1. Revenue and Margin Guidance Hit Apple Shares Postmarket
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported quarterly profit and revenue that beat expectations after the bell today, but investors weren't too pleased with guidance for the fiscal first quarter.
The company said it expected revenue of $89 billion to $93 billion in fiscal first quarter, with the midpoint lower than current consensus estimates for $92.9 billion.
Gross margins came in at 38.2%, just below forecasts of 38.3%. Looking ahead, Apple saw gross margins in a range of 38% to 38.5%, shy of the Street's expectations for 38.6%.
Shipments of iPhones for the quarter were about in line with forecasts, coming in at 46.9 million.
Shares of Apple fell more than 4% in after-hours trading.
2. Payrolls Expected up 193K
It’s jobs day tomorrow and all eyes will be on the latest monthly figures.
The Labor Department will release its October employment report at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT) as usual.
On average, economists expect that nonfarm payrolls rose 193,000 last month, up from a rise of 134,000 in September.
The unemployment rate is expected to stay at 3.7%. Average hourly earnings, a key measure of inflation pressure, are forecast to have risen 0.2% in October and be up 3.1% year over year.
There have been indications for a strong number this week, with initial jobless claims matching forecasts and ADP reporting a gain of 227,000 private sector jobs for October. But ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) and the government statistics often diverge wildly.
This will be the last jobs report before the midterm elections, so tweets from President Donald Trump are likely if the numbers come in strong.
3. Alibaba Will Give a Window Into China Slowdown
If it wasn’t busy enough with the jobs report, there are plenty of market-moving names on the earnings calendar that issue results ahead of trading.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba leads the list. Analysts surveyed predict that Alibaba will post a profit of $1.06 per share on revenue of around $52.1 billion.
Shares of the company are down around 30% in the last five months and well off all-time highs of more than $200.
The results will have a macro element as well. Given the size of its market share in Chinese e-commerce its performance will give investors further insight into the slowdown in the Chinese economy.
Shares of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) jumped 6.30% today.
Major energy companies are also slated to report.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) will release its latest earnings, as will fellow Dow component Chevron (NYSE:CVX). Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) will also weigh in.