Corporate results:
- Meta Platforms announced a dividend for the first time on Thursday, ahead of the twentieth anniversary of its Facebook social network, while reporting better-than-expected quarterly sales, in the wake of strong advertising sales during the holiday season.
- Amazon reported better-than-expected quarterly sales on Thursday, boosted by growth in its cloud computing business and online sales during the holiday season.
- Apple posted disappointing sales in China for the October-December period on Thursday, overshadowing overall sales and revenues that exceeded Wall Street expectations for the quarter.
- Cigna - The health insurer raised its 2024 earnings forecast on Friday after lower-than-expected medical costs and strong demand in its pharmacy benefit management unit helped it beat fourth-quarter profit estimates. The stock gained 4.1% before the opening.
- Regeneron- The drugmaker beat consensus in the fourth quarter on Friday. Sales for the quarter reached $3.43 billion, against a consensus of $3.29 billion.
- Clorox climbed 6.7% in after-hours trading as the cleaning products manufacturer raises its annual sales and earnings forecasts.
- Chevron announced on Friday a sharp drop in earnings to $21.3 billion for 2023, as revenues from oil production and refining fell. Chevron nevertheless announced that it would increase its dividend by 8% as a sign of confidence.
- Microchip Technology - The chipmaker announced on Thursday evening that it expected sales for the current quarter to fall short of Wall Street expectations, against a backdrop of weak demand from customers who are clearing excess inventory.
- Exponent's shares fell after a surprise decline in Q4 earnings.
- Huntington Ingalls Industries received an adjusted price target from Deutsche Bank, maintaining a Hold rating.
- Charter Communications' shares dropped following a decline in Q4 earnings despite an increase in revenue.
- Cingulate priced a public offering, resulting in a significant share price plunge.
In other news:
- Exxon Mobil urged activist investors on Thursday to drop a climate proposal that the oil giant did not wish to put to the vote at its annual general meeting in May. On Friday, the group posted a better-than-expected profit of $36 billion for 2023, boosted by trading activities and rising oil and gas production.
- Tesla will recall 2.2 million vehicles in the United States - almost all its cars in the country - because of incorrect font sizes on warning lights, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Friday.
- Intel fell in pre-market trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that the semiconductor group expects a delay in its $20 billion chip production project in Ohio, citing a slowdown in the market.
- Mattel - Activist investor Barington Capital called on the American toymaker in a letter Thursday to implement major changes, including seeking alternative strategies for the Fisher-Price and American Girl brands and separating the role of CEO from that of chairman.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific - The UK competition regulator said on Friday that it was reviewing the group's $3.1 billion deal to buy biotech company Olink Holding.
- Plug Power signed a contract for a 500-megawatt electrolyzer project in Europe.
- Sempra's unit entered into a collaboration with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation on energy transition projects in the US and Japan.