TSM (TSM) stock jumped more than 5% in premarket trade on Thursday, buoyed by a record quarterly profit and expectations of robust revenue growth for the first quarter of 2025.
The company’s CEO CC Wei said he thought the US controls on exporting chips was a manageable issue. He added that TSM is applying for special permits for clients that may be affected, according to a Reuters report. The chip giant’s customers include the likes of Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA)
The results showed a 57% jump in net income to T$374.7bn ($11.4bn) for the last quarter of 2024, a record high for any quarter and in line with estimates. Revenue also climbed 39% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Expectations are of similar revenue growth in the current quarter of about 37% to $25-25.8bn.
NYSE – Delayed Quote • USD
206.80 – (+2.66%)
At close: 15 January at 16:00:02 GMT-5
Tesla (TSLA) stock headed higher on Wednesday, with shares closing up 8% after a price target boost from Barclays (BARC.L). Analysts at the bank boosted the target to $325 from $270, citing market hype around autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and their total addressable market.
The moves higher come despite a lawsuit being brought against the company’s CEO Elon Musk in the US. The suit claims the billionaire did not properly disclose his growing stake in X (formerly known as Twitter).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Musk waited too long to disclose his stake, enabling him to underpay for shares by at least $150m (£123m), according to a Bloomberg report.
Musk acquired Twitter, which he later renamed as X, in October 2022 for around $44bn.
“Because Musk failed to timely disclose his beneficial ownership, he was able to make these purchases from the unsuspecting public at artificially low prices,” the SEC reportedly said in its civil suit.
“Investors who sold Twitter common stock during this period did so at artificially low prices and thus suffered substantial economic harm,” the regulator added.
Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro reportedly said that this action was an “admission” that the SEC could not bring an “actual case”.
NasdaqGS – Delayed Quote • USD
428.22 – (+8.04%)
At close: 15 January at 16:00:00 GMT-5
Read more: How ‘Trump trade’ stocks are performing ahead of inauguration
Bank of America (BAC) was the latest big bank to report results on Thursday, with its results pushing it slightly lower in premarket trade.
The bank said profit was higher for Q4 and predicted it would earn more net interest income in 2025.
It reported earnings per share of 82 cents, topping the consensus estimate of 77 cents.
Story continues
Revenue, net of interest expense, was $25.3bn, also above the $25.1bn projected by analysts.
The results came as no surprise among its peers. Other big American banks such as JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) felt the benefit of stronger equity markets and investment banking going into the new year.
“We finished 2024 with a strong fourth quarter. Every source of revenue increased, and we saw better than industry growth in deposits and loans,” said chair and CEO Brian Moynihan.
The bank’s brightest performance came through its Wall Street operations, following a rebound of dealmaking across the industry after a two-year-long drought.
Bank of America investment banking fees rose 44%. Its trading division, meanwhile, rose 13.5% from the third quarter of 2023. Client activity swelled around the volatility of the US presidential election, producing $4.1bn in revenue.
NYSE – Delayed Quote • USD
47.10 – (+2.88%)
At close: 15 January at 16:00:02 GMT-5
UK house builder Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) was among the biggest losers in the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) on Thursday, down almost 5% by late-morning as worries about mortgage rates percolate through the housing market.
The move lower came despite performance coming out at the top end of expectations.
“Yes, the balance sheet looks robust, helped by the timing of land purchases, but, as the businesses itself acknowledges, it needs mortgage rates to come down to drive demand and allow it to return to growth,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L).
“It will hope soft UK economic data and the recent easing of inflation allows the Bank of England to go further on rates, otherwise 2025 could turn into another year of managed decline.”
Meanwhile, inflation continues to be a concern, which was easier to absorb in a buoyant market, added Mould.
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.