Stocks did well on Friday, finishing the week on a positive note as investors seemed more comfortable with the geopolitical and macroeconomic issues facing the financial markets. With most major benchmarks at or near record highs, it was hard to find a lot of bad news, but a few companies had to deal with challenges that sent their share prices lower. Cronos Group (CRON +0.37%), Globant (GLOB +3.91%), and Fortuna Silver Mines (FSM 3.37%) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
Cronos keeps sinking
Shares of Cronos Group dropped 8% as the marijuana stock sector continued to get hit hard by lackluster earnings. It wasn't Cronos that delivered poor results but rather Aurora Cannabis, which disappointed its shareholders with substantial declines in sales in its most recent quarter compared to three months earlier. However, Cronos raised similar concerns earlier in the week, as its positive net income was entirely due to accounting treatment of the ownership stake that Altria Group has in Cronos. With cannabis prices falling, especially among marijuana extract products, it could be a long time before Cronos and its peers get their momentum back.
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Globant can't quite do enough
Globant saw its stock fall 9% after the tech company reported its third-quarter financial results. At first glance, everything seemed to go reasonably well for Globant, with revenue climbing 27% year over year and adjusted earnings per share rising by 35%. Yet even though the company gave pretty favorable guidance for the full year, investors seemed to want more from Globant. The consulting and IT services provider does get a lot of its business from a relatively small group of customers, and even though Globant has worked hard to diversify its customer risk, there are still some concerns about what could happen if a major client cut back on its services.
O Fortuna!
Finally, shares of Fortuna Silver Mines finished lower by 5%. The silver mining specialist said that its sales in the third quarter of 2019 inched higher by 3% from year-ago levels, but adjusted net income was down by 80% year over year. Fortuna explained that even though gold and silver prices were higher during the period, the mining company produced 13% less silver and 9% less gold than it did in the year-ago quarter. Cash costs of production were also higher at its San Jose and Caylloma mine locations. Precious metals stocks have generally done well in 2019, but Fortuna had to deal with a quarter in which it didn't execute as well as it could.
