With midday trading, Apple Inc’s stock price was up the most in the last 5 months as shares loaded almost 4%. This jump puts the deep-pocketed tech behemoth in position to perhaps end the week with a net gain of more than 4%. This recovery comes on the heels of major declines from earlier in the month. Those losses were largely due to fears surrounding tariffs placed on the industry by China. Analysts warn that escalating levies may compel Apple to raise prices on iPhones sold to the U.S., as the company manufactures the majority of its smartphones in China.
BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, attracted a flurry of media coverage around a strong earnings beat. The company reported an adjusted earnings per share of $11.30, well ahead of analysts’ predictions of $10.14. Following this positive news, BlackRock’s shares rose 2%, reflecting investor confidence after the company’s first-quarter earnings exceeded projections.
In like manner, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced their striking third-quarter financial performance, with quarterly revenue of $46.01 billion. This figure not only outperformed analysts’ estimates of $44.11 billion but contributed to a more than 3% increase in JPMorgan’s stock price. The bank’s exceptionally robust performance speaks to the strength of their business model in the face of an uncertain economy.
In similar fashion, Morgan Stanley beat expectations with quarterly earnings of $2.60 per share on revenue of $17.74 billion. Analysts had estimated $2.20 per share. They found EPS of $4.63, $2.24 better than expected and Revenue of $16.58 billion, a critical beat for the banking behemoth. The upbeat results are a testament to Morgan Stanley’s skill at finding opportunity amid market disruption.
The result was a nearly 2% drop in Wells Fargo & Co.’s share price. This drop off occurred even with the company announcing an incredible 16% growth in first quarter earnings over last year. The uneven performance speaks to the different levels of investor confidence throughout the public and private financial markets.