Technology

Meta Platforms (META) Delivered ‘Solid’ Q4 Results, Even Better Guidance, BofA Securities Says

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Meta Platforms (META) posted a “strong” Q4 EPS and revenue beat and Q1 guidance was a “positive surprise,” BofA Securities said Friday in a report. The investment firm raised Meta’s price target to $510 from $425 and reiterated the buy rating. The company reported Q4 earnings late Thursday of $5.33 per diluted share, up from $1.76 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $4.94. Revenue rose to $40.1 billion from $32.2 billion. Analysts expected $39.2 billion. The revenue beat was mainly driven by the company’s Reels video product, as well as its Messaging, artificial intelligence products and tools, and the launch of the Quest 3 virtual reality headset, BofA said. Meta said it expects Q1 revenue of $34.5 billion to $37 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ as of late Thursday expected $33.9 billion. The Q1 guidance was a “big surprise,” well above Wall Street estimates, BofA said. […]

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Apple Expected to Launch Generative AI-Enabled Software Upgrade in June, Morgan Stanley Says

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Apple (AAPL) is expected to unveil its first generative artificial intelligence-enabled software upgrade at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Morgan Stanley said in a note Friday. “We believe that new [large language model]-enabled software features can help accelerate iPhone replacement cycles, especially given the component requirements to run AI in the cloud and on-device,” Morgan Stanley said. Morgan Stanley said “every 0.25 year decrease in iPhone replacement cycles” is anticipated to drive an upside of roughly 6% to its fiscal 2025 iPhone unit and revenue forecasts. The firm said it sees the software upgrade, and the expected launch of iPhone 16 in September, “as upside catalysts to help reaccelerate growth” in fiscal 2025. Morgan Stanley said its fiscal 2025 revenue and EPS estimates for Apple are 1% to 4% higher than consensus and “remain largely unchanged” after the company released its fiscal Q1 results Thursday. The firm maintained its

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Nvidia Likely to Post ‘Notable But Measured’ Q4 Beats, BofA Says

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Nvidia (NVDA) is likely to report “a notable but more measured” 3% to 5% or $500 million to $1 billion improvement in both reported Q4 and guided Q1 revenues, BofA Securities said in a Thursday note. The results are due on Feb 21. BofA analysts, including Vivek Arya and Blake Friedman, pointed to incremental supply gains offset by China restrictions and some transition effects prior to B100 accelerator launch planned for the second half for the improvement. “While a 3-5% beat would pale vs. the 10%/22% beat/raise of prior quarters and perhaps disappoint some bulls, the more measured pace will also be seen as creating more fertile ground for continued growth in CY25 and beyond,” the analysts said. BofA reiterated its buy rating on Nvidia while raising its price objective to $800 from $700, saying that valuation is compelling.

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Meta Platforms Analysts Raise Expectations After Q4 Earnings Beat: ‘Growth, Profits, Buyback & Dividends All In One’

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Social media and technology company Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported fourth-quarter financial results Thursday after market close. Analysts are sizing up the results, which included earnings per share and revenue coming in ahead of Street estimates and the company announcing its first quarterly dividend. The META Analysts: Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan has a Buy rating and raised the price target from $414 to $500. Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris has a Buy rating and raises the price target from $380 to $520. Roth MKM analyst Rohit Kulkarni has a Buy rating and raises the price target from $365 to $500. Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt has an Outperform rating and raises the price target from $420 to $520. Truist Securities analyst Youssef Squali has a Buy rating and raised the price target from $405 to 4525. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein has an Outperform rating and raises the price target from $385 to $525. Goldman

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Apple Stock Is Resilient Despite Weak Guidance as Investors Refocus on AI — Barrons.com

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By Eric J. Savitz The biggest bombshell in Apple’s December quarter earnings report came on the company’s conference call, when CFO Luca Maestri provided a hugely disappointing forecast for the March quarter. Management’s guidance, implying overall quarterly revenue will fall 5% from a year earlier to about $90 billion, with a drop of nearly 10% in iPhone sales, sent the stock down as much as 3.5% in after-hours trading. Shares opened Friday slightly below $180, the lowest level in nearly three months. But Apple shares have since staged an impressive turnaround, briefly moving into the green before slipping lower again. Wall Street seems to have adopted a view of the quarter laid out by Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring, who described the ugly forecast as a “clearing event” that will allow investors to refocus on the company’s June Worldwide Developers Conference. That is when he thinks Apple will finally disclose

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Nvidia Poised For Expansion, Analyst Highlights AI Innovations And Upcoming B100 Accelerator Launch

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BofA analyst Vivek Arya reiterated a Buy rating on Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), boosting the price target to $800 from $700. The chip designer will report its quarterly earnings after closing on February 21. The analyst will seek for a notable but more measured 3% – 5% or $0.5 billion – $1 billion upside to both the reported fourth quarter (consensus $20 billion) and guided first quarter (consensus $21.4 billion) mainly due to incremental supply gains offset by China restrictions and some transition effects before the B100 accelerator launch planned for the second half of 2024. While a 3% – 5% beat would pale versus the 10% and 22% beat and raise of prior quarters and perhaps disappoint some bulls, the more measured pace will also be seen as creating more fertile ground for continued growth in the calendar year 2025 and beyond. Stepping above quarterly EPS noise, Arya will focus on Nvidia’s flagship

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Apple Shares Likely to Trade Down After Fiscal Q1 Results, UBS Says

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Apple (AAPL) shares are likely to trade down after its fiscal Q1 earnings report as estimates for fiscal 2024 and 2025 are expected to be revised, UBS said in a report sent Friday. The firm projects H1 iPhone shipments of 128 million units, compared with the project of about 128.5 million units a year earlier. The investment firm expects roughly 4% revenue growth in fiscal 2024 and 3% growth in fiscal 2025, compared to the consensus of 4% and 6%, respectively. The “iPhone still comprises roughly 50% of total revenue dampening growth of services that should account for 24% of the mix,” UBS analysts said. The iPhone sales are taking a hit from competition in China, it said. “At an average [average selling price] of roughly $900, lost share in China could pressure iPhone revenue by slightly more than $7 billion, a 3.5% iPhone revenue headwind and [around] 1.9% total

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Oracle Stock Is Up. Analysts See a Rise in Demand and New Business, Especially for AI. — Barrons.com

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By Eric J. Savitz Analysts Ari Terjanian and Max Lenhardt write in a research note that checks with Oracle partners found demand has improved relative to the company’s fiscal second quarter ended in November. The analysts also see a pickup in new business signings, in particular for artificial-intelligence customers and for the company’s Oracle Cloud Infrastructure unit generally. “We believe ORCL has seen some improvement in AI signings, potentially tied to improved supply availability,” they write. The Cleveland analysts also report that Oracle partners are adding staff to their practices, tied to a growing backlog of related work and expectations for improving end demand, with Oracle continuing to take market share both in enterprise apps and in the cloud. Oracle is also seeing a pickup in signings tied to the company’s recently expanded partnership with Microsoft, Terjanian and Lenhardt add. In December, Oracle announced the availability of its database software

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Meta Platforms, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results; Initiates Quarterly Dividend

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Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results; Initiates Quarterly Dividend PR Newswire MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 1, 2024 MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023. “We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “We’ve made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse.” Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Highlights Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended December 31, December 31, ——— ——————- ———- In millions, except percentages and per share amounts 2023 2022 % Change 2023 2022 ——- ——— ——— ——– ——— Revenue $40,111 $ 32,165 25 % $134,902 $ 116,609 % Change 16 % ——– Costs and expenses 23,727 25,766 (8) % 88,151 87,665 1 % —— ——– ——-

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