Stock market investors are hoping October will prove to be a turning point for the stock market, and despite considerable volatility during the first half of the month, markets have started to cooperate more this week. After massive gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%), S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.20%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.59%) on Monday, Wall Street appeared to be in a positive mood Tuesday morning as well, as futures contracts on key stock indexes had climbed another 2% by 8:45 a.m. ET.
Companies reporting their third-quarter financial results are getting a lot of attention from investors, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.29%) added its name to the list of stocks getting short-term boosts from favorable quarterly reports. Yet there were even bigger gains from small streaming television specialist FuboTV (FUBO 6.72%), which gave preliminary guidance that made its investors happier about its future prospects.
Johnson & Johnson looks healthy
Shares of Johnson & Johnson rose between 1% and 2% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The healthcare giant reported third-quarter results that indicated considerable optimism about the future despite some potential short-term headwinds.
Johnson & Johnson was able to get decent performance even under tough conditions. Revenue was up nearly 2% to $23.79 billion, even though the strong U.S. dollar led to about a 6-percentage-point reduction in sales growth. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.55 per share, down 2% year over year but better than many had expected to see.
J&J's U.S. business enjoyed sales gains of 4%, while the international segment's revenue fell 0.3% when measured in U.S. dollars but rose more than 12% in local currency terms. As investors have seen in past quarters, J&J's pharmaceutical business segment had the strongest sales gains, and while the MedTech medical devices and technology business also performed well, growth for the consumer health division wasn't able to entirely overcome foreign currency weakness.
Minor changes to Johnson & Johnson's guidance gave some color to the report. The healthcare giant narrowed its sales growth projections and reduced its range for reported full-year revenue to between $93 billion and $93.5 billion, largely due to the strong dollar. However, the company left its adjusted earnings guidance unchanged, expecting operational gains to make up for any foreign currency weakness. With plans to spin off its consumer health division, shareholders are hopeful that investors will see even more value in Johnson & Johnson stock in 2023 and beyond.
FuboTV heads higher
Shares of FuboTV made even bigger gains, climbing nearly 14%. The live television streaming platform specializing in sports programming released preliminary third-quarter results that gave shareholders reassurance after a tough year for the stock.
Investors were pleased with what FuboTV said about its numbers. The company says it expects North American revenue to be at least $210 million, up 34% year over year, which would top its previous sales guidance of $200 million to $205 million. Paid subscriber counts of 1.22 million in North America would be 65,000 to 85,000 higher than previous guidance, and although the company expects to have an adjusted pre-tax operating loss of about $100 million, it believes that it's still on a path to achieve its profitability targets by 2025.
Moreover, FuboTV decided to pull the plug on what some saw as a potential distraction. After conducting a strategic review of its gambling business, the company decided to close down the subsidiary and cease operations of its Fubo Sportsbook.
Given the headwinds that sports betting companies have faced lately, shareholders seem happy that FuboTV will be focusing on its core business for now. That has many people more excited than ever to see what FuboTV has to say when it gives its full quarterly report in early November.
