U.S. stocks were green on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping's meeting at the G20 Summit tomorrow.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.28% to 26,600, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.57% to 2,941 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.48% to 8,006.
Shares of Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG, Financial) gained more than 4.5% on Friday after the company announced fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Revenue grew 32.5 % from the prior-year quarter to $2.61 billion, falling $50 million short of analysts’ expectations. The company registered earnings of 36 cents per share, missing estimates by 5 cents.
"We launched our largest innovation slate to date while supporting our brands through robust marketing programs," President and CEO Sean Connolly said. "These actions have led to strong consumption growth and steadily improving base velocities in our strategically important frozen and snacks portfolios. I am also pleased with the progress we have made on Pinnacle since we closed the acquisition in October 2018, and the integration remains on-track."
During the quarter, the gross profit rose 23% to $708 million and adjusted gross profit increased 23.7% to $709 million, driven by the addition of Pinnacle's gross profit.
For the full fiscal year, the gross profit increased 12.8% and the adjusted gross profit grew 15.5% on the back of higher productivity. Earnings per share declined 21.5% and adjusted earnings declined 4.7%.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, the company is guiding for organic net sales growth between 1% and 1.5% and reported net sales growth of 13.5% to 14%. It also forecasts an adjusted operating margin between 16.2% and 16.8%.
Gainers
- Western Digital Corp. (WDC, Financial)
- Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ, Financial)
- AbbVie Inc. (ABBV, Financial)
- Edison International (EIX, Financial)
- Illumina Inc. (ILMN, Financial)
Losers
- Dow Inc. (DOW, Financial)
- Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO, Financial)
- Rollins Inc. (ROL, Financial)
- Hess Corp. (HES, Financial)
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded mostly higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.31%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.83%, Germany's Dax jumped 1.04% and Spain's Ibex 35 inched up 0.56%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.29%, India’s BSE Sensex dipped 0.48%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.28% and China's Shanghai Composite closed 0.60% lower.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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