Biggest stock movers Thursday: MSFT, META, and more

Stock futures dipped on Thursday morning as investors digested mixed earnings reports from tech giants and braced for the release of crucial inflation data later in the day.

Here are some of Thursday’s biggest stock movers:

Biggest stock gainers

• Carvana (CVNA) shares surged 20% after the online car retailer exceeded Q3 expectations and raised its full-year outlook, driven by robust vehicle sales. In Q3, Carvana reported a 34% increase in vehicles sold, pushing revenue up 32% to $3.655B and achieving earnings of $0.64 per share, significantly above the estimated $0.23 per share. Gross profit per vehicle rose by $1,289 to $7,427, surpassing the $6,505 forecast. Looking ahead, Carvana expects Q4 vehicle sales growth to exceed Q3’s 34% gain and projects FY24 adjusted EBITDA to come in significantly above the upper end of its $1.0B to $1.2B guidance.
• Etsy’s (ETSY) shares climbed 8% following a mixed Q3 earnings report. While the online retailer exceeded revenue and adjusted EBITDA expectations, it fell short of analyst estimates for EPS, gross merchandise sales, and active buyer count. Despite the mixed results, Etsy anticipates a take rate of 22.3%, surpassing the consensus estimate of 21.8%. Additionally, the company projects a full-year adjusted EBITDA margin rate of 27.4% to 27.7%, higher than the consensus estimate of 26.8%.

Biggest stock losers

• Microsoft (MSFT) shares slid 4% despite the software maker exceeding expectations in FQ1, with Azure and cloud services growing 33%, well above the 29.4% forecast and beating last quarter’s 29% increase. However, the software giant signaled a potential deceleration in cloud revenue for the upcoming quarter, citing supply chain challenges in its AI-focused data center expansions. For the current quarter, Microsoft projects Azure revenue to increase 31% to 32%, a step-down from last quarter’s 34% gain (adjusted for currency) and down from the 35% growth prior. On the earnings call, CFO Amy Hood noted that delays in bringing data center capacity online have limited Azure’s growth potential, tempering expectations for the December quarter.
• Meta Platforms (META) shares fell over 4% despite a strong Q3 performance. The primary catalyst for this downturn was the company’s announcement of a substantial increase in artificial intelligence-related infrastructure expenses for the upcoming year. Meta now projects FY2024 capital expenditures to range between $38B and $40B, a notable upward revision from the previous estimate of $37B to $40B. Moreover, the company anticipates continued significant growth in capital expenditures throughout 2025, which raises concerns among investors about the potential impact on profitability and cash flow.
• Roku (ROKU) shares plunged 14% after the company issued lower-than-expected guidance for Q4 gross profit and EBITDA, despite surpassing revenue and earnings expectations in Q3. For the current quarter, Roku forecasts gross profit of $465M and adjusted EBITDA of $30M, both trailing Bloomberg consensus estimates of $476.8M and $36.2M, respectively. On a positive note, revenue guidance was set at $1.14B, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.11B.