David Tran
U.S. stock index futures on Thursday pointed to a higher open, with market participants receiving further data on inflation and consumer spending. Here are some stocks to watch on Thursday:
- Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) added more than 8% in pre-market trading, after the sporting equipment and apparel retailer reported a strong holiday quarter earnings report. Dick’s beat Q4 2023 top and bottom line estimates, helped by a 2.8% increase in comparable sales. “Even excluding the extra week, this was the largest sales quarter in the history of the Company, and during the fourth quarter, we drove significant gross margin and EBT margin expansion,” top boss Lauren Hobart said. The company also hiked its quarterly dividend by 10% and provided full year 2024 guidance that was largely above expectations.
- Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) stock will be in focus, with the creative software maker scheduled to announce FQ1 2024 results after the closing bell. Wall Street expects ADBE to earn $4.38 per share on revenue of $5.15B. The company’s last quarterly report in December disappointed investors after the Photoshop-maker offered up weak guidance and said it was being probed by the U.S. government about subscription practices. Its performance this quarter will be closely watched, and so will its commentary around artificial intelligence (AI). Analysts believe the advent of generative AI is likely to be a double-edged sword for Adobe (ADBE).
- Cigarette behemoth Altria (MO) on Wednesday said it planned to sell a portion of its investment in beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) through a proposed global secondary share offering. According to Bloomberg News, the Marlboro-parent was looking to sell up to $2.2B worth of AB InBev’s (BUD) U.S.-listed shares at $60.75 to $62.75 each. AB InBev (BUD) also said it intends to buy shares directly from Altria (MO) for up to $200M. U.S.-listed shares of AB InBev (BUD) were last down more than 4% ahead of the opening bell, while Altria (MO) stock was marginally up.
- Class A (UAA) and class C (UA) shares of Under Armour fell more than 7% and 6%, respectively, ahead of market open. The shares had initially gained in extended trading on Wednesday after the sportswear retailer announced the return of founder Kevin Plank as top boss. Plank started Under Armour (UAA) (UA) in 1996 and served as its chief executive and board chair from 1996 to 2019. Plank will succeed current CEO Stephanie Linnartz, effective April 1. In connection with Plank’s appointment, Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, will become non-executive chair of Under Armour’s (UAA) (UA) board.
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