Stock market today, July 24, 2014: U.S. markets were mixed on Thursday on lackluster economic data. Industrial giant Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE: CAT) poor quarterly report offset gains from Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB). Shares of Caterpillar were off more than 3% after the company raised its yearly outlook but posted a quarterly decline. Shares of Facebook were up more than 6.5% hitting a new intraday record.
And here are the top stories that affected the stock market today…
The earnings calendar is jam-packed this week with big results from Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA) most recently, and results are helping the Standard & Poor's 500 Index hit record highs.
S&P 500 companies are beating on EPS and revenue at a rate not seen in years. The index components that have reported are beating revenue consensus estimates by 1.43% on average.
Earnings dominate today's hot stocks to watch list, and some are sizzling hot numbers...
A strong quarter from the world’s largest social networking giant was expected, and Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) delivered. Profit, revenue, and user count numbers were all solidly higher.
FB stock rose on the news. Here’s what Facebook is doing right...
This week is the peak of second quarter earnings season.
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) stock was rattled Tuesday when Fed Chair Janet Yellen singled out valuations on social media stocks as "stretched." FB stock slipped 1.08% to $67.17. Facebook shares were quick with a rebound, however, bouncing back 0.49% to $67.66 by Wednesday's close.
Next week Facebook will come under intense scrutiny again when the company reports second-quarter earnings.
Here’s a full breakdown of what analysts will be looking for in FB earnings…
Social media stocks are off to a good start in 2015, with Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) still leading the group.
Facebook's stock is up 14% over the past year to around $80 a share, and FB now has nearly the same market cap as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). Facebook has 1.31 billion active users. And it released a "revolutionary" marketing platform that will challenge the likes of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL).
But a question that must be clear to investors is exactly how do social media companies make money?
It's easy to see why investors pile into a company's stock on the heels of highly successful products, technologies, or services.
Investors rewarded Apple shares after their steady flow of innovative product launches, while Google shares have been on an almost uninterrupted rise since its 2004 IPO.
Even Facebook has recovered nicely after its initial IPO debacle.
In each of those examples it's tempting to focus on the products the company offers, to draw a direct line to their success. iPhones and the introduction of stylish touchscreen interfaces in the case of Apple, the aggregation and accessibility of all things data-related in the case of Google, or just mere self-indulgence in the case of Facebook.
What's important to notice, though, is that in each case we likely wouldn't be talking about them had it not been for shrewd leadership at the top.
For small caps, finding the right leader can prove a more critical "spark" to major profits... Full Story
Alibaba stock could start trading on the New York Stock Exchange as soon as next month, and the Chinese e-commerce IPO is expected to be one of the largest U.S. IPOs ever.
But for those who buy Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) stock following its public debut, the size of the initial public offering pales in comparison to the performance of BABA stock.
2014 Q2 Earnings Calendar: The unofficial start to earnings season launches today (Tuesday) with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reporting second quarter numbers after the close.
It's Independence Day tomorrow, so here's a story about your freedom to think about and act on.
News came to light this week that a Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) data scientist named Adam Kramer conducted an experiment on 689,003 users of the social network site over a seven-day stretch in January 2012.
Stock market today, July 3, 2014: Dow Jones futures edged higher this morning (Thursday) by 0.1%, following a DJI record finish on Wednesday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures also signaled gains, up 0.12% and 0.24% respectively.
This morning, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.1%, as the economy added another 288,000 jobs, crushing street estimates of 215,000.
Here's what you should know is going on in the stock market today to make your Thursday profitable:
Dow Jones Industrial Average Today, July 1, 2014: flirted within two points of 17,000 on Tuesday, as transportation, technology, and small-cap stocks surged. The Nasdaq led the day by percentage gains, jumping more than 1.2%. The exchange's gains were fueled by Netflix, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: NFLX) gain of 6.5% after it received an upgrade from Goldman Sachs' analysts.
Here’s the scorecard from today’s trading session:
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) stock has been logging impressive gains, and the company's strategic acquisitions continue to bolster investor confidence.
But a recent study in which Facebook tweaked the content mix in the news feeds of almost 690,000 users for one week in early 2012 could erode users' trust - and raises concerns about privacy all over again.
It was announced today that Alibaba stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a report today (Thursday) from Bloomberg.
The report indicates that the Chinese e-commerce giant could announce the decision in a revised IPO prospectus as early as this afternoon.
Facebook stock update: Reports of Facebook Inc.'s (Nasdaq: FB) demise among teens appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
According to a recent study from Forrester Research, titled "Why the Sky Isn't Falling on the World's Favorite Social Network," Facebook is still the go-to site among youth for social media.
