Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tech Stocks: Friday’s Market Report

Nasdaq futures are up 1% in the early trading hours of Friday, responding to the earnings reports of major tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Meta Platforms, just ahead of the January jobs report.

Here are some of Friday’s biggest stock movers:

Winning Big on Wall Street

• Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shares surged more than 15% after the social media giant announced its first-ever dividend and an additional $50 billion in share buybacks following better-than-expected Q4 earnings results. For the upcoming Q1, Meta (META) anticipates total revenue to fall within the range of $34.5 billion to $37 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $33.87 billion. The company has also maintained its full-year expense guidance in the range of $94 billion to $99 billion.
• Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) soared by as much as 7% after reporting upbeat Q4 results with operating income above expectations for the holiday quarter and setting strong guidance for FQ1. The company’s Q1 net sales are predicted to be between $138 billion and $143.5 billion vs. $142.17 billion consensus, or to grow between 8% and 13% compared to Q1 2023, with a favorable impact of approximately 40 basis points from foreign exchange rates. Operating income is expected to be between $8.0 billion and $12.0 billion, with a $0.9 billion lower depreciation expense due to an increase in server useful life starting January 1, 2024.
• Some popular social media platforms were also higher on Friday, riding the success of peer Meta Platforms (META). Snap (NYSE:SNAP), the company behind Snapchat (SNAP), was up 6%, while Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) shares notched a 4% advance.

Stocks in the Red

• Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX) shares plunged over 12% following a combination of mixed Q4 earnings and a pessimistic outlook. For Q1, Skechers (SKX) anticipates a profit ranging from $1.05 to $1.10 per share on revenue of $2.18 billion to $2.23 billion. This falls short of Street estimates, which anticipated $1.20 per share on revenue of $2.2 billion. Looking ahead to 2024, the sportswear company forecasts a profit in the range of $3.65 to $3.85 per share on revenue of $8.6 billion to $8.8 billion. These projections compare unfavorably to estimates of $4.18 per share and $8.93 billion.