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The reports renewed questions about global economic demand, the effect of higher interest rates and whether the market's January rally got ahead of itself. Apple, the world's largest publicly traded company, fell short of expectations, hurt by lower iPhone sales and production disruptions in China. Amazon said operating profits could fall this quarter due to lower demand, and Alphabet's online advertisers cut back their spend as well. Shares of the three companies dropped after the results were released and were expected to drag the market lower Friday following a euphoric rally Thursday. These three firms and Microsoft (MSFT.O), the four U.S. companies with trillion-dollar market values, have led the broad-market S&P 500 in 2023.

☆ Big Tech earnings show digital ads market not out of the woods
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. Google-owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) on Thursday reported a slight fall in quarterly ad revenue, missing Wall Street expectations and surprising investors as the world's largest digital ad platform has traditionally been resilient compared to smaller rivals. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), the second-largest digital ad platform, lifted Wall Street on Wednesday with its cost cuts and big share buyback, though it posted its third consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue decline. Lower ad spending from brands in the financial services and technology sector was one reason for the revenue decline, the company said. Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta Platforms Shares Surge on Cost Cuts, Stock Buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Denny Jacob | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta Platforms Inc. shares jumped Thursday after a tough 2022, when a slowdown in advertising spending, among several factors, weighed down on the stock. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. shares are on pace for their best day in nearly a decade after the company embraced investor-friendly moves including boosting its stock through a $40 billion buyback and cutting expenses in the face of increased competition. Shares of the social-media company jumped 27% to $193.95 in midday trading Thursday and are up 61% year to date. The stock is on pace for its largest percentage increase since July 2013, when it rose nearly 30%.

☆ Apple's lower iPhone sales drive first profit miss since 2016
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Apple sales fell 5% to $117.2 billion and were down in every part of the world in the quarter. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters that the production disruptions that plagued Apple's key quarter were now over. "I would point out that 8% is still a very severe headwind," Cook told Reuters. On top of supply chain problems for the iPhone, Wall Street analysts had expected iPhone sales to fall this year as part of a larger pattern in which the iPhone 14 family released last year sells more slowly after two straight years of strong sales of iPhone 12 and 13 models. Apple said iPhone sales were $65.8 billion, down 8% from the year before and below analyst estimates of $68.3 billion.

☆ FTC Denies Meta’s Bid to Disqualify Chair Lina Khan From Antitrust Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Members of the Federal Trade Commission rejected a complaint from Meta Platforms Inc. asking them to disqualify the agency’s chair from judging the company’s proposed acquisition of virtual-reality company Within Unlimited Inc. The FTC voted 2-1, along partisan lines, to allow Lina Khan to participate in the legal case against the Meta-Within deal, according to an order made public Thursday. The agency’s Democratic commissioners said federal ethics rules don’t require Ms. Khan’s disqualification, even if her prior work and statements were critical of Meta, the Facebook owner that rebranded itself as a company focused on developing immersive virtual worlds, or metaverses.

☆ Meta surges on cost cut, buyback plans; lifts mega-cap stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) soared nearly 20% in premarket trading on Thursday as the Facebook parent wooed investors with plans to rein on costs and a new $40 billion share buyback. Meta plans to cut costs in 2023 by $5 billion to between $89 billion and $95 billion compared with its earlier outlook of $94 billion to $100 billion, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." If premarket gains hold, the company would add nearly $76 billion to its $401.51 billion market value. Meta results also sparked a rally in shares of other mega-cap firms that are set to report quarterly results later in the day. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Google owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) rose about 4% each, while Apple Inc (AAPL.O) firmed 1.1%.

Across the company, Alphabet will "meaningfully" slow its pace of hiring this year, said Porat. Net income fell to $13.62 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $20.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit of $1.05 per share fell short of an expected $1.18 per share, according to Refinitiv. Revenue from Google advertising, which includes Search and YouTube, fell 3.6% to $59.04 billion. Late last month, the Justice Department and eight states sued Google over what they said were anticompetitive practices in its digital ad sales.

The Fed, ECB, and BoE have spoken, and the market's message is: We hear you, but we don't believe you. Wall Street and world stocks have jumped, bond yields are tumbling, and economists and rates futures markets are scaling back central bank hiking expectations. Contrary to what policymakers are surely aiming for, financial conditions are easing. According to Goldman Sachs, U.S. financial conditions are the loosest since August and have eased 150 basis points since mid-October. The falling dollar and lower Treasury yields have helped loosen financial conditions across most of emerging Asia in recent weeks too.

☆ Nasdaq futures jump more than 1% on Meta surge, Fed relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures: Nasdaq up 1.44%, S&P up 0.50%, Dow down 0.13%,Feb 2 (Reuters) - Nasdaq futures jumped on Thursday as Meta Platforms surged after announcing rigorous cost controls, while a dovish message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted bets of a softer landing for the U.S. economy. Shares of other growth companies including Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) rose between 1.1% and 4.3%. The three companies are slated to report quarterly results after market close. ET, Dow e-minis were down 45 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 20.75 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 179 points, or 1.44%. A 0.2% decline in shares of drugmaker Merck & Co (MRK.N) ahead of its quarterly report weighed on Dow futures.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) stricter cost controls this year and a new $40 billion share buyback sent shares soaring on Wednesday, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." The parent of Instagram and Facebook cut its cost outlook for 2023 by $5 billion to a range of $89 billion-95 billion, and projected first-quarter sales that could beat Wall Street estimates. Shares of peer Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) were up 3.3% and Snap Inc (SNAP.N) stock rose 1% in after-hours trade on Wednesday. "Despite all the challenges Meta must deal with, there are signs the business is still doing well," Cohen said. The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared with analysts' average estimates of $27.14 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) stricter cost controls this year and a new $40 billion share buyback sent shares soaring on Wednesday, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." The parent of Instagram and Facebook cut its cost outlook for 2023 by $5 billion and projected first-quarter sales that could beat Wall Street estimates. The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared with analysts' average estimates of $27.14 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Meta stock was up 18.3% in after-hours trade. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.76 per share, missing the average analysts' estimate of $2.22 per share.

☆ Morning Bid: Riding the Fed dragon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Feb 2 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in markets from Stephen Culp, New York stock market reporter. "The door is cracking open to end rate hikes, but they still have a chance for one more rate hike at the next meeting," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. "Inflation data continues to show major improvements, which is exactly what the Fed needs to take their foot off the pedal." The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to hike their key interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday. Fourth-quarter earnings season is running on all cylinders, with 190 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported already.

☆ FTC Loses Antitrust Challenge to Facebook Parent Meta
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Dave Michaels | Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—A federal judge declined to halt Meta Platforms Inc.’s acquisition of the virtual-reality startup Within Unlimited, delivering a setback to antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission seeking to block the deal, a person familiar with the ruling said. In a sealed court decision issued overnight, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, Calif., denied the FTC’s request for an injunction blocking the proposed merger, the person said.

The Fed is widely seen as raising its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in its first policy meeting of the year, after rapid increases in 2022 to tame decades-high inflation. That's the Fed's issue as they finish up their two-day policy meeting today," Turnquist added. All of the 11 major sectors on the S&P 500 were down, with technology shares (.SPLRCT) falling the least. Seventy percent of the 200 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported fourth-quarter earnings have topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts now see earnings of S&P 500 firms declining 2.4% for the quarter, per Refinitiv estimates.

Investors will also parse Chair Jerome Powell's news conference for clues on the trajectory of future rate hikes. All of the 11 major sectors on the S&P 500 were down, with the technology shares (.SPLRCT) falling the least. Dow component Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) slipped 3.7% as the drugmaker said its fourth-quarter revenue fell slightly. With nearly 200 companies in the S&P 500 having reported fourth-quarter earnings, about 70% have topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts now see earnings of S&P 500 firms declining 2.4% for the quarter, per Refinitiv estimates.

☆ Meta Platforms Poised to Post Earnings Drop From Digital-Ad Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is expected to post its third quarter in a row of declining sales as it struggles with weak advertiser demand in an increasingly competitive social-media landscape. Meta is expected to report quarterly revenue of nearly $31.6 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet, or a 5.5% drop compared with a year ago. The company’s sales slump has accelerated in recent months after falling less than 1% in the June quarter and around 4.5% in the three months ended in September.

Investors will also parse Chair Jerome Powell news conference for clues on the trajectory of future rate hikes. Meanwhile, the ADP National Employment report showed that private payrolls increased by 106,000 in January, lower than expectations of 178,000 additions. Snap Inc (SNAP.N) tumbled 12.5% after the social media company said it expects current-quarter revenue to decline by as much as 10%. ET, Dow e-minis were down 138 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 9.75 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8.25 points, or 0.07%. Dow Jones Industrial Average component (.DJI) Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) dipped 0.6% as the drugmaker said its fourth-quarter revenue fell slightly.

☆ Analysis: Hawkish Fed could hobble volatility funds’ stock buying spree
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The S&P 500’s (.SPX) 6.2% surge in January has been accompanied by a drop in measures of volatility across the board. The drop in market gyrations has triggered a buy-signal for certain computer-driven strategies including volatility control funds, risk parity funds and Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs). Volatility control funds have raised their equity allocation to a nine-month high of 57.7%, strategists at Deutsche Bank wrote on Friday. Grinacoff, of BNP Paribas, estimates volatility control funds have assets of about $275 billion, while CTAs, not all of which have a volatility control strategy, as a group have $800 billion allocated across strategies. "Market volatility measured by VIX remains stuck above the 18 level, which is its long-term average.

☆ Meta Platforms Stock Rises After Posting Upbeat Outlook for Coming Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted its third quarter in a row of declining sales but issued an upbeat outlook as it navigates weak advertiser demand in an increasingly competitive social-media landscape. Meta on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue of $32.2 billion, or a drop of 4.5% from a year earlier, beating Wall Street estimates. The company’s sales slump has accelerated in recent months after falling less than 1% in the June quarter and around 4.5% in the three months ended in September.

☆ Meta's Q4 beat and commitment to cost cuts is exactly what we've been waiting for
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Meta Platforms (META) reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat Wednesday, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg labeled 2023 the "year of efficiency" in an effort reassure nervous investors like us that the technology giant is serious about controlling costs following a period of severe overspending. Bottom line Meta Platforms delivered what it needed to Wednesday evening, prioritizing efficiency in a sluggish revenue environment. But the real kicker was that management lowered Meta's expenses outlook — by $5 billion. The company said this evening its click-to-message ads is now at a $10 billion revenue run rate, a significant development. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., speaks during the virtual Meta Connect event in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.

☆ Meta set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, arrives at federal court in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Meta reports fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday as the company tries to reverse a slide that pushed the stock down by 64% last year. The company also said its "internal forecast" assumes a revenue drop in the first quarter of between 2% and 10%. Alphabet and Amazon will wrap up earnings reports from the major online ad platforms on Thursday, followed by Pinterest next week. Meta said last quarter that "Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year."

☆ Meta acquisition of Within reportedly approved by court in loss for FTC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, arrives at federal court in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. The FTC could still appeal the decision and may also still decide to go through with in-house administrative proceeding on the merger. A Meta spokesperson said in a statement at the time the case was "based on ideology and speculation, not evidence. "In respecting the court's order, the FTC is not able to comment at this time," an FTC spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., demonstrates the Meta Quest Pro during the virtual Meta Connect event in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Analysts were expecting Reality Labs to record an quarterly operating loss of $4.36 billion on revenue of $715.1 million, according to StreetAccount. In July, Meta announced it was raising the price of its Quest 2 VR headset by $100. Meta then debuted its more expensive Quest Pro VR headset in October, pitching it to companies as an enterprise-workplace device for $1,500. This week, Meta is running a sale on its high-end VR headset, shaving off $400 for a limited time.

☆ Morning Bid: Fed games
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in markets from Stephen Culp, New York stock market reporter. Asian stocks are primed for a green Wednesday on the heels of a broad rally on Wall Street, as a slew of economic data suggested the Federal Reserve's restrictive monetary policy is working as directed. Risk appetite was largely fueled by economic data, specifically the Employment Cost Index (ECI) which decelerated in the fourth quarter to its slowest growth in a year - yet another sign that decades-high inflation is beginning to cool. This is welcome news for the Fed, which is expected to punctuate its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday with a 25 basis point hike to the Fed funds target rate, its latest salvo in its battle against inflation. On Wednesday, market participants will digest factory and labor market data and parse the Fed's statement and Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks at the subsequent press conference.

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