Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Walmart (WMT) – The retail giant earned $1.34 per share for the third quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $1.18a share. Revenue beat forecasts as well. Walmart’s comparable-store sales also rose more than expected. The shares gained 0.8% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Home Depot (HD) – Home Depot reported third-quarter earnings of $3.18 per share, 12 cents a share above estimates. Revenue came in above Wall Street forecasts. Same-store sales jumped 24.1%, compared to the 16.9% increase predicted by analysts polled by FactSet. Home Depot is also making some temporary compensation enhancement programs permanent, adding about $1 billion per year to employee costs. The shares fell 2% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Amazon.com (AMZN) – Amazon announced the launch of “Amazon Pharmacy” in the U.S. as of today, allowing customers to order prescription drugs online and giving discounts to Prime members. The news is pressuring shares of traditional drug store retailers like Walgreens (WBA), CVS Health (CVS) and Rite Aid (RAD). Amazon shares added 2.5% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Kohl’s (KSS) – The retailer posted a profit of 1 cent per share, compared to analysts’ forecasts of a 43 cents per share loss. Revenue was slightly below forecasts, however, and comparable stores fell a greater-than-expected 13.3% as the pandemic reduced foot traffic in its stores. The shares fell slightly in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla will join the S&P 500 prior to the open of trading on Dec. 21. It’s among the highest-valued companies ever to enter the benchmark index, and its current market cap of about $387 billion makes it more valuable than 95% of the companies currently in the S&P 500. The shares surged 13% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Costco (COST) – Costco declared a $10 a share special dividend, payable to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 2. It’s the fourth time in eight years that the warehouse retailer has paid a special dividend. The shares rose 1.9% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Baidu (BIDU) – Baidu reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, as ad spending on Baidu’s internet search platform rebounded from a slump caused by Covid-19 lockdowns. The China-based company also said it will buy streaming platform YY Live from social media company JOYY for about $3.6 billion. The shares lost 2% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
NXP Semiconductor (NXPI) – NXP has entered into a strategic partnership with Amazon’s cloud computing unit, designed to help cars communicate with data centers. NXP is one of the biggest suppliers of chips to automakers. The shares fell 1.5% in premarket trading as of 7:35 a.m. ET.
Pfizer (PFE) – Pfizer launched a pilot delivery program for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in four states, as it seeks to address distribution issues. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at -94 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly colder than most vaccines.
GameStop (GME) – GameStop is being pushed to conduct a strategic review by Chewy (CHWY) co-founder Ryan Cohen, who holds a nearly 10% stake in the videogame retailer. Cohen sent a letter to GameStop’s board saying the company’s business model is outdated and wants it to reduce the number of brick-and-mortar stores.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) – Berkshire has taken stakes in AbbVie (ABBV), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE), according to the company’s quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission 13-F filing. Berkshire also took a stake in wireless carrier T-Mobile (TMUS).
Cinemark (CNK) – The movie theater chain has signed a deal with Comcast’s (CMCSA) Universal Pictures unit, allowing movies to be distributed digitally once they’ve been in theaters for three weekends. That will extend to five weekends if a movie grosses more than $50 million domestically during its first weekend. Universal struck a similar deal with movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (AMC) earlier this year.
SmileDirectClub (SDC) – SmileDirectClub lost 11 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the 14 cents a share loss that Wall Street was expecting. The dental aligner maker’s revenue also topped forecasts. The company said it is seeing broader acceptance of telehealth in general and teledentistry in particular.
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) – Mondelez (MDLZ) and private-equity firm JAB will sell a total of 60 million Keurig Dr Pepper shares, in a move that reduces Mondelez’s stake in the beverage company to 8.4%.
