Some days are all about testing a whole bunch of Sriracha hot sauces for fun ... and other days are all about corporate earnings reports. The latter was the case on Wall Street -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.05%) slipped 31 points Thursday (after its biggest gain in months) as the fourth-quarter earnings season gets spicy.
1. TripAdvisor boasts big revenue growth
It likes long walks on the beach and can tell you where to get away with your date for the Valentine's Day weekend. That's not why investors bid TripAdvisor (TRIP 2.95%) stock up 7% Wednesday -- the company announced fourth-quarter earnings and huge revenue growth, driven by ad sales. Move over, Yelp.
TripAdvisor rates travel destinations with user reviews. It sounds like Yelp, but it was spun off from Expedia (EXPE 1.20%) in late 2011. It focuses on hotels, resorts, and "excursion" reviews ("This scuba instructor will make you sing like a dolphin!"). Wednesday's earnings report beat expectations with a 26% jump in sales to $212 million and earnings of $20 million.
Total 2013 revenues were almost $1 billion, and more than 2 billion unique users went to the site to find trip advice in the year, according to the CEO. It's an impressive growth story at Newton, Mass., headquarters -- the stock is up 92% in the past 12 months.
2. Manchester United earnings miss the goal
Someone hand them a yellow card. Classic British soccer club Manchester United (MANU +1.51%) fell more than 4% Wednesday after reporting that revenues rose just 1.6% to $200 million last quarter -- well below investors'/fans' expectations.
That's right. Unlike your beloved New York Rangers, Manchester United is a publicly held company -- so shareholders can happily spend $15 for frothy beer at the game and basically be paying themselves.
The takeaway is that ManU's performance on the field affects the stock price off the field. The team's recent Premier League performance was described as "disappointing," and they failed to qualify for next season's Champions League, which could affect profits. Plus, ManU recently dropped out of the top three highest-earning soccer clubs. Maybe they should just make soccer more interesting.
3. Fossil earnings look good
Your dad's favorite store is having a good old school day. The classic retro-look retailer Fossil (FOSL 1.51%) announced that earnings jumped 7% from last year, sending the stock up 3.5% Wednesday.
Interestingly, sales of weathered-leather goods dipped at stores worldwide, while watches and jewelry sales steadily rose. But what's really driving Fossil is the 13.8% jump in sales over in Europe (we've said it before -- Germans love industrial Fossil timepieces).
Today:
- The January retail sales report
- Fourth-quarter earnings: Burger King Worldwide, PepsiCo
MarketSnacks Fact of the Day: The Sochi Olympics by the numbers: About 70,000 gallons of Russian borscht are expected to be served (which, by the way, are being patrolled by 37,000 security guards).
As originally published on MarketSnacks.com
