Image source: Getty Images.
Stocks logged significant gains on Friday as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.20%) indexes gained more than 0.5% to set fresh all-time records.
Today's stock market
|
Index |
Percentage Change |
Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
0.72% |
142.04 |
|
S&P 500 |
0.56% |
13.34 |
Data source: Yaho! Finance.
Gold prices fell, which drove weakness in both the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX 1.60%) and the highly leveraged Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NUGT 3.17%).
As for individual stocks, Coca Cola (KO 0.15%) and Restoration Hardware (RH 1.37%) stood out thanks to market-moving news from the companies.
Coca Cola enters a new era
Coca Cola was one of the biggest winners on the Dow following news that Muhtar Kent is stepping down from the CEO spot to make room for fresh leadership in the beverage titan's executive ranks. Kent will be succeeded by James Quincey, Coke's current chief operating officer, who will take over on May 1, 2017.
Image source: Getty Images.
Kent leaves at a challenging time for the company. The stock has lagged the market over the past five years as volume growth, especially in its sparkling beverage portfolio, slowed to a crawl. Meanwhile, a move away from traditional colas (and the Diet Coke brand in particular) toward healthier options like sparkling water opened the door for competitors to chip away at its U.S. market share.
This leadership change might help turn the tide, though, given that much of Quincey's recent work at Coke has been on reformulating its beverage portfolio in response to changing shopper attitudes around package sizes and sugar. In a press release, Kent said Quincey's "acute understanding of how consumer tastes are changing make him the ideal candidate to lead us forward." Shareholders have to hope that knowledge will translate into stepped-up case volume growth for Coca-Cola over the coming years.
Restoration Hardware delays its rebound
Restoration Hardware shares slumped 18% following a holiday-season outlook that implies little progress at creating a turnaround for the business. There were bright spots in the quarter that just closed, though. The furniture retailer beat management's expectations on both the top and bottom lines as revenue ticked up by 3% and adjusted net income plunged to $0.20 per share from $0.65 per share a year ago. The profit slump was driven by several temporary factors, including inventory clear-out sales and spending on a brand reboot, which worked against the company over the summer months.
Its forecast for the critical holiday season quarter left investors wanting more. Rather than showing a rebound for the business, as CEO Gary Friedman had predicted in early September, sales will weaken likely further, executives said, even as the company slashes prices so that it can clear out excess inventory. "Our business in November was below our expectations," Friedman explained in a press release. "While we are clearly disappointed in our fourth quarter outlook, we believe we are making the necessary investments and changes to position our business for the long-term."
Restoration Hardware now sees revenue holding flat for the full year, rather than rising by as much as 3% (as it had forecast three months ago). Adjusted earnings will weigh in at $1.24 per share, too, for a significant decrease from the $1.70-per-share prior target. The outlook update ensures that investors will have to wait until next year before sales and profits begin trending higher again.
