Shares of Tech Data surged 10% Tuesday after the company’s quarterly results soundly beat Wall Street expectations.
Tech Data’s third-quarter earnings of 53 cents a share beat analysts’ estimates by 8 cents. Sales rose 6.6% to $5.09 billion, topping $4.95 billion forecasts. North American sales were strong, up 15%, while sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were down slightly. The company’s earnings guidance for the fourth quarter was in line with estimates, while the sales forecast was a little light.
“We continue to generate industry-leading growth and operating results in the Americas, underscoring our position as a leading IT distributor,” CEO Steven Raymund said in a statement. “While we are pleased with the improvements we’ve made in our business, there is more work to be done. Through continued discipline and process enhancements, we expect to drive better worldwide operating results in the quarters ahead.”
The broader market, meanwhile, got a boost from Federal Reserve meeting minutes that provided the first hint that the Fed’s 18-month rate hike cycle may finally be nearing an end. Expectations of a strong holiday shopping season also helped stocks, as traders once again shook off rising energy prices
The Nasdaq rose 11 to 2253, the S&P 500 climbed 6 to 1261, and the Dow rose 51 to 10,871. Volume rose to 2.24 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.9 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 19-13 on the NYSE, and 16-13 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 65% on the NYSE, and 61% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 211-161 on the NYSE, and 183-45 on the Nasdaq.
Akamai jumped 12% on a Prudential upgrade.
Chip stocks were strong, led higher by 3% gains in Micron and Intel
, which shook up the market yesterday with the announcement of a joint flash memory venture. SanDisk
recovered 6% of yesterday’s 17% drop on competition fears.
Click Commerce fell 10% on the acquisition of Requisite Technology.
