Breaking News
Mar 7, 2024
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The U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased to $67.4 billion in January from the revised $64.2 billion in December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.
The trade deficit in goods and services was the widest in nine months, after exports struggled to advance and imported energy rebounded.
Exports edged up 0.1% to $257.2 billion, and imports advanced 1.1% to $324.6 billion.
The goods and services deficit decreased $2.9 billion from a year ago, or 4.1%, after exports fell 0.4%, or $1.0 billion, and imports decreased 1.2%, or $3.9 billion.
The January increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $3.0 billion to $91.6 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.3 billion to $24.2 billion.
The U.S. recorded a goods deficit with China of $22.9 billion, the European Union $18.1 billion, Mexico $12.7 billion, Vietnam $8.5 billion, Japan $7.3 billion, Germany $6.3 billion, Ireland $6.0 billion, Canada $5.7 billion, South Korea $5.5 billion, Taiwan $4.8 billion, Italy $3.8 billion, and India $3.7 billion.
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The number of job openings decreased by 86,000 to 8.9 million in January from the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The job openings measure is down from a series high of 12.2 million in March 2022.
In January, job openings increased in nondurable goods manufacturing by 82,000 but decreased in private educational services by 41,000.
Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed, at 5.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively.
The number of job openings for December was revised down by 137,000 to 8.9 million, the number of hires was revised up by 166,000 to 5.8 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by 54,000 to 5.4 million.
In 2023, the annual average job opening level was 9.4 million, a decrease of 1.8 million from 2022. The annual average job opening rate was 5.7 percent in 2023, compared to 6.8 percent in 2022. -
Duolingo soared 20.1% to $235.56 after the language learning platform estimated strong revenue guidance in the fiscal first quarter and full-year after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Total revenue in the fourth quarter increased 45% to $151 million from $103 million, net income swung to $12.1 million from a loss of $13.9 million, and diluted earnings per share were 29 cents compared to a loss of 35 cents a year ago.
Cash flow from operating activities was $49.2 million compared to $11.6 million in the prior year quarter, and free cash flow was $47.7 million compared to $11.3 million in the prior year quarter.
Total bookings increased 51% from a year ago to $191 million, and paid subscribers surged 57% to 6.6 million at the end of the quarter. -
Personal income unexpectedly increased by 1.0%, while personal expenditure declined by 0.1%, according to the data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, an alternative measure of inflation that accounts for product substitution by consumers, increased by 0.3% on the month and by 2.4% from a year ago.
The December price index was downwardly revised to an increase of 0.1%.
The core price index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.4% for the month and rose 2.8% from a year ago as consumers continued to shift spending to services from goods.
Core inflation accelerated from an increase of 0.1% in December.
Services prices increased by 0.6% and goods prices decreased by 0.2% from the previous year, respectively, and the changes were larger when compared to the data a year ago.
Services prices rose 3.9%, and goods prices declined 0.5% from a year ago.
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Birkenstock edged up 0.3% to $52.12 after the newly listed German sandals company reported higher revenue and narrowed its loss in the holiday quarter.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 22% to Є302.9 million from Є248.5 million, net loss shrank to Є7.15 million from Є9.19 million, and diluted loss per share fell to 4euro cents from 5 euro cents a year ago. -
Best Buy increased 4.8% to $83.46 after the electronics retailer reported a smaller-than-expected decline in sales.
Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter ending on February 3rd declined to $14.65 billion from $14.73 billion, net income fell to $460 million from $495 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to $2.12 from $2.23 a year ago.
In the quarter, the company returned a total of $268 million to shareholders through dividends of $198 million and share repurchases of $70 million.
For the full year, the company returned a total of $1.1 billion to shareholders through dividends of $801 million and share repurchases of $340 million.
The company announced its board of directors approved a 2% increase in the regular quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share payable on April 11 to shareholders of record on March 21.
The retailer guided fiscal 2025 earnings per share in the range of $5.75 to $6.20 and anticipated revenue between $41.3 billion and $42.6 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, Best Buy expects comparable sales to decline by approximately 5%, with a non-GAAP operating income rate of around 3.4%, matching the rate in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. -
Salesforce inched up 0.5% to $301.36 after the customer relationship management software reported better-than-expected quarterly results but guided revenue growth of less than 9% in the current fiscal year.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 11% to $9.29 billion, net income swung to a profit of $1.44 billion from a loss of $98 million, and diluted earnings per share were $1.47 compared to a loss of 10 cents a year ago.
The company guided fiscal year 2025 first quarter revenue between $9.12 billion and $9.17 billion, and GAAP diluted earnings per share between $1.42 and $1.44.
For the full-year fiscal year 2025, the company estimated revenue between $37.7 billion and $38.0 billion, and GAAP diluted earnings per share between $6.07 and $6.15. -
Okta soared 24.5% to $108.50 after the identity software management company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and estimated higher-than-expected quarterly results.
Fourth quarter revenue increased 19% to $605 million, net loss shrank to $44 million from $153 million, and diluted loss per share decreased to 26 cents from 95 cents a year ago.
Net cash provided by operations in the quarter increased to $174 million, or 29% of total revenue, compared to net cash provided by operations of $76 million, or 15% of total revenue, in the quarter a year ago.
Free cash flow was $166 million, or 28% of total revenue, compared to $72 million, or 14% of total revenue, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. -
AutoZone rose 2% to $2,825.0 after the automotive parts retailer reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in its fiscal second quarter.
Revenue in the fiscal second quarter rose 4.6% to $3.85 billion from $3.69 billion, net income increased to $515.03 million from $476.5 million, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $28.89 from $24.64 a year ago.
Same-store sales increased 3.0%, driven by a 0.3% increase in domestic sales and a 23.9% rise in sales at international locations.
AutoZone repurchased 84,000 shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $2,676, for a total of $223.8 million.
At the end of the fiscal second quarter ending on February 10, the company had $2.1 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.
During the quarter, AutoZone opened 19 new stores and closed three in the U.S., opened six new stores in Mexico, and opened four in Brazil, for a total of 26 net new stores.
As of February 10, the retailer had 6,332 stores in the U.S., 751 in Mexico, and 108 in Brazil, for a total store count of 7,191. -
Lowe's Companies decreased 0.6% to $230.01 after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Revenue in the fourth quarter declined to $18.6 billion from $22.4 billion, net income increased to $1.02 billion from $957 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $1.77 from $1.58 a year ago.
Prior-year quarterly sales included approximately $1.4 billion from the additional 53rd week, as well as $958 million generated from the sale of its Canadian retail business.
Comparable sales for the quarter decreased 6.2% due to a slowdown in home renovation demand and unfavorable January winter weather, while pro-customer comparable sales were flat for the quarter.
The retailer also estimated full-year revenue in the current fiscal year to decline between $84 billion and $85 billion, from $86.4 billion in the fiscal year 2023.
During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 1.9 million shares for $404 million, and it repurchased 29.9 million shares for $6.3 billion in the year.
The company also paid $633 million in dividends in the fourth quarter and $2.5 billion in dividends for the year.
In total, the company returned $8.9 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in the fiscal year 2023.
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