Pre-market futures are sinking into the red an hour ahead of today’s opening bell. All major indices have so far this morning spent at least some time above a zero balance, but they are falling pretty steeply at this hour. Apparently, the markets are in a mood to give back some of the gains they earned just yesterday. The Dow is off -24 points, the S&P 500 is -9, the Nasdaq has so far shed -51 points and the small-cap Russell 2000 is -10 points lower.
None of this has to do with any pre-market economic reports. That’s because there aren’t any ahead of today’s open. At 10am ET, we look forward to Existing Home Sales for June, which are expected to dip below 4 million seasonally adjusted, annualized units for the first time since January, and at 3.95 million units anticipated is the lowest total since December of last year. It would also mark the fourth-straight month lower for a housing industry that has struggled to keep existing homes on the market amid multi-decade highs in mortgage rates.
Spotify SPOT outperformed on Q2 earnings this morning. The Swedish media service provider posted a +32% earnings surprise, with record profits of $1.43 per share well above the $1.08 expected — and a big swing from the negative -$1.69 per share reported a year ago, demonstrating the well-known music and podcast services hub has finally become profitable. Revenues of $4.1 billion missed the Zacks consensus by -0.5%. But the company has also announced it will be rising its subscription prices, and shares — already up +57% year to date — are up another +14% in today’s early trading.
United Parcel Services UPS had a different Q2 reality. Earnings of $1.79 per share was short of the $1.98 expected and the sizable $2.54 earnings per share in the year-ago quarter. Its revenues of $21.82 billion missed the Zacks consensus by -2.2%, and down from $22.06 billion a year ago. Compare this with FedEx’s (FDX) earnings beat (and upward guidance) a few weeks back, and UPS’ -7% selloff, compounding its -7% year to date, makes a little more sense.
Coca Cola KO posted a steady outperformance in Q2 this morning. The company’s earnings of 84 cents per share outpaced expectations by four cents, while $12.36 billion in quarterly sales topped analyst forecasts by +3.86%. Shares are up only modestly on the news, however, +1.5% after gaining nearly +10% year to date (which is still below the +15% on the S&P from the start of the year).
General Motors GM also posted significant positive earnings surprises. Earnings of $3.06 per share surpassed the $2.67 expected and the $1.91 per share reported in the year-ago quarter, for a +14.6% surprise. Revenues of $47.97 billion came in +5.63% ahead of projections in the quarter, and notably above the $44.75 billion from a year ago. Investors have already gotten on the GM story, as shares are +38% year to date, and add +3.5% at this hour in the pre-market.
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