Microsoft reported $3.46 in earnings per share, marking an 18% year-over-year increase, compared to an estimated $3.22. Its revenue jumped by 13% compared to the same period last year and came to $70.07 billion while Wall Street analysts expected $68.42 billion.

The company mostly benefited from the strong performance of its cloud business, which saw a 20% year-over-year increase. The revenue associated with its cloud computing platform Azure grew by 33%, with AI contributing 16 points to the growth. Analysts expected Azure’s revenue to jump by around 30% and AI to contribute 15.6 points of growth.

“We delivered a strong quarter with Microsoft Cloud revenue of $42.4 billion, up 20% (up 22% in constant currency) year-over-year driven by continued demand for our differentiated offerings,” Microsoft executive vice president and CFO Amy Hood shared in a statement.

Microsoft stock closed at $395.26 per share on Wednesday, being 5.57% down year-to-date. The stock then took off in the after-hours, reaching $429.60 per share at one point.

Several other tech stocks rose in the aftermath. Shares of chipmaker Nvidia jumped by 4%, Amazon’s stock rose by 3.08%, and shares of Meta Platforms jumped by 4.2%.

The post Microsoft Stock Soars on Better-Than-Expected Q3 Earnings appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Chipotle had $0.29 in adjusted earnings per share compared to $0.27 in adjusted EPS expected by analysts. Its revenue came at $2.88 billion, marking a 6.4% jump compared to the same period last year but falling short of an estimated $2.95 billion.

Arguably the most worrying thing for the investors was the same-store sales decline in Q1. Chipotle recorded a 0.4% dip while analysts estimated growth of 1.7%. This was the first quarter in which Chipotle’s same-store sales declined since 2020.

According to CEO Scott Boatwright, the poor results can be attributed to more cautious spending of Americans in an uncertain economic environment. 

“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said during a conference call with analysts.

Chipotle has now decided to lower its forecasts for 2025, projecting same-store sales growth in the low-single-digit range compared to the previous prediction of the low-to-medium single-digit range. The company still intends to open between 315 and 345 new locations by the end of the year.

Chipotle’s stock jumped by 3.57% on Wednesday to close at $48.76 per share but still remained 18.58% down year-to-date. Following the earnings report, the stock erased most of its gains and dipped by 2%.

The post Chipotle Misses on Revenue and Same-Store Sales, Stock Slides appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Netflix grew its revenue 13% for the first quarter of 2025, reporting $10.54 billion compared to $10.52 billion expected by analysts. The company’s earnings per share came at $6.61 compared to expectations of $5.71 in EPS.

Netflix stock was largely unscathed by the broader dip in the stock market. It jumped by 1.19% on Thursday, closing at $973.03 per share and being 9.73% up year-to-date. It gained another 3.47% in extended trading.

Wall Street analysts now believe that Netflix stock could be a “safe haven” for investors in the volatile stock market. Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich said in a note that Netflix is “predictable in an unpredictable world” and kept the Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $1,175.

Pivotal Research’s Jeff Wlodarczak said that Netflix is “likely to be highly resilient” even in the global recession scenario. He raised the stock’s price target from$1,250 to $1,350 while maintaining the Buy rating.

Oppenheimer’s analysts also raised their price target from $1,150 to $1,200 with an Outperform rating while Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris upped his price target to $1,150 from the previous $1,100.

The post Netflix’s Resilience Praised by Wall Street Analysts After Strong Q1 Earnings appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Nvidia’s stock, just like the entire U.S. stock market, has been hampered by the ongoing trade war caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Still, Morgan Stanley’s analyst Joseph Moore said in a recent note that he and his team consider Nvidia to be well-positioned to weather the possible challenges in the long run.

“Our view is that the microeconomic impacts for NVIDIA are fairly minimal, particularly because near-term demand remains strong and is already being mitigated; the risk is macro deterioration impacting investment financing,” Moore wrote in a note sent to clients on Thursday.

He added that the ongoing spending on AI chips, a market overwhelmingly controlled by Nvidia, and “relative supply chain flexibility” will help the company outperform “even in a higher tariff environment.”

Moore kept the “Top Pick” designation on Nvidia’s stock alongside an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $162 per share.

After tumbling as low as $94.31 per share last week, Nvidia’s stock rebounded 17.62%. It closed at $110.93 per share but still remains 19.80% down year-to-date.

The post Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Nvidia Stock as its “Top Pick” appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The sell-off intensified on Wednesday after President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs against major U.S. trade partners. It was further fueled on Friday after China responded with the introduction of 34% tariffs on all imports from the U.S.

The Dow Jones plunged by 5.50% or 2,231.07 points to close at 38,314.86. This was the first time ever that the index lost 1,500 points in back-to-back trading sessions. It is 7.41% down for the week and more than 14% down since its record high in December.

Nasdaq, on the other hand, lost 962.82 or 5.82% to end Friday’s session at 15,587.79. It slipped 8.55% for the week and has now lost roughly 23% from December’s all-time high. This puts it in the bear market territory, according to Wall Street’s definition.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at 5,074.08 after a 322.44 or 5.97% dip. It is 8.21% down for the week and 17% down from February’s record.

Experts believe that the stock market is close to bottoming out but that the long-term consequences will be significant.

“While the market may be close to the bottom in the short-term, we are concerned about the impact of a global trade war on long-term economic growth,” Emily Bowersock Hill, the CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, told CNBC in an interview.

The post Dow Jones Crashes More Than 2,200 Points, U.S. Stocks Endure Their Worst Week Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

StubHub will offer shares of Class A common stock and intends to list it on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “STUB.” The company didn’t disclose how many shares it intends to offer or at which price. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group are among the banks that are leading the offering.

In its filing, StubHub said it had $8.7 billion in Gross Merchandise Sales, which represents the total dollar value that its users paid for ticket transactions, in the past year. It also shared various other information including that it sold more than 40 million tickets, had more than one million unique sellers, and attracted customers from 200 countries.

StubHub unveiled plans for an IPO last year, but didn’t proceed due to “unfavorable market conditions.” It also mulled going public directly in 2022, valuing itself at $13 billion according to reports.

StubHub connects buyers and sellers of tickets for live events including sports games, concerts, theater performances, and more. It was founded in 2000 and was one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States by 2006. A year later, eBay acquired the company for $310 million. It changed ownership once again in 2020, when competing platform Viagogo, started by StubHub’s co-founder Eric Baker, bought it for $4.05 billion.

The post Ticketing Marketplace StubHub Files for IPO, Reveals Revenue of $1.77 Billion in 2024 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq performed even better, rising by 1.22% or 212.35 points for a 17,648.45 close. However, it was insufficient to erase losses from the previous two days.

S&P 500 jumped by 0.49% or 27.23 points to close at 5,599.30. The benchmark index still remains close to 3% down since the beginning of the week.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,350.93 points after a slip of 0.20% or 82.55 points. It has now lost 3.4% since Monday morning.

Tech stocks have been leading the rebound, with Nvidia jumping by 6.4% and Tesla gaining 7.6%. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta also recorded gains with Apple being the only member of Magnificient seven to end the day in the red.

After worries about the state of the U.S. economy prompted a broad sell-off in the past couple of days, investors received some encouraging news on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump made tweaks to his tariff policy changes and granted an exemption for U.S. automakers. Additionally, the Labor Department’s report showed that the inflation in February eased, coming below the expectations of economists.

The post Nasdaq and S&P 500 Close in the Green as Stocks Show Signs of Recovery appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wilson, who serves as Chief U.S. Equity Strategist and Chief Investment Officer for Morgan Stanley, sees the S&P 500 tumbling down as low as 5,500 points in the near future. However, a turnaround in the second half of the year is likely and will put the S&P 500 on track to hit 6,500 by the end of 2025.

Wilson based his prediction on perceived lower fiscal spending and the effects that the recent tariff policy changes will have on corporate earnings. The S&P 500’s performance is expected to be volatile “as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better.”

The note also indicated that the S&P 500 could sink as much as 20% in case of recession, but that remains an unlikely scenario at the moment.

“We are not there, but things can change quickly and so it’s useful to know the downside in the bear case to manage one’s risk,” Wilson added.

S&P 500 plummeted by 3.32% last week, closing at 5,770.20 points. The benchmark index is down by 1.68% since the beginning of the year.

The post Morgan Stanley Strategist Predicts a 5% Slump for S&P 500 Amid Growth Risks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the news release from S&P Dow Jones Indices, the four companies will start trading on the S&P 500 on Monday, March 24. They will replace Borgwarner, Teleflex, Celanese, and FMC, which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600.

In order for the companies to qualify for the S&P 500, they need to fulfill several conditions including a market cap of at least $20.5 billion, while meeting standards of profitability, liquidity, and share-float.

DoorDash stock closed at $178.08 per share on Friday for a market cap of $73.97 billion. It then jumped by 6.13% in after-market trading to trade at $189.00.

Williams-Sonoma had a market cap of $23.19 billion after its shares closed at $188.41 per share. The stock increased to $191.61 per share in extended trading.

Expand Energy stock jumped by 2.21% in the after-hours to settle at $98.15 per share. Its latest close price of $96.03 per share gave the company a $22.19 billion market capitalization.

The shares of TKO Group closed at $143.73 per share on Friday with a market cap of $24.54 billion before seeing a 2.62% jump in extended trading.

The post DoorDash and Williams-Sonoma Set to Join S&P 500, Stocks Surge appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Microsoft reported $3.46 in earnings per share, marking an 18% year-over-year increase, compared to an estimated $3.22. Its revenue jumped by 13% compared to the same period last year and came to $70.07 billion while Wall Street analysts expected $68.42 billion.

The company mostly benefited from the strong performance of its cloud business, which saw a 20% year-over-year increase. The revenue associated with its cloud computing platform Azure grew by 33%, with AI contributing 16 points to the growth. Analysts expected Azure’s revenue to jump by around 30% and AI to contribute 15.6 points of growth.

“We delivered a strong quarter with Microsoft Cloud revenue of $42.4 billion, up 20% (up 22% in constant currency) year-over-year driven by continued demand for our differentiated offerings,” Microsoft executive vice president and CFO Amy Hood shared in a statement.

Microsoft stock closed at $395.26 per share on Wednesday, being 5.57% down year-to-date. The stock then took off in the after-hours, reaching $429.60 per share at one point.

Several other tech stocks rose in the aftermath. Shares of chipmaker Nvidia jumped by 4%, Amazon’s stock rose by 3.08%, and shares of Meta Platforms jumped by 4.2%.

The post Microsoft Stock Soars on Better-Than-Expected Q3 Earnings appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Chipotle had $0.29 in adjusted earnings per share compared to $0.27 in adjusted EPS expected by analysts. Its revenue came at $2.88 billion, marking a 6.4% jump compared to the same period last year but falling short of an estimated $2.95 billion.

Arguably the most worrying thing for the investors was the same-store sales decline in Q1. Chipotle recorded a 0.4% dip while analysts estimated growth of 1.7%. This was the first quarter in which Chipotle’s same-store sales declined since 2020.

According to CEO Scott Boatwright, the poor results can be attributed to more cautious spending of Americans in an uncertain economic environment. 

“We could see this in our visitation study, where saving money because of concerns around the economy was the overwhelming reason consumers were reducing the frequency of restaurant visits,” Boatwright said during a conference call with analysts.

Chipotle has now decided to lower its forecasts for 2025, projecting same-store sales growth in the low-single-digit range compared to the previous prediction of the low-to-medium single-digit range. The company still intends to open between 315 and 345 new locations by the end of the year.

Chipotle’s stock jumped by 3.57% on Wednesday to close at $48.76 per share but still remained 18.58% down year-to-date. Following the earnings report, the stock erased most of its gains and dipped by 2%.

The post Chipotle Misses on Revenue and Same-Store Sales, Stock Slides appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Netflix grew its revenue 13% for the first quarter of 2025, reporting $10.54 billion compared to $10.52 billion expected by analysts. The company’s earnings per share came at $6.61 compared to expectations of $5.71 in EPS.

Netflix stock was largely unscathed by the broader dip in the stock market. It jumped by 1.19% on Thursday, closing at $973.03 per share and being 9.73% up year-to-date. It gained another 3.47% in extended trading.

Wall Street analysts now believe that Netflix stock could be a “safe haven” for investors in the volatile stock market. Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich said in a note that Netflix is “predictable in an unpredictable world” and kept the Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $1,175.

Pivotal Research’s Jeff Wlodarczak said that Netflix is “likely to be highly resilient” even in the global recession scenario. He raised the stock’s price target from$1,250 to $1,350 while maintaining the Buy rating.

Oppenheimer’s analysts also raised their price target from $1,150 to $1,200 with an Outperform rating while Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris upped his price target to $1,150 from the previous $1,100.

The post Netflix’s Resilience Praised by Wall Street Analysts After Strong Q1 Earnings appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Nvidia’s stock, just like the entire U.S. stock market, has been hampered by the ongoing trade war caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Still, Morgan Stanley’s analyst Joseph Moore said in a recent note that he and his team consider Nvidia to be well-positioned to weather the possible challenges in the long run.

“Our view is that the microeconomic impacts for NVIDIA are fairly minimal, particularly because near-term demand remains strong and is already being mitigated; the risk is macro deterioration impacting investment financing,” Moore wrote in a note sent to clients on Thursday.

He added that the ongoing spending on AI chips, a market overwhelmingly controlled by Nvidia, and “relative supply chain flexibility” will help the company outperform “even in a higher tariff environment.”

Moore kept the “Top Pick” designation on Nvidia’s stock alongside an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $162 per share.

After tumbling as low as $94.31 per share last week, Nvidia’s stock rebounded 17.62%. It closed at $110.93 per share but still remains 19.80% down year-to-date.

The post Morgan Stanley Remains Bullish on Nvidia Stock as its “Top Pick” appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The sell-off intensified on Wednesday after President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs against major U.S. trade partners. It was further fueled on Friday after China responded with the introduction of 34% tariffs on all imports from the U.S.

The Dow Jones plunged by 5.50% or 2,231.07 points to close at 38,314.86. This was the first time ever that the index lost 1,500 points in back-to-back trading sessions. It is 7.41% down for the week and more than 14% down since its record high in December.

Nasdaq, on the other hand, lost 962.82 or 5.82% to end Friday’s session at 15,587.79. It slipped 8.55% for the week and has now lost roughly 23% from December’s all-time high. This puts it in the bear market territory, according to Wall Street’s definition.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at 5,074.08 after a 322.44 or 5.97% dip. It is 8.21% down for the week and 17% down from February’s record.

Experts believe that the stock market is close to bottoming out but that the long-term consequences will be significant.

“While the market may be close to the bottom in the short-term, we are concerned about the impact of a global trade war on long-term economic growth,” Emily Bowersock Hill, the CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, told CNBC in an interview.

The post Dow Jones Crashes More Than 2,200 Points, U.S. Stocks Endure Their Worst Week Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Kostin initially set a 6,500-point target for the S&P 500 before reducing it to 6,200 points in early March. Now, he believes that the 5,700 points target is more appropriate, taking into consideration the increasing risk of recession as well as uncertainty caused by the changes to tariff policy.

Kostin also noted that the S&P 500 could sink much further in the trend of deteriorating growth outlook and investor confidence persists.

“If the growth outlook and investor confidence deteriorate even further, valuations could decline much more than we forecast,” Kostin wrote. “We continue to recommend investors watch for an improvement in the growth outlook, more asymmetry in market pricing, or depressed positioning before trying to trade a market bottom.”

Kostin’s target put the S&P 500 on track for marginal growth for the rest of 2025. The benchmark index closed at 5,580.94 points on Friday following a 112.37-point or 1.97% drop. It has been 4.90% down since the beginning of the year.

The post Goldman Sachs Lowers S&P 500 Target to 5,700 on Recession Risk and Tariff-Related Uncertainty appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

StubHub will offer shares of Class A common stock and intends to list it on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “STUB.” The company didn’t disclose how many shares it intends to offer or at which price. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group are among the banks that are leading the offering.

In its filing, StubHub said it had $8.7 billion in Gross Merchandise Sales, which represents the total dollar value that its users paid for ticket transactions, in the past year. It also shared various other information including that it sold more than 40 million tickets, had more than one million unique sellers, and attracted customers from 200 countries.

StubHub unveiled plans for an IPO last year, but didn’t proceed due to “unfavorable market conditions.” It also mulled going public directly in 2022, valuing itself at $13 billion according to reports.

StubHub connects buyers and sellers of tickets for live events including sports games, concerts, theater performances, and more. It was founded in 2000 and was one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States by 2006. A year later, eBay acquired the company for $310 million. It changed ownership once again in 2020, when competing platform Viagogo, started by StubHub’s co-founder Eric Baker, bought it for $4.05 billion.

The post Ticketing Marketplace StubHub Files for IPO, Reveals Revenue of $1.77 Billion in 2024 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq performed even better, rising by 1.22% or 212.35 points for a 17,648.45 close. However, it was insufficient to erase losses from the previous two days.

S&P 500 jumped by 0.49% or 27.23 points to close at 5,599.30. The benchmark index still remains close to 3% down since the beginning of the week.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,350.93 points after a slip of 0.20% or 82.55 points. It has now lost 3.4% since Monday morning.

Tech stocks have been leading the rebound, with Nvidia jumping by 6.4% and Tesla gaining 7.6%. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta also recorded gains with Apple being the only member of Magnificient seven to end the day in the red.

After worries about the state of the U.S. economy prompted a broad sell-off in the past couple of days, investors received some encouraging news on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump made tweaks to his tariff policy changes and granted an exemption for U.S. automakers. Additionally, the Labor Department’s report showed that the inflation in February eased, coming below the expectations of economists.

The post Nasdaq and S&P 500 Close in the Green as Stocks Show Signs of Recovery appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Wilson, who serves as Chief U.S. Equity Strategist and Chief Investment Officer for Morgan Stanley, sees the S&P 500 tumbling down as low as 5,500 points in the near future. However, a turnaround in the second half of the year is likely and will put the S&P 500 on track to hit 6,500 by the end of 2025.

Wilson based his prediction on perceived lower fiscal spending and the effects that the recent tariff policy changes will have on corporate earnings. The S&P 500’s performance is expected to be volatile “as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better.”

The note also indicated that the S&P 500 could sink as much as 20% in case of recession, but that remains an unlikely scenario at the moment.

“We are not there, but things can change quickly and so it’s useful to know the downside in the bear case to manage one’s risk,” Wilson added.

S&P 500 plummeted by 3.32% last week, closing at 5,770.20 points. The benchmark index is down by 1.68% since the beginning of the year.

The post Morgan Stanley Strategist Predicts a 5% Slump for S&P 500 Amid Growth Risks appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the news release from S&P Dow Jones Indices, the four companies will start trading on the S&P 500 on Monday, March 24. They will replace Borgwarner, Teleflex, Celanese, and FMC, which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600.

In order for the companies to qualify for the S&P 500, they need to fulfill several conditions including a market cap of at least $20.5 billion, while meeting standards of profitability, liquidity, and share-float.

DoorDash stock closed at $178.08 per share on Friday for a market cap of $73.97 billion. It then jumped by 6.13% in after-market trading to trade at $189.00.

Williams-Sonoma had a market cap of $23.19 billion after its shares closed at $188.41 per share. The stock increased to $191.61 per share in extended trading.

Expand Energy stock jumped by 2.21% in the after-hours to settle at $98.15 per share. Its latest close price of $96.03 per share gave the company a $22.19 billion market capitalization.

The shares of TKO Group closed at $143.73 per share on Friday with a market cap of $24.54 billion before seeing a 2.62% jump in extended trading.

The post DoorDash and Williams-Sonoma Set to Join S&P 500, Stocks Surge appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.