U.S. stocks were in the green on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.62% to 23,625, the S&P 500 Index gained 1.15% to 2,852 and the Nasdaq Composite Index swelled 0.91% to 8,943.
Non-index stocks have also posted gains and losses recently. Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO, Financial) gained 4.5% on Thursday after the company announced third-quarter results. It posted earnings of 79 cents per share, beating estimates by 8 cents. Revenue of $11.98 billion registered a 7.6% year-over-year decline, beating expectations by $130 million.
"We executed well in Q3 in a very challenging environment, delivering strong margins and non-GAAP EPS growth," Chief Financial Officer Kelly Kramer said. "The resiliency that we have been building into our business model is paying off, with software subscriptions now at 74% of our software revenue, up 9 points year over year. We are focused on driving long-term profitable growth while delivering shareholder value."
The total gross margin was 64.9%, the product gross margin was 63.7% and the service gross margin was 67.7%, compared to 63.1%, 62.0% and 66.3% a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, the total gross margin, product gross margin and service gross margin were 66.6%, 65.8% and 68.9%, up from 64.6%, 63.7% and 67.3% in the prior-year quarter.
Moreover, the cash flow from operating activities was $4.2 billion, down 2% from last year.
Cash and cash equivalents and investments totaled $28.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with $33.4 billion at the end of fiscal 2019.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects GAAP earnings per share to be in the range of 57 cents to 62 cents.
During the three months ended March 31, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake to 20,969,492 shares and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) curbed his postition by 30% to 26,500 shares. PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) trimmed its holding by 42% to 10,912,465 shares.
Gainers
- Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG, Financial) +9.8%
- Vornado Realty Trust (VNO, Financial) +8.4%
- Comerica Inc. (CMA, Financial) +8%
- American Express Co. (AXP) +7.4%
- United Rentals Inc. (URI, Financial) +6.7%
Losers
- Coty Inc. (COTY, Financial) -8.2%
- Arista Networks Inc. (ANET, Financial) -3.8%
- Apache Corp. (APA, Financial) -3.5%
- Kroger Co. (KR, Financial) -3.4%
- J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM, Financial) -2.8%
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in the red. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 2.75%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.65%, Germany's Dax declined 1.95% and Spain's Ibex 35 dipped 1.29%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.74%, India’s BSE Sensex declined 2.77%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.45% and China's Shanghai Composite dipped 0.96%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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