Quarterly Earnings Reports Summary

This morning, we see a new print on international trade as well as further articulation on Q3 earnings, particularly in banking/finance and Big Pharma. Pre-market futures are slightly up at this hour: the Dow +22 points, the S&P 500 +1 and the Nasdaq +5 points. Both the Dow and S&P made all-time closing highs Monday afternoon.

Import Prices Mixed in September

The latest headline on Import Prices for last month came in this morning at -0.4%. This is 10 basis points (bps) below expectations, which is also where we saw this print a month ago, -0.3%. This is the deepest cut so far in 2024, the lowest since December. Ex-fuel costs (to remove volatility), we see the core figure swing back to +0.2% on import pricing, matching May but still off the near-term high of +0.6% back in April.

Exports also came in lower than anticipated: -0.7%, from the -0.5% consensus estimate. This -0.7% has now been hit for the second-straight month, as well as the fourth negative print in the past five months. Before that, Exports had been in the green the previous four months.

Q3 Earnings Stock Roundup: ABT, MS, USB

Medical devices and diagnostics specialist Abbott Labs ABT reported a one-cent beat on earnings for its Q3 report this morning, for earnings of $1.21 per share. Revenues in the quarter reached $10.6 billion, led by +13% growth in Devices. Next-quarter earnings are still within the range of the Zacks consensus, and pre-market shares are flat; ABT is up +5% year to date.

Morgan Stanley MS keeps the strong performance of Wall Street finance intact this quarter, posting a +20% beat to $1.88 earnings per share, 50-cents higher than the year-ago print of $1.38 per share. Revenues came in nicely ahead of projections: $15.38 billion versus $14.27 billion estimated and $13.27 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Shares are up +2.7% in early trading, adding to the stock’s +20% gains year to date.

U.S. Bancorp USB was mixed in its Q3 results out this morning: earnings of $1.03 per share beat the Zacks consensus by three cents, on revenues in the quarter of $6.83 billion — beneath the $6.88 billion expected, for a -0.68% negative surprise. Lending Income performed nicely in Q3, and shares are +2.7% in early trading, pushing the stock to double-digit gains year to date.

What to Expect for Hump Day in the Stock Market

With Import/Export Prices already reported this morning, we do not expect any other monthly reports to hit the tape for the remainder of this Wednesday. Nor will we hear from any Fed members regarding their views on further interest rates. (The next Fed meeting begins the day after Election Day, November 6th, and ends the following day with an expected 25 bps cut to the Fed funds rate, to +4.50-4.75%.) After the close, we’ll see earnings from CSX CSX and Las Vegas Sands LVS, among many others.

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