Investors are proving to be hard to please for oilfield services provider SLB, as shares were down more than 2% in midday trading despite hitting first-quarter marks. SLB generated 75 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $8.71 billion of revenue, meeting analyst expectations. Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro described the quarter as “solid, but not surprising” in a note to clients.
The company’s North American revenue was down year over year, but SLB did reiterate its full-year guidance for a key profitability metric and said it plans to return $7 billion to shareholders over the next two years. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch expressed confidence in the company’s global revenue growth outlook for 2024, with softness in North America being offset by upside in international markets.
Meanwhile, Super Micro Computer shares took a tumble, plunging more than 18% on Friday after the server maker announced its third-quarter earnings date but did not provide preliminary results as it had done previously. Despite this, the stock is still up 165% for the year, but has dropped more than 25% this quarter.
In other news, regional banks are a rare pocket of stock market strength this week, with the S&P Composite 1500 Regional Banks Index gaining almost 1.4%. Capital Economics chief markets economist John Higgins noted that higher Treasury yields, a resilient U.S. economy, and relatively low valuations are contributing to the positive outlook for U.S. banks.
On the downside, Netflix is on pace to log its worst day in more than 2 years, with shares down 8.8% after the company shared a weaker full-year revenue growth outlook than analysts had estimated. Canaccord Genuity analyst Maria Ripps downgraded the stock to a hold rating from buy, citing “limited growth catalysts” ahead.
Overall, the stock market is experiencing volatility, with the S&P 500 falling below 5,000 and the Dow outperforming due to American Express’ post-earnings rally. The market is also facing macro risks, according to Goldman Sachs, which sees increasing downside risks to equity returns.
