The Dow jumps 150 points as strong earnings and GDP growth boost stocks

Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase and others are set to release their earnings after the closing bell

By Vinamrata Chaturvedi2 min readUpdated October 30, 2024

The Dow and other major indices jumped Wednesday morning, fueled by a stronger-than-expected earnings report from Alphabet $GOOGL (GOOGL) Google’s parent company, and new GDP data signaling a stable U.S. economy. Released just days before the U.S. election, the third-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report showed an annualized growth rate of 2.8%. Although this pace is slightly below the second quarter’s 3% expansion, it surpassed economists’ predictions of 2.6%, offering a positive snapshot of the economy’s resilience heading into the election.

Meanwhile, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices fell (AMD $AMD) 10% after its fourth-quarter revenue forecast disappointed investors. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) saw an even steeper decline, plummeting 32% as its auditor, Ernst & Young, resigned amid ongoing conflicts with the company.

In the morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 158 points, or 0.37%, while the Nasdaq $NDAQ and S&P 500 rose 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

Today, the spotlight remains on big tech, with Microsoft $MSFT (MSFT) and Meta $META Platforms (META) scheduled to release their earnings. Cryptocurrency-related companies, such as Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Robinhood (HOOD) will also report after the closing bell.

Google beats expectations, stock is up 5%

Google (GOOGL) parent Alphabet surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, reporting revenues of $88.3 billion for the third quarter. As a result, the shares of the company were up over 5% on Wednesday.

Consolidated Alphabet revenues grew 15% year over year, the company said, “reflecting strong momentum across the business.” The tech giant reported net income increased 34%, and earnings per share, or EPS, increased 37% to $2.12. Google’s shares were up 1.66% at the market close on Tuesday, and were up 2.25% during after-hours trading. The company’s stock has climbed 22.6% so far this year.

Super Micro Computer stock plunges 30%

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock dropped 30% in the Wednesday morning trading, after the server company announced that its auditor, Ernst & Young, had resigned.

In its resignation letter, EY said it was “unwilling to be associated with the financial statements prepared by management,” citing recent information that made it impossible to rely on representations made by Super Micro’s executives and audit committee.

Super Micro Computer stock is still up about 20% so far this year.

Eli Lilly stock falls more than 13%

Sales of Eli Lilly $LLY’s (LLY) blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound are still booming, but just not at the level Wall Street was anticipating. The pharma giant posted its third-quarter earnings Wednesday morning and reported sales figures well below analysts’ expectations. This led to the company’s stock falling more than 13% in Wednesday morning trading.

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