The string of disappointing fourth-quarter results continued late Monday, with Texas Instruments and McAfee
the latest to come up short of Wall Street expectations.
TI beat estimates with 43-cent earnings, but sales of $3.59 billion, while up 14% from the year-ago quarter, were shy of analysts’ $3.64 billion expectations. Gross margins of 48.3% were also light of forecasts, and the company’s first-quarter guidance was also below Wall Street estimates. TI has been plagued by many of the same supply constraints as Intel and other chip companies. The stock lost 3% after hours.
McAfee, meanwhile, said fourth-quarter earnings will be 25-27 cents a share on sales of $254 million. That’s well below expectations of 38-cent earnings and $274.5 million in sales. McAfee shares tumbled 13% in late trading.
Investors will get a better sense of just how much the economy slowed in the fourth quarter when GDP is released on Friday. Economists believe the economy grew 2.8% in the quarter, the first sub-3% growth rate in three years.
Stocks posted a modest rebound Monday, led higher by auto shares. Google recouped much of Friday’s big drop, but the broader market didn’t fare as well, restrained by weak results from Bank of America
.
Research in Motion fell 3% after losing a Supreme Court appeal.
The Nasdaq added 1 to 2248, the S&P 500 climbed 2 to 1263, and the Dow rose 21 to 10,688. Volume fell to 2.28 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.97 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 20-12 on the NYSE, and 16-13 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 63% on the NYSE, and 47% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 156-34 on the NYSE, and 123-39 on the Nasdaq.