The stock market has had a tough week, and it didn't follow its typical script on Wednesday. After two days of massive losses, stocks seemed poised to bounce convincingly, and the Dow jumped to gains of more than 200 points. Yet that rally deteriorated throughout the day, and by the end of trading, major benchmarks were up by only fractions of a percentage point. Some of the downbeat mood was caused by the Federal Reserve, which left interest rates unchanged but forecast rising inflation for 2018. Nevertheless, some stocks managed to avoid the uncertainty and posted strong advances. Pitney Bowes (PBI +0.45%), Boeing (BA 0.64%), and BofI Holding (BOFI 9.36%) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
Pitney Bowes goes to work
Shares of Pitney Bowes jumped 12% after the office equipment and services company announced its fourth-quarter financial results. The recent acquisition of Newgistics helped to lift revenue for the quarter by 18% year over year, and the company reversed a year-earlier loss thanks in part to a one-time benefit from the new tax reform laws. The global e-commerce division saw huge revenue growth, showing the extent to which Pitney Bowes has made the transition away from its previous focus on mailing services. There's still more work for the company to do, but Pitney Bowes is taking steps to try to ensure its long-term success.
Image source: Pitney Bowes.
Boeing sees a lot of green
Boeing stock climbed 5%, leading the Dow higher in the wake of its own favorable earnings results. The aerospace giant said that sales climbed 9% on a 13% rise in deliveries of commercial aircraft, and rising efficiency in its internal production helped core earnings per share to nearly double from year-ago levels. The aircraft manufacturer said that better results for the 787 Dreamliner and the new 737 MAX line of airplanes were especially important in driving the business forward. Boeing also expects strong results for 2018, including further gains in sales, earnings, and commercial deliveries. The stock has already done well, but some still see additional gains ahead for the aircraft giant.
Bank on BofI
Finally, shares of BofI Holding gained 8%. The internet-based bank reported exceptionally strong growth in its fiscal second-quarter results, including a 19% rise in the size of the bank's loan assets and considerable gains in key profitability metrics like return on equity and return on assets. BofI stands to benefit quite a bit from corporate tax reform, expecting declines of more than 10 percentage points in the tax rate that it pays. With favorable conditions in the financial sector likely to continue well into 2018, BofI Holding has a good opportunity to keep growing its earnings for the foreseeable future.
