US Stocks Fall on Thursday

Texas Instruments shares tumble despite strong fourth-quarter results

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Jan 23, 2020
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U.S. stocks were in the red on Thursday on the back of global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak in China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23% to 29,118, the S&P 500 index declined 0.10% to 3,318 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.04% to 9,387.

Non-index stocks have also posted gains and losses recently. Shares of Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN, Financial) fell 0.3% on Thursday after the company announced fourth-quarter 2019 results. The company posted earnings of $1.11 per share, beating estimatesby 7 cents. Revenue of $3.35 billion also beat expectations by $140 million.

For the quarter, the gross margin was 62.6%, down 210 basis points from the prior-year quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 120 basis points year over year to $412 million and research and development expenses inched up 70 basis points to $414 million when compared to a year ago. The operating margin was37.3%, down 350 basis points from last year.

Cash flow from operations was $6.6 billion for the year and free cash flow was $5.8 billion, accounting for 40% of revenue.

Moreover, the company returned cash to investors through $6 billion in stock repurchases and dividends.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2020, the company expects revenue between $3.12 billion and $3.38 billion and earnings per share in the range of 96 cents to $1.14.

During the quarter ended Sept. 30, Al Gore (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake by 5% to 5,483,228 shares. Mario Gabelli reduced his position to 150,819 shares. On the other hand, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) increased his holding by 1.5% to 467,683 shares and Tom Gayner boosted his position by 4% to 703,500 shares.

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Global markets

The main European stock markets traded in the red.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.85%, France's CAC 40 slid 0.65%, Germany's Dax dipped 0.94% and Spain's Ibex 35 slipped 0.58%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell0.98%, India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.66%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated1.52% and China's Shanghai Composite sank 2.75%.

Disclosure:The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.

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