Wall Street continued its rally on Thursday, with stock markets moving higher as investors gained confidence about the resiliency of the U.S. economy, even amid a host of challenges. Major market benchmarks started the day weaker but built up momentum throughout the day. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%), Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.10%), and S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.02%) were all up by more than 1%.
|
Index |
Daily Percentage Change |
Daily Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
+1.23% |
+418 |
|
S&P |
+1.23 % |
+54 |
|
Nasdaq |
+1.33% |
+178 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Meme-stock investors were looking forward to hearing about the latest results from video game retailer GameStop (GME 7.58%), but the numbers didn't make shareholders winners in after-hours trading late Thursday. However, another stock that has found its way among the picks of legendary investor Warren Buffett did see big gains after the market closed. Read on to learn more about both stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
GameStop heads lower
Shares of GameStop were down almost 7% in after-hours trading around 5 p.m. ET. The company's fourth-quarter financial results failed to inspire new confidence in its turnaround plan.
GameStop's financial metrics were mixed. The quarter saw sales rise a modest 6% year over year to $2.25 billion. However, a big rise in expenses created an adjusted loss of $141.4 million, which works out to $1.86 per share. The numbers for the full year showed similar trends, with revenue climbing 18% from the previous year to $6.01 billion but losses widening to $331 million, or $4.56 per share on an adjusted basis.
In addition to the report, GameStop said it would open a new marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by the end of the second quarter of 2022. Given the recent slowdown in interest in NFTs, some investors might be worried that the marketplace might come too late to capitalize on the new digital assets if popularity continues to wane.
GameStop shareholders have already seen their shares lose more than 60% since mid-November. Many predicted that meme stocks with businesses that couldn't live up to the hype of individual investors would eventually suffer, but that isn't stopping GameStop from trying its best to execute on its turnaround plans.
A big bounce for StoneCo
Meanwhile, shares of StoneCo (STNE 0.32%) were up more than 22% in after-hours trading Thursday. The Brazilian fintech company's stock has gotten pounded along with many of its peers, but that hasn't led Warren Buffett to make any moves to stop holding shares. This afternoon's fourth-quarter financial results inspired at least a bit of confidence among investors.
StoneCo's numbers showed continued growth. Revenue jumped 87% in the fourth quarter, and even excluding its new Linx unit, StoneCo's sales were 60% higher than they were a year earlier. The company added a record 377,700 net clients, reaching 1.8 million in total.
Total payment volume on the platform was higher by 55%. StoneCo was pleased at the progress it made signing up tiny micro-merchants as it expanded the reach of its banking ecosystem.
StoneCo was the first to admit that 2021 wasn't a great year, but it believes it can continue to grow in 2022. In particular, it intends to use its software business to tap into more financial services, and StoneCo is looking for better margin performance as the year progresses.
The after-hours gains won't do a lot to eliminate the 75% plunge in the stock price since October. However, the news served as a reminder that fundamental business prospects among many high-growth stocks remain solid. That's the reassurance that many investors need right now.
