Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
The stock market managed to finish the week on a positive note, with the S&P 500 finishing the day with another record-high close. Favorable earnings news played a key role in the gains, and Amazon.com (AMZN +2.05%), Zynga (ZNGA +0.00%), and Deckers Outdoor (DECK 1.74%) all saw huge gains from earnings-related results today. Let's take a closer look to find out what sent those stocks soaring today.
Amazon soared more than 9% to new all-time highs of its own after the company reported a 24% jump in year-over-year revenue for the third quarter. With sales growth both in the U.S. and abroad, and with a 4% gain in customer accounts, investors were once again willing to ignore the fact that the online retail giant reported a quarterly net loss. Amazon continues to play the long game, boosting revenue and market share at the expense of short-term profit, but investors, at some point, have to start asking whether Amazon will ever decide to flip the switch to put profits ahead of seeking out ever-greater dominance of its industry.
Zynga also gave investors reason to celebrate in its quarterly report, as shares jumped 5.5% even though the social-gaming company's news was more in the less-bad category than purely good. Revenue dropped 36%, contributing to a loss of $0.02 per share for the quarter. As ugly as those numbers are, Zynga did better than investors had feared, and the introduction of several new mobile-platform games could point the way toward a recovery in the long run for the company.
Deckers Outdoor climbed more than 20% as the footwear specialist managed to limit its profit declines, and boost revenue slightly. Fears that Deckers' UGG line of shoes would prove to be a passing fad didn't materialize this quarter, as brand sales rose 1.3%. With mixed guidance for the fourth quarter and full year, Deckers needs to get its overhead expenses in line in order to make the most of the money it brings in.
