By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trading on Wednesday, 20th October. Please refresh for updates.
- Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock fell 2.0% after its quarterly report showed a negligible boost to revenue, even though the streaming giant added nearly 1 million subscribers more than expected. The company warned of negative free cash flow in the coming quarter due to high amortization costs after heavy investment in original content. The company also disappointed those who had hoped for earlier monetization of its videogames operations.
- United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock rose 1.6% after the company posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the third quarter and guided for further improvement ahead. CEO Scott Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said “the headwinds we’ve faced are turning to tailwinds.”
- Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) stock rose 0.7% after The Verge reported that the company intends to change its name, to deflect attention away from the controversies generated by the governance of its social media sites and on to its unrelated diversification into the so-called Metaverse.
- ASML ADRs (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 2.1% after the company's guidance for the next quarters suggested it won't profit as much from an extended period of semiconductor market tightness as some thought. Earnings and revenue still came in at the top end of expectations for the maker of chip-making equipment.
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock rose 4.4% after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings as the return to normal of the country's health care system allowed pentup demand for its products to be met,.
- Verizon (NYSE:VZ) stock rose 1.2% after a strong earnings report marked by growth in premium postpaid mobile subscribers, which was enabled by the rollout of its 5G services. Mobile revenue offset further declines in its wireline business. The carrier also raised its dividend again.
- Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) ADRs rose another 2.8% after Chinese media sighted founder Jack Ma on vacation in Spain. The news was taken as a sign that the company's problems with regulators, which were behind a months-long slump in Alibaba's share price, have eased.