US Markets
U.S. stocks were up on Thursday morning ahead of the U.S. economy reporting expansion in the fourth quarter of 2020 by 4%. For the full year, the GDP contracted at a 3.5% annualized rate, the biggest drop in more than 70 years.
The Dow gained 1.66% to 30,806, the S&P 500 index rose 1.53% to 3,800 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.03% to 13,407.
Gainers
• L Brands Inc (LB, Financial) +7.6%
• The Gap (GPS, Financial) +4.6%
• Anthem Inc (ANTM, Financial) +2.3%
• Texas Instruments (TXN, Financial) +2.1%
• Clorox Co (CLX, Financial) +1.1%
Losers
• Nokia Corporation (NOK, Financial) -20%
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE, Financial) -1.1%
• Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial) -2.5%
• BorgWarner Inc. (BWA, Financial) -1.3%
Global Markets
The main European stock markets were mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 retreated 0.36%, Germany's Dax advanced 0.27%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.93%, and Spain's Ibex 35 was up 0.93%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.53%, India's BSE Sensex slid 1.13%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 2.55% and China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.91%.
Las Vegas Sands releases earnings report
Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS, Financial) jumped more than 2.5% on Thursday morning after the company announced financial results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. It posted a loss of 37 cents per share, falling short of analysts' estimates by 37 cents, on revenue of $1.15 billion, which declined 67.2% year-over-year and fall short of expectations by $120 million.
CEO Robert G. Goldstein had the following to say:
"Turning to our financial results, I am pleased to share that the recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to progress in both Macao and Singapore. Our greatest priority as the recovery continues remains our deep commitment to supporting our team members and to helping those in need in each of our local communities of Macao, Singapore and Las Vegas."
In the quarter, the operating loss was $211 million compared to operating income of $934 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The net loss was $376 million compared to net income of $783 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Further, the consolidated adjusted property Ebitda was $141 million, compared to $1.39 billion in the prior year quarter.
Capital expenditures reached $252 million, including construction, development and maintenance activities of $201 million in Macao, $27 million at Marina Bay Sands and $24 million in Las Vegas.
For the entire year, the operating loss totaled $1.69 billion, lower than operating income of $3.70 billion the previous year. The net loss was $1.69 billion, or $2.21 per diluted share, in the full year, lower than net income of $2.70 billion, or $3.50 per diluted share, in 2019.
Looking ahead, the casino operator remains optimistic about the recovery of travel and tourism spending.
Las Vegas Sands shares have retreated almost 16% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 2.4%.
At the end of September, the T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) reduced its investment in the stock by 1.5% to 2,875,000 shares and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) cut his holding by 3% to 168,140 shares.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
