Stock market news for Friday, July 25, 2014: U.S. markets were mixed Thursday on lackluster economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.02%, the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.04%, and the S&P 500 continued its positive push this week, finishing up 0.05%.
Here is a roundup of Friday's top stock market news:
Unwrapping AMZN: Amazon stock (Nasdaq: AMZN) slipped by more than 10% in post-market hours yesterday. The company said its largest loss since 2012 is due to problems within its cloud computing business and that it continues to invest in new businesses and gadgets. The company reported a net quarterly loss of $126 million, dampening investor sentiment. On Thursday, the company was trading at a staggering price-to-earnings ratio of 561.
- Radio Problems: Shares of Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) slipped nearly 9% in post-market trading after the company announced plans to reinvest its profits back into the business. The company's earnings report was stronger than expected and sent shares up 4% yesterday before the downturn. The company announced that listener hours increased by 29%, but it wasn't enough to instill faith from investors. Pandora is also facing new competition in streaming from tech giants Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), who both purchased streaming competitors in recent months.
- Big Changes: Shares of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) remain flat after the company announced that Gregory Foran will replace Bill Simon as chief executive officer for U.S. operations. Foran is the former head of operations in China.
- Today's Economic Calendar: Today's light schedule features durable goods orders.
- Crazy Chicken: Today's IPO schedule will be a little crazy. Mexican food-chain El Pollo Loco will begin trading today after its initial public offering priced 7.1 million shares at $15 each. The company will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker "LOCO."
- Back in Business: The Securities and Exchange Commission will end its suspension of Cynk Technology (Nasdaq: CYNK) today. The company, which has one employee and saw its share rise more than 23,000% since June 16, was suspended from trading after the Federal agency questioned whether the price had been manipulated by traders.
- Coffee Creamed: Shares of Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) were down more than 3% in premarket trading despite the company beating earnings estimates in the second quarter. The company reported a 23% rise in earnings thanks to stronger consumer traffic. Still SBUX remains vulnerable to rising coffee prices and has been linked to a recent scandal in Asia over expired meat sales that has enflamed consumers across the continent.
- Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Aaron's Inc. (NYSE: AAN), Covidien Plc. (NYSE: COV), NuStar Energy LP (NYSE: NS), Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX), and American Electric Power Company Inc. (NYSE: AEP).
Full U.S. Economic Calendar July 25, 2014 (NYSE: all times EDT)
- Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 a.m.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.