Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Amazon & more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. 

Twitter – Shares dropped more than 20% after the social media company reported user growth that fell short of expectations amid heightened scrutiny and the challenge of handling posts around the U.S. election. Twitter ad revenue grew 15% year over year to $808 million, but the company warned that the U.S. presidential election makes advertiser behavior “hard to predict.”

Apple — Shares of the consumer tech giant fell 5% after fiscal fourth-quarter iPhone sales missed estimates and Apple declined to give guidance. The company reported 73 cents in earnings per share and $64.7 billion in revenue, topping the 70 cents per share and $63.7 billion in revenue Wall Street expected, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Alphabet – The stock climbed more than 3%, bucking the negative trend for the tech sector on Friday, after the Google parent company reported a blowout quarter. The company posted an EPS of $16.40 in the third quarter, versus $11.29 expected, according to Refinitiv estimates. Alphabet also beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations across each major section with strong advertising growth.

Exxon — The energy giant slid more than 2% after it reported its third straight quarter of losses. Exxon lost 18 cents per share during the quarter on an adjusted basis, which was smaller than the 25 cents per share loss that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected. Revenue was also ahead of forecasts, although it represented a roughly 30% decline from the same quarter a year earlier.

Starbucks – Shares dropped more than 2% despite the company beating top and bottom line estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter. Starbucks said its two largest markets, the U.S. and China, are rebounding from the pandemic more quickly than expected.

Square — The payment stock fell 9% as The Wall Street Journal reported that Square is in talks with Credit Karma to acquire the firm’s tax prep business. Credit Karma’s pending sale to TurboTax parent Intuit has drawn regulatory scrutiny, and selling part of the business to Square would also require Justice Department approval, the report noted.

Skechers — The retailer slid more than 8% after the company did not provide forward guidance due to ongoing uncertainty stemming from the pandemic. Skechers did, however, report EPS of 53 cents on an adjusted basis, which was 17 cents above estimates.

Newell Brands — Shares advanced more than 4% after the company said it earned 84 cents per share on an adjusted basis during the third quarter, which was ahead of estimates. “We delivered very strong third quarter results, including broad-based sales growth underpinned by strong consumption, and significant improvement in operating margin and cash flow generation, as the organization rallied behind our strategic priorities,” the company said in a statement.

Amazon — Shares of the e-commerce giant lost 4% despite the company reporting better-than-expected third quarter results. Amazon earned $12.37 per share during the period on revenue of $96.15 billion. Revenue forecast for the fourth quarter was strong, but the company issued a wide profit guidance range for the fourth quarter due to higher costs from the coronavirus pandemic.

AbbVie — The drug company gained more than 5% following third-quarter results. AbbVie earned an adjusted $2.83 per share, which was ahead of the expected $2.76, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue also exceeded expectations.

Facebook — Shares of Facebook dropped 6% after the company said its user base in the U.S. and Canada declined during the third quarter. The social media company said daily active users between the two countries fell to 196 million from 198 million a quarter earlier. Facebook reported profit of $2.72 per share for the third quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91, with revenue also above Street forecasts.

– CNBC’s Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.

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