The stock market has been increasingly violent in its volatility lately, and Friday proved another point. After posting a strong recovery on Thursday, tech-related earnings helped contribute to a reversal of fortune on Friday. As of 1:15 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.93%) was down almost 2.5%, giving back most of its gains from the previous day.
Yet with earnings reports continuing to come out at a strong pace, there were several Nasdaq stocks that managed to gain ground. Particularly noteworthy were the latest performances from Honeywell International (HON -0.97%) and Five9 (FIVN 0.03%), which were able to gain ground even on a tough day for the market overall.
Honeywell's still working well
Shares of Honeywell International rose 3% in midafternoon trading. The industrial components specialist managed to produce strong financial results and sees rosier times ahead in its business.
To be clear, Honeywell's numbers didn't look all that strong on their face. Sales of $8.4 billion were actually down 1% from year-ago levels. Organic sales were up just 1%, with volumes of COVID-19 protective masks costing the company about 2 percentage points to revenue growth. Adjusted earnings of $1.91 per share were down 1% year over year as well.
However, Honeywell's business did better than most expected, as the industrial conglomerate largely overcame a host of challenges that included supply chain constraints, macroeconomic pressures, and industry-specific impacts. In particular, the aerospace segment saw a 5% organic sales gain on a 25% jump in aftermarket general aviation and air transport revenue. Building technologies and performance materials also did well, helping to offset weakness in the safety and productivity solutions segment.
Best of all, Honeywell boosted its full-year 2022 guidance, kicking the lower end of its anticipated revenue range higher by $100 million to $35.5 billion and increasing earnings expectations by $0.10 to a new range of $8.50 to $8.80 per share. With aerospace starting to get back into gear, investors are hopeful Honeywell can keep up the pace of long-term growth and return to its pre-pandemic trajectory.
Image source: Getty Images.
Five9 posts a perfect 10
Shares of Five9 were up more than 10% on Friday afternoon. The cloud contact center software provider managed to see record results and produce enough growth to keep investors satisfied during the first quarter of 2022.
Five9's financial results showed continuing gains in sales. Revenue was higher by 33% to $182.8 million, setting a new record and keeping up its pace of growth. Five9 did lose money, but adjusted losses narrowed slightly to $15.6 million, or $0.22 per share. Subscription revenue over the past 12 months grew 46% year over year.
To be clear, Five9 did face some challenges. Adjusted gross margin fell 3.5 percentage points to 60.5%, reflecting some of the increased costs that the company had to pay. Spending on research and development jumped by more than half, and sales and marketing costs also saw a big jump.
However, investors were generally pleased with Five9's guidance for the full 2022 year. The company expects revenue of $770 million to $773 million for the year, with adjusted earnings of $1.22 to $1.24 per share. That still puts Five9's stock at a hefty valuation based on traditional metrics, but investors were pleased to see signs that the enterprise cloud industry is still seeing plenty of demand from businesses seeking to make good on their digital transformation efforts.
