Category: Stock Market News

MetLife Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $838 million, or 77 cents per share, up from $64 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was $1.30, ahead of the $1.28 FactSet consensus. Revenue was $17.2 billion, up from $15.2 billion last year and ahead of the $17.1 billion FactSet consensus. Revenue for premiums during the quarter was $9.9 billion, revenue for universal life and investment-type product policy fees was $2.3 billion, and other revenue was $382.0 million. MetLife shares are unchanged in Wednesday after-hours trading, and up 3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.7% for 2017 so far.

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Shares of American International Group Inc. rallied 2.4% in after-hours trade Wednesday, after the insurance company reported a second-quarter profit that beat expectations. Net income rose fell to $1.13 billion, or $1.19 a share, from $1.91 billion, or $1.68 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.53 from $1.15, above the FactSet consensus of $1.20. Consolidated adjusted return on equity improved to 10.5% from 7.9%. Book value per share fell to $81.62 from $83.08, but was above expectations of $81.06. In commercial insurance, net premiums written fell 15%, while the combined ratio increased to 102.7 from 98.3 and operating revenue declined 2% to $5.98 billion. “While market conditions remain challenging, we are committed to disciplined underwriting and are focused on investing in profitable growth,” said Chief Executive Brian Duperreault. AIG’s stock has edged up 0.9% year to date through Wednesday’s close, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has gained 8.9% and the S&P 500 has climbed 10.7%.

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Shares of Square Inc. edged up 0.7% in after-hours trading Wednesday, on the digital cash register and financial services firm’s second quarter results, which beat expectations. The company raised its guidance for the full year. Net loss narrowed to $16 million, or four cents a share, compared with $27.3 million or 8 cent loss a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The FactSet consensus was for a per-share-loss of five cents. Total revenue rose 26% to $552 million. Adjusted revenue rose 41% to $240 million, above the FactSet consensus of $228.8 million. Square executives forecast revenue of $223 million to $226 million. The company raised its 2017 adjusted revenue outlook to $925 million to $935 million from $890 million to $910 million, and revised its adjusted earnings per share outlook to 21 cents to 23 cents, from 16 cents to 20 cents. The stock has surged 94% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Symantec Corp. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the cybersecurity company reported earnings that topped Wall Street estimates and said it had sold its website security business. Symantec shares rose 4.6% to $32.35 after hours. The company reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $133 million, or 22 cents a share, compared to net income of $135 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 33 cents a share. Revenue rose to $1.18 billion from $884 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted earnings of 31 cents a share on revenue of $1.2 billion. For the fiscal second quarter, Symantec estimates adjusted earnings of 40 cents to 44 cents a share on revenue of $1.26 billion to $1.29 billion. Analysts expect 43 cents a share on $1.27 billion. Separately, Symantec said it sold its website security business to DigiCert for $950 million in cash and a 30% equity stake in DigiCert.

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Shares of Tesla Inc. rose 4.6% late Wednesday after the Silicon Valley car maker reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss and sales above Wall Street expectations. Tesla said it lost $336.4 million, or $2.04 a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $293.2 million, or $2.09 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Tesla lost $1.33 a share, compared with $1.61 a share a year ago. Revenue reached $2.8 billion, up from $1.3 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report an adjusted loss of $1.88 a share on sales of $2.52 billion. Shares ended the regular session up 2%.

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The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the audit industry regulator, censured and imposed a $1 million civil penalty against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on Wednesday for issuing audit and examination reports without obtaining sufficient evidence to support its opinion for broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America [s:BAC], in 2014. Merrill Lynch had reported to PwC that it complied with the SEC’s Customer Protection Rule which requires a broker-dealer to hold certain customer securities in segregated accounts that are insulated from creditor liens if the broker’s business fails. However, PwC did not thoroughly verify Merrill Lynch was in compliance. For several years, including 2014, Merrill Lynch held tens of billions of dollars of its customers’ fully paid and excess margin securities in accounts that were subject to liens by third parties, in violation of the Customer Protection Rule, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. PwC consented to the Board’s order without admitting or denying the findings in the order.

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Oil futures ended a choppy trading session with gains Wednesday as signs of strong demand outweighed a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery rose 43 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $49.59 a barrel, recovering from earlier weakness. The Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels last week, versus analyst expectations for a decline of more than 3 million barrels. The data, however, showed a pickup in refinery demand for crude and an increase in demand for gasoline.

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Risk in the portfolio of large syndicated bank loans declined a bit in the past year but still remains elevated, according to a joint annual report from three U.S. bank regulatory agencies released Wednesday. The high level of credit risk “stems mostly from distressed borrowers in the oil and gas sector,” and other industry sector borrowers exhibiting excessive leverage,” the report said. Since 2014, the decline in oil prices has led to a significant increase in adversely rated credits, the report said. The agencies noted $317 billion of leverage loans are in the lowest pass rating category “raising additional supervisory concerns should economic conditions decline.”

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Gold prices settled slightly lower on Wednesday, ignoring the weaker dollar, as the precious metal took a breather from its recent rally. Gold for December delivery slid $1 to settle at $1,278.40 an ounce. A soft dollar is typically supportive of dollar-denominated assets such as gold. The U.S. Dollar Index shed 0.4% to 92.69. Silver for September delivery also fell 3 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $16.733 an ounce.

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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was fined $4.6 millionby the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for failures related to information it provides for checking account screening reports. Chase failed to have adequate processes for accurately reporting checking account information, kept consumers in the dark about the results of their disputes and kept consumers in the dark about key aspects of their checking account application denials, the CFPB said.

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