30.10.2020
11:08
The collapse of the technology giants made the Nasdaq index, the main stock market reference in the sector, open lower
October 30, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Bad day for Wall Street this Friday (EFE / Justin Lane / Archive)
Shares of some of the top tech companies on the market fell sharply on Friday after their reported gains disappointed investors worried about the slowdown in the economy and declining earnings. The Nasdaq, a stock index that includes many of these companies, led the losses with a decline of 1.85 percent, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (0.68%) and the S&P 500 index (0.97%) also fell.
Twitter shares are the hardest hit: they plummet 18.3%, from $ 52 to $ 42 a share . It was after the company reported far fewer new users in the quarter than analysts had estimated, confident that the social network would benefit from the return of live sports and the election campaign in the United States.
A view of the exterior of the Nasdaq Building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, USA, October 24, 2016 (REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton / File Photo)
The firm led by Jack Dorsey reported 187 million daily users at the end of the third quarter, a 29% increase from last year , but a negligible gain from the prior period. By comparison, Twitter added 20 million new users in the second quarter.
Advertisers, however, returned to the San Francisco-based company in the third quarter, driving sales well above analyst estimates , in a sign that the digital advertising business is making a comeback after the outbreak of the global pandemic.
The second worst hit firm is Apple, which fell 5.91%, from USD 115 to USD 108. The company reported iPhone sales that were not in line with Wall Street estimates and further said that its revenue in China plummeted, which generated a climate of strong pessimism. Also, he did not give any forecast for this quarter, disappointing some analysts who were hoping for guidance.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, during his statement before the US Senate, in Washington DC (EFE / Michael Reynolds)
CEO Tim Cook tried to lift spirits by saying the new iPhone 12 line has been well received . Sales of Macs and Services also hit all-time highs in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant said Thursday that sales in the three months ending Sept. 26 reached $ 64.7 billion . That beats analysts’ estimates of $ 63.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg . Earnings were 73 cents a share, also beating Wall Street expectations.
File photo of the Apple company logo at an Apple store in Washington, USA. EFE / SHAWN THEW / Archive
But iPhone sales fell 21% in anticipation of the new models, which arrived later than usual this year . Still, Cook said the response to the iPhone 5G lineup and other new devices has been “tremendously positive.”
On the other hand, Facebook shares fell 6.05%, from $ 280 to $ 263 . As part of the presentation of its quarterly balance, Facebook reported a drop in its users in the United States and Canada on Thursday. Specifically, in North America the user base of the social network fell to 196 million daily active users, from 198 million registered three months earlier. At the same time, it failed to grow its user base in Europe: it remained at 305 million daily users for the third consecutive quarter.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen remotely testifying during a Senate hearing in Washington on October 28, 2020 (REUTERS)
In addition to the numbers reported Thursday, the company said it expects its user base in the United States and Canada to remain stable or even decline in the fourth quarter. Currently, Facebook has 1.82 billion active users worldwide, while Instagram, also part of the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg, has 2.74 billion.
The one that escapes the losses is Alphabet, owner of Google, which grows 4.65%, from USD 1,556 to USD 1,628 . It was after he reported an increase in advertising sales revenue.
With information from Bloomberg
