Stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors digested a torrent of strong earnings reports. When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.38%) jumped almost 200 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.96%) added nearly half a percent.
Today's stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | 0.79% | 197.65 |
| S&P 500 | 0.48% | 13.42 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Oil stocks paved the way higher, with the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF (XOP 1.36%) up 0.9%. Retail stocks ignored the broader market's positivity, and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 1.02%) fell 1.6%.
As for individual stocks, both Alphabet (GOOG 0.38%) (GOOGL 0.38%) and Harley-Davidson (HOG 1.40%) popped following impressive quarterly results.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet is just "fine," thank you
Class C shares of Alphabet jumped 3.5% to an all-time high -- an enormous move for the $850 billion tech giant -- after the parent company of Google posted stellar second-quarter results.
Alphabet's quarterly revenue increased 26% year over year to $32.657 billion, driven by strength in advertising thanks to growth from mobile search, desktop search, and YouTube. That translated to GAAP earnings of $3.195 billion, or $4.54 per share. But investors should note Alphabet achieved that profit despite absorbing a record $5.07 billion antitrust fine -- a decision Google promises it will appeal -- imposed by the European Commission against the company last week. Excluding the fine, net income was $8.266 billion, or $11.75 per share.
By comparison, Wall Street was anticipating adjusted earnings of $9.54 per share on revenue of $32.19 billion.
CFO Ruth Porat humbly called it a "very strong performance," crediting investments aimed at improving user experience and driving strong results for advertisers.
Harley-Davidson roars higher
Harley-Davidson stock popped 7.7% in the wake of the motorcycle manufacturer's stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.
But that's not to say Harley's results looked good at first glance. Quarterly revenue fell 3.3% year over year to $1.53 billion, which translated to a 6.4% decline in net income to $242.3 million, or $1.45 per share. However, most investors would have settled for earnings of $1.34 per share on revenue of $1.41 billion.
Still, CEO Matt Levatich noted the company's performance was roughly in line with expectations.
"With the focus of every employee and dealer, we are making progress building the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders in line with our long-term objectives," he added. "Our manufacturing optimization, demand-driving investments and commitment to manage supply in line with demand remain on target and continue to strengthen our business."
