Stocks once again proved their resiliency on Tuesday, as major benchmarks found their way off their lows to recover significantly by the end of the session. In the absence of any major developments on key issues like trade, impeachment, and global macroeconomic conditions, investors seemed content to keep their attention on earnings reports and other company-specific news. For some companies, that news wasn't good, and many stocks finished sharply lower. Slack Technologies (WORK +0.00%), Macy's (M 0.86%), and Intelsat (I +0.00%) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
Slack gets smacked by competition
Shares of Slack Technologies dropped 8% as investors weighed the latest competitive threat to the workplace collaboration specialist's communication platform. Microsoft said that the Microsoft Teams app, which aims to do many of the same things that Slack does, reached the milestone of having 20 million daily active users. Slack has always argued that its platform encourages a great level of stickiness and interactivity, but the fact that Microsoft already has a huge presence in the corporate world gives it opportunities to encourage greater use of Teams. Time will show whether Slack can survive a Microsoft onslaught.
Image source: Slack Technologies.
The other shoe drops for Macy's
Macy's saw its stock fall 11% after the department store retailer told investors that it had been the victim of a data breach. According to the company, a website hack affected a number of Macy's online shoppers in October, potentially resulting in the loss of customer information. The retail sector was already under pressure because of poor outlooks from some of Macy's department store peers, calling into question whether the holiday season will provide a much-needed lift for the industry. With so many major retailers either having disappeared or otherwise floundering, a data breach is the last thing Macy's needed, and some fear it could be the next domino to fall.
Intelsat takes a one-two punch
Finally, shares of Intelsat plunged 24%. The move marked the second day of losses for Intelsat in a row, with the global satellite operator taking a huge hit from plans by the federal government to hold a public auction of satellite-frequency spectrum. Investors had hoped that a private auction would result in a huge windfall for Intelsat, which currently holds a considerable amount of spectrum license assets, but the alternative could result in much of that money going to the government instead. Today, stock analysts weighed in with their own concerns about the company's future, further depressing the share price. Unless the matter gets resolved more favorably, Intelsat will have trouble bouncing back.
