There's been a constant tug of war on Wall Street this week, but it appears that the stock market looks ready to open higher on Friday morning. Despite having no clear direction on macroeconomics or monetary policy, investors nevertheless seem confident in the long-term prospects for stocks. That's pointing to a higher open, and as of 7 a.m. EDT, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.04%) were up 193 points to 35,033. S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.09%) futures rose 18 points to 4,510, and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.11%) futures picked up 58 points to 15,617.
Earnings have played a significant role in the market lately, and a couple of different reports show the breadth of what investors are having to deal with. Dave & Buster's (PLAY -4.92%) managed to climb in premarket trading on Friday after a solid report, but Traeger (COOK -1.40%) wasn't able to grill up similarly tasty results for shareholders. Below, we'll take a closer look at the news from these two companies.
Time to play
Shares of Dave & Buster's were up nearly 8% in premarket trading on Friday morning. The food and entertainment chain had encouraging things to say about its second-quarter financial results.
The numbers from Dave & Buster's indicated a full rebound. Revenue surged more than sevenfold to $378 million, compared to the second quarter of 2020, given that most of its locations were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the company also topped its numbers from the second quarter of 2019 by roughly 10%, indicating ongoing growth. Comparable-store sales were up 3.6% from their levels two years ago, and Dave & Buster's posted record net income of $53 million, or $1.07 per share.
Moreover, Dave & Buster's is pleased with how the first several weeks of its third quarter have gone. Comparable-store sales are up another 1.3%, compared to levels from two years ago. The company expects that trend to continue, with comps likely to be roughly in line with third-quarter 2019 numbers. Yet with new store openings coming, Dave & Buster's sees pre-tax operating earnings coming in ahead of where they were two years ago, indicating sustained upward momentum for the business.
Some doubted whether Dave & Buster's would be able to survive the pandemic at all. Now, though, people are ready to play, and that could actually bolster the company's business for the remainder of this year and beyond.
Image source: Getty Images.
Traeger flames out
Meanwhile, shares of Traeger were down almost 11% on Friday morning before the market opened. The wood-pellet grill pioneer reported its first results since its initial public offering, but shareholders weren't entirely satisfied with what they saw.
On its face, Traeger's report was somewhat mixed. On a positive note, revenue was up 39% from year-ago levels, with grill sales up 40%. Consumables revenue was up just 28%, but accessories soared 65% year over year. However, adjusted earnings came in at $0.15 per share, down from $0.26 in the year-earlier period.
Looking ahead, Traeger is enjoying strong demand from consumers. However, the company faces supply-chain disruptions that are challenging its ability to control costs, and it's also having to spend money to build up its brand and keep innovating to generate further growth. Investors didn't seem entirely comfortable with full-year guidance for revenue of $760 million to $770 million.
Traeger has seen its share of ups and downs since going public just over a month ago. Grilling won't go out of style anytime soon, but that doesn't mean Traeger will immediately make a big splash as summer starts to come to an end.
