HBI, up 6.4 percent

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.