In Thursday premarket trading, American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial) declined after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 95 cents on revenue of $10.6 billion, with both figures beating expectations by three cents in earnings and $40 million in revenue. The revenue rose by 8.03% year-over-year.
Chairman and CEO Doug Parker was glad with the progress made due to significant investments in people, product and operations. “Our operation continues to deliver record-setting performance for the company, and the credit goes to our team members who are simply the best in the business. “We enter 2018 with strong momentum. Demand for American’s reliable, friendly service remains strong, our network is expanding, and the products we are bringing to market are resonating with customers.”
Another stock in the red is Ford Motor Company (F, Financial), whose stock lost ground on the back of the company posting its financial results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2017. For the quarter, the company reported an annual net sales growth of 6.7% to $41.3 billion, while its profit advanced to 39 cents per share. While the results were in-line with analysts’ estimates, revenue beats by $4.31 billion in revenue.
CEO Jim Hackett said, “In 2017, we made tremendous progress in laying the foundation for our strategy -- smart vehicles for a smart world -- from accelerating our connected vehicles plans to expanding our AV and EV work. As we move into 2018, we are intensely focused on improving the operational fitness of our business to deliver strong results while continuing to build toward our vision of the future”.
Looking ahead, analysts’ estimate for first-quarter 2018 EPS is 44 cents on revenues of $37.49 billion. For the full year, it is expected $1.62 in EPS and revenues of $143.85 billion.
F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV, Financial)’s stock is in the green on the back of the company reporting yesterday its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2018. The company posted an adjusted EPS of $2.26 on revenue of $523.2 million. Moreover, the company managed to beat the EPS expectations by 22 cents and $2.11 million in revenue. The company´s growth was fueled by services and software solutions segment.
For the next quarter, the company plans to achieve revenue in the range of $525 million to $535 million and GAAP earnings between $1.66 and $1.69 per diluted share and non-GAAP earnings from $2.24 to $2.27 per diluted share.
Microsoft (MSFT)’s stock has moved in positive territory as the analysts at JPMorgan (JPM) are more bullish on the company today, as they raised the stock price target to $87 from $78.
(Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned).
