Investors have been fickle lately, seemingly reluctant to get too confident while also refusing to be pessimistic for long. After Thursday's huge declines, one might have thought that the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.38%) might continue to sink into the weekend. Yet Friday was a solid day for the index, which joined the Nasdaq 100 index in rising about 1%.
Even though broad-based macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns have moved markets recently, good old-fashioned earnings results have also had an impact on Nasdaq stocks. Today, shares of Adobe (ADBE +1.53%) celebrated solid gains after a good quarter, but high-flying stock lululemon athletica (LULU 4.68%) fell back to earth with results that failed to satisfy the high expectations of shareholders.
Adobe vaults to a new all-time high
Shares of Adobe climbed by 5%, reaching new heights. The maker of creative software did extremely well in its fiscal second quarter, posting solid growth despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Image source: Adobe.
Adobe's sales climbed 14% to $3.13 billion, which was a record. The company saw considerable strength in its digital media segment, where revenue climbed 18% year over year on good performance from its creative and document cloud businesses. A slowdown in advertising weighed on Adobe's digital experience segment, but otherwise the big shift in businesses having to turn to remote solutions for their creative needs helped boost demand for Adobe's software products and platforms. Adjusted earnings were up 34% from year-ago levels.
The future still has some challenges for Adobe, but the company was reasonably upbeat. Sales and earnings for the fiscal third quarter should still rise by double-digit percentages from where they were this time last year. Moreover, Adobe is one of the few businesses that's still buying back its stock, showing confidence in meeting its cash flow needs.
Adobe has proved to be a powerful partner for enterprises and individuals seeking to take advantage of the digital revolution, and the company is likely to capitalize on high demand for years to come. Adobe's financial report showed that even under tough conditions, it has the capacity to keep growing and meeting its customers' needs.
A rare miss for Lululemon
On the other hand, Lululemon stock dropped almost 4%. The yoga apparel retailer has posted extremely strong results lately, and its share price has soared. But it couldn't keep up the pace when it released its first-quarter results.
Coronavirus-related closures weighed heavily on Lululemon's sales, which were down 17% from the year-ago period. For much of the period, all Lululemon locations in North America, Europe, and certain Asia-Pacific countries were closed, and it was only after the quarter ended on May 3 that the yoga retailer started to reopen some of these retail stores. Earnings per share were down 70% year over year as a result of the closures.
Yet Lululemon did its best to keep moving forward during the quarter. Direct-to-consumer sales soared 68%, making up more than half of all revenue for the retailer. CEO Calvin McDonald believes that lessons that the company has learned through this crisis could be useful in the future, especially as it seeks to connect more closely with customers not only through future store visits but also with digital experiences that can promote even greater brand loyalty.
Earnings reports have been mixed across the stock market recently, as many businesses wrestle with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Even though Lululemon and Adobe went in different directions today, both have the staying power to rebound fully as conditions improve.
