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Transportation equipment industry

US Stock Futures Fall as Intel and Yahoo Disappoint Investors

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

US stock futures are trading lower after Intel and Yahoo posted disappointing earnings reports in their second-quarter results. Investors will focus on Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony on monetary policy, as well as earnings from big names like General Motors, Pfizer, and eBay. Despite strong economic growth in China, shares of raw-materials makers are under pressure, while a weaker yen has lifted some exporters in Japan.

Key Takeaways:

  • Intel's second-quarter earnings rose 16%, but the chip maker's shares fell 4.4% in after-hours trading as investors had expected higher profit margins.
  • Yahoo's second-quarter profit rose almost sevenfold to $775 million, but excluding a gain on the sale of Google shares, earnings would have been $192 million, or 13 cents a share, in line with analysts' expectations.
  • Chevron increased its bid for Unocal to about $63 a share, bringing its total bid for the nation's ninth-largest oil-and-gas company by reserves to $17.4 billion.
  • Altria Group Inc. is scheduled to report earnings in the afternoon, with analysts projecting earnings of $1.34 a share for the quarter.
  • General Motors is expected to report a 4.8% decline in earnings, while eBay is forecast to report a 6.2% increase in earnings.
  • Pfizer's second-quarter earnings are seen at 44 cents a share excluding certain items, down from 47 cents a share on a comparable basis a year ago.
  • J.P. Morgan Chase is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share.
  • Stock indexes hit fresh highs on Tuesday, with solid contributions from International Business Machines and Merrill Lynch.

Statistics:

  • Dow Jones futures were down 16 points, while Nasdaq futures were off 7.5 points and S&P futures were down 2.3 points.
  • The Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended up 0.2% to 11789.35, with a weaker yen lifting some exporters.
  • The FTSE 100 index was recently higher 0.9% at 5,248.6, boosted by oil, banking, pharmaceutical, and mining stocks.
  • Intel posted a profit of $2.04 billion, or 33 cents a share, slightly ahead of expectations.
  • Yahoo's revenue surged 51% to $1.25 billion.
  • Kraft Foods reported per-share earnings from continuing operations of 45 cents, below Wall Street's expectation for earnings of 47 cents a share.
  • Analysts forecast General Motors to report second-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, compared with $2.36 a share a year earlier.
  • Earnings results at J.P. Morgan Chase are seen coming in at 64 cents a share.
  • Pfizer's second-quarter earnings are seen at 44 cents a share excluding certain items.

Sources:

  • Dow Jones Commodities News Select via Comtex
  • Intel
  • Yahoo Inc.
  • Kraft Foods Inc.
  • General Motors Corp.
  • eBay Inc.
  • J.P. Morgan Chase
  • Pfizer Inc.
  • Altria Group Inc.
  • American Airlines parent AMR
  • Seattle-based bank Washington Mutual
  • Continental Air
  • AT&T Corp.

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