Wall Street finally bounced back last week, and that helped many stocks that were already holding up fairly well during the downturn. The Dow has closed lower for five consecutive weeks, rattling investor confidence in the process -- but things aren't playing out that way for everyone. There are dozens of stocks still hitting fresh highs despite the general market downturn.
Under Armour (UA 0.16%) (UAA 0.31%), Dunkin' Brands (DNKN +0.00%), and Costco Wholesale (COST 0.40%) hit new highs last week. Let's go over how these names continue to impress investors when the equity market's going the other way.
Image source: Dunkin' Brands.
Under Armour
This may not seem like a great time for performance apparel and athletic footwear, with tariff tensions running high in China. It also doesn't help that heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua and NBA star Steph Curry -- two sporting world icons with Under Armour endorsement deals -- have been schooled by underdogs this month.
However, Under Armour stock is pushing through the pain, and in the process its voting shares hit a 52-week high this past week -- not the lower-priced C shares that failed to take out December's highs. It has now trounced analyst profit targets with ease in the past three quarters, and it only helps that the stock had been in the market's doghouse the past few years. Even though the A shares hit a fresh 52-week high, Under Armour is still trading for slightly less than half of the all-time high it set back in 2015.
Dunkin' Brands
Friday was National Doughnut Day, and it also happened to be when the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts hit an all-time high. The new high-water mark is a surprise, since Dunkin'w traffic trends have been problematic.
Comps were positive for Dunkin' in its latest quarter, but that 2.4% gain was the handiwork of moving more premium-priced espresso and frozen beverage products. Still, revenue and earnings per share rose 6% and 11%, respectively, for the period.
Costco
Costco made the cut in this column a couple of weeks ago, but when an analyst decided to downgrade the warehouse club operator ahead of its quarterly results late last month, it seemed as if the stock would fall out of favor with investors. Costco came through with another blowout report.
Revenue rose better than 7%, fueled primarily by a 5.5% spike in comps. Adjusted earnings rose 11%, handily beating Wall Street expectations. Costco's reported margins did contract, but that was accounting trickery related to a change in revenue recognition and gas price inflation. Costco is doing just fine once you adjust for all of the one-time nuances, and that was more than enough to push Costco back to new all-time highs in back-to-back days to close out the trading week.
