It has been a good week so far for the stock market, with some major market benchmarks pushing upward to their best levels since last summer. Friday morning appeared as though it might bring further gains, albeit modest ones, as stock index futures generally posted small advances.
Among individual stocks, a couple of companies stood out. Deere (DE 1.22%) reported financial results that inspired shareholders to boost the price of the stock somewhat, but Farfetch (FTCH) was a much bigger winner as its share price rebounded sharply from recent declines. Read on and learn more about what's happening with these two companies and the stock market more broadly.
Deere welcomes the growing season
Shares of Deere were up more than 3% in premarket trading on Friday morning. The maker of heavy equipment for agricultural and other industrial uses reported fiscal second-quarter financial results for the period ended April 30, and investors were once again pleased with another quarter of outperformance.
The numbers from Deere were outstanding. Revenue jumped 30% year over year to $17.4 billion. Net income climbed even faster, rising 36% to $2.86 billion and working out to $9.65 per share.
Deere continued to get its best performance from its production and precision agriculture segment, where revenue soared 53% and operating profit nearly doubled from year-ago levels. The company used its pricing power to get the bulk of its gains, but Deere also sold more equipment and had a more favorable sales mix of higher-end products. Gains for the construction and forestry segment and for small turf and agricultural were less exciting but still contributed to Deere's overall success.
On top of those numbers being better than most had expected, investors were also pleased with guidance that Deere should remain successful throughout fiscal 2023. The production and precision agriculture segment should see full-year sales rise 20%, with strong gains in operating margin contributing even more to the bottom line. Deere's shares have been priced as though the agricultural stock's earnings would be unsustainable, but so far, the heavy equipment manufacturer shows no signs of an impending slowdown.
A not-so-Farfetched gain
Gains for Farfetch were much more significant, as the stock jumped 19% in premarket trading Friday morning. The luxury fashion platform specialist reported first-quarter financial results that showed at least some progress toward a turnaround.
Farfetch's financial results weren't entirely positive, but indicated some improvement from past periods. Gross merchandise value over the platform was flat at $932 million, but Farfetch's revenue climbed 8% to $556 million. After making allowances for extraordinary accounting items, adjusted losses of $0.16 per share compared favorably to last year's $0.24 per share on the bottom line.
Investors were notably pleased about some of the strategies Farfetch is pursuing. Personalized communication helped push active customer counts to roughly 4 million and helped boost conversion. Also, the marketplace rolled out its proprietary artificial intelligence algorithm to allow customers to visualize more realistically how various garments would look on models. New client wins also bolstered sentiment.
Some economists have been surprised at how well consumers have held up even as signs of macroeconomic deterioration pile up. For now, though, the positive surprise has benefited companies like Farfetch, and it'll be interesting to see if experts end up being completely wrong about the future trajectory of the global economy and its impact on the stock market.