U.S. stocks climbed for a third straight session on Thursday, this time after President Trump tweeted that he had a "long and very good conversation" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.02%) added a little over 1%.
Today's stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | 1.06% | 264.98 |
| S&P 500 | 1.06% | 28.63 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Image source: Getty Images.
Industrials led today's gainers, with the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI 0.16%) climbing 1.8%. Tech players also continued to rally, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK 1.13%) up 1.2%.
As for individual stocks, earnings news left shares of Fitbit (FIT) and Allstate (ALL -1.32%) traveling in very different directions.
Fitbit's new devices are a hit
Shares of Fitbit skyrocketed 25.8% after the fitness-centric wearable technology company announced stronger-than-expected third-quarter results.
That's not to say Fitbit's results looked impressive at first glance. Revenue climbed 0.3% year over year to $393.6 million, helped by a 3% increase in average selling prices for the 3.5 million wearable devices Fitbit sold during the quarter. That translated to adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings of $10 million, or $0.04 per share, swinging from a loss of $2.8 million, or $0.01 per share in the same year-ago period.
In comparison, though, most analysts were expecting a loss of $0.01 per share on lower revenue of $381.2 million. What's more, Fitbit reaffirmed its full-year guidance for revenue of roughly $1.5 billion, with higher selling prices continuing to offset a lower number of devices sold.
Given its return to profitability, its reiterated outlook, and the fact that shares were trading near an all-time low leading up to the report, it's no surprise to see Fitbit stock rebound.
Allstate underwrites an earnings miss
Shares of Allstate fell 6% after the insurance giant delivered a mixed third-quarter report.
Allstate's performance appeared solid with a cursory look. Consolidated revenue grew 5.8% year over year to $10.47 billion, exceeding expectations for $8.72 billion. On the bottom line, however, that resulted in 20.6% growth in adjusted earnings per diluted share to $1.93, which fell well short of estimates for $2.21 per share.
"Allstate's strategy to grow the market share of our personal Property-Liability businesses while expanding other protection products delivered excellent results," said Chairman and CEO Tom Wilson. "These operating results support attractive cash returns to shareholders while investing for long-term growth."
On Wilson's latter point -- and to offer a significant vote of confidence in its future -- Allstate's board approved a new $3 billion share repurchase program to begin after its current $2 billion program is finished.
In the end, regardless of whether the market approves, it's clear that Allstate is more than pleased with its performance. But given its bottom-line shortfall relative to expectations, the stock's decline isn't all that surprising.
