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Feb 10, 2025
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McDonald’s Corp. surged 2.8% to $302.46 despite the fast food chain reporting a 1.4% drop in comparable store sales in the U.S. during the fourth quarter ending in December.
Revenue declined to $6.39 billion from $6.41 billion, net income dropped to $2.02 billion from $2.04 billion a year ago, and earnings per diluted share were flat at $2.80.
The fast food operator said traffic was slightly higher than usual at U.S. locations, but high prices kept consumers spending less.
In the fourth quarter, global comparable sales increased 0.4%, same-store sales at U.S. locations declined 1.4%, and international markets increased 0.1%.
The company’s board proposed a quarterly cash dividend of $1.77 per share, payable on March 17 to holders of record on March 3.
In the first half of 2024, McDonald’s introduced a $5 value meal and extended the bargain offering until December.
However, the company had to go through and settle an FDA investigation into its raw yellow onions, which caused E. coli among customers. -
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. gained 0.04% to $270.50 after the hotel operator reported fourth quarter and record full-year results.
Quarterly revenue increased to $642 million from $601 million, net income surged to $505 million from $150 million, and earnings per diluted share rose to $2.06 from 57 cents a year ago.
Hilton repurchased 3.1 million shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter, bringing the total capital return, including dividends, to $781 million for the quarter and $3.0 billion for the full year.
For the first quarter of 2025, the company expects a 2.5% to 3.5% growth in revenue per available room, compared to the same period last year.
Hilton also estimated net income of $373 million to $388 million and earnings per share between $1.52 and $1.58 in the first quarter.
For the year 2025, the company expects net unit growth of 6% to 7%.
The company projects a full-year capital return of approximately $3.3 billion. -
Expedia Inc. surged 10.6% to $190.80 after the travel technology company reported a 13% increase in gross bookings during the fourth quarter ending in December.
Revenue increased 10% to $3.18 billion from $2.89 billion, net income climbed 124% to $299 million from $132 million, and earnings per diluted share jumped 139% to $2.20 from 92 cents a year ago.
The company proposed a first quarter dividend of 40 cents per share, payable on March 27 to holders of record on March 6.
Expedia expects 2025 gross bookings and revenue growth of 4% to 6%.
Travel demand has remained steady in Asia Pacific, aided by the lifting of some visa restrictions in the region, as well as in Europe.
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Verisign Inc. dropped 0.08% to $220 after the provider of internet infrastructure and domain name registry services reported a 3.9% sales growth in the fourth quarter, but profit declined.
Revenue jumped to $395.4 million from $380.4 million, net income declined to $191.5 million from $265.1 million, and earnings per diluted share fell to $2.0 from $2.60 a year ago.
Verisign ended the fourth quarter with 169.0 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 2.1% decrease from a year ago.
In the fourth quarter, the company processed 9.5 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, as compared to 9.0 million for the same period in 2023.
Verisign repurchased 6.6 million shares of its common stock for $1.21 billion during the full year of 2024.
As of December 31, there was $1.02 billion remaining for future share repurchases under the company’s program, which has no expiration date. -
Amazon.com Inc. dropped 2.9% to $231.98 after the company posted fourth-quarter sales, and sales growth outlook disappointed some investors.
Net sales increased to $187.79 billion from $169.96 billion, net income surged to $20.0 billion from $10.6 billion, and earnings per diluted share rose to $1.86 from $1.00 a year ago.
For the first quarter of 2025, the company estimated net sales growth of 5% to 9% to a range of $151.0 billion to $155.5 billion.
Operating income is expected to be between $14.0 billion and $18.0 billion, compared to $15.3 billion in the first quarter last year.
Amazon said it plans to boost capital expenditures to $100 billion in 2025, compared to $83 billion last year, as it continues to make investments in artificial intelligence.
The company faces increased competition from rivals, including OpenAI and Google. -
Costco Wholesale Corp. gained 2.1% to $1,042.9 after the wholesale retailer reported strong January 2025 sales.
Net sales increased 9.2% to $19.51 billion from $17.87 billion a year ago.
Comparable sales in January jumped 7.5%, and e-commerce sales climbed 13.6% from a year earlier.
Excluding the changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, comparable sales increased 9.8%, and e-commerce sales jumped 15.2% year-over-year. -
Yum! Brands Inc. gained 2.3% to $134.25 after the fast food chain reported rising Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut sales in the fourth quarter ending in December, but earnings declined.
Revenue surged 16% to $2.36 billion from $2.04 billion, net income fell 9% to $423 million from $463 million, and earnings per diluted share dropped 8% to $1.49 from $1.62 a year ago.
Same-store sales worldwide rose 1% in the fourth quarter ending in December, led by Taco Bell sales with a 5% increase, while Pizza Hut same-store sales declined 1%, and KFC remained flat.
The company swung to an operating profit of $2 million in the Habit Burger & Grill division, compared to a loss of $10 million a year ago.
Yum! The brand's board approved a 6% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 71 cents from 67 cents per share, payable on March 7 to shareholders of record on February 21. -
Toyota Motors Corp. gained 4.1% to $195.35 after the passenger car manufacturer posted improved sales for the nine-month period from April to December 2024, driven by higher demand for its hybrid electric vehicles.
Revenue in the period increased to ¥35.67 trillion from ¥34.02 trillion, and net income jumped to ¥4.1 trillion from ¥3.95 trillion a year ago.
Sales in Japan and North America decreased, but in Europe and Asia, they increased.
For the fiscal year ending on March 31, Toyota estimated revenues of ¥47 trillion, compared to its previous forecast of ¥46 trillion.
Net income is seen at ¥4.52 trillion, compared to the company’s previous forecast of ¥3.57 trillion.
Toyota estimated vehicle sales in 2025 to decline to 10.85 million from 11.09 million units last year.
The company proposed to repurchase up to 530 million shares for a maximum of ¥1.2 trillion from May 9, 2024 until April 30, 2025. -
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp dropped 1.9% to $82.01 after the IT consulting and outsourcing company reported lower-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter ending in December.
Revenue increased to $5.08 billion from $4.76 billion, net income declined to $546 million from $558 million, and earnings per diluted share fell to $1.10 from $1.11 a year ago.
Order bookings in the fourth quarter increased 11% from a year ago.
The company’s health sciences segment surged 10.4% to $1.54 billion, products and resources was up 11.3% to $1.29 billion, financial services jumped 2.8% to $1.43 billion, and communications, media, and technology was up 0.4% to $811 million.
Sales in North America jumped 3.1%, while U.K. sales were down 5.1%.
For the current quarter, the company estimated revenue growth of 6.5% to 8% in the range of $5.0 billion to $5.1 billion in constant currency.
Full-year 2025 revenue is expected to increase by 3.5% to 6% from $20.3 billion to $20.8 billion, and earnings per share are expected to be between $4.90 and $5.06.
Cognizant repurchased 1.8 million shares for $140 million during the fourth quarter, and as of December 31, there was $1.2 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization.
The company proposed a quarterly cash dividend increase of 3% to 31 cents per share, payable on February 26 to shareholders of record on February 18. -
Alphabet Inc. plunged 7.3% to $192.60 after the parent company of Google and YouTube reported weaker-than-expected revenue in its cloud computing division as it escalates investment in artificial intelligence.
Revenue increased 12% to $96.45 billion from $86.31 billion, net income climbed 28% to $26.54 billion from $20.69 billion, and earnings per diluted share rose 31% to $2.15 from $1.64 a year ago.
Dividend payments to stockholders of Class A, Class B, and Class C shares totaled $2.4 billion for the quarter.
The company is planning to spend $75 billion this year as it continues to build out its artificial intelligence offering.
On Tuesday, China said it would probe Google over violations of antimonopoly laws after Washington slapped 10% levies on Chinese goods.
Although Google services are not accessible in China, the company still operates in the country, primarily focused on sales and engineering for its advertising business. It also has employees working on services including Google Cloud and customer solutions.
Virtually all brands, apart from Apple and Huawei, pay licensing fees to Google to use the Android system on their devices.
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