Check out the companies making headlines after the bell : Alphabet – Shares soared about 15% in extended trading after first-quarter earnings of $1.89 per share beat analysts’ estimates of $1.51 per share, according to LSEG, and revenues of $80.54 billion exceeded expectations of $78.59 billion. The search giant operator also authorized its first ever dividend, as well as a $70 billion buyback . Microsoft – The tech giant saw shares climb 4.5% in extended trading after the software maker posted fiscal third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. Snap – Shares soared more than 27% in afterhours trading after the social media firm reported first-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates. Revenue increased 21% to $1.19 billion, primarily driven by improvements in the company’s advertising platform. Intel – The tech stock slid 8% in extended trading after the company missed expectations for first-quarter sales and gave a weak forecast for the current quarter. Intel reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, however. Dexcom – The manufacturer of glucose monitoring systems fell 8%, even as the company posted beats on the top and bottom lines. Dexcom reported adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $921 million in revenue. Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated 27 cents per share in earnings and $909.9 million of revenue. Gilead Sciences – The biotech stock jumped almost 3% after a better-than-feared quarterly report. Gilead posted a loss of $1.32 per share, narrower than a loss of $1.49 per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue of $6.69 billion also came in above expectations. Skechers – The shoe company advanced more than 7%. Skechers reported first-quarter earnings of $1.33 per share and revenue of $2.25 billion. Those results surpassed the earnings of $1.10 per share and $2.2 billion in revenue anticipated by analysts polled by LSEG. L3Harris Technologies – Shares rose nearly 2% after the aerospace and defense company handed in a stronger-than-expected report. L3Harris posted an adjusted EPS of $3.06 and surpassed consensus estimates of $2.90 per share, per LSEG. Revenue of $5.21 billion also came in higher than an estimate of $5.11 billion. — CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Darla Mercado contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Netflix — Shares soared more than 13% after the streaming giant surpassed 300 million paid memberships . Netflix also beat fourth-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines, and it raised its revenue expectations for the full year 2025. United Airlines — Shares popped more than 3% after United Airlines’ fourth-quarter results came in better than expected. The airline operator posted adjusted earnings of $3.26 per share on revenues of $14.70 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $3.00 on revenues of $14.47 billion. The company also issued a strong forecast for first-quarter earnings. Interactive Brokers Group — Shares jumped about 3% after the brokerage posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Interactive Brokers reported adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $1.42 billion in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.86 on revenues of $1.37 billion. Seagate Technology — Shares gained 1% after Seagate Technology surpassed second-quarter expectations, with adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $2.33 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.88 on revenues of $2.32 billion. Capital One Financial — Shares dipped 0.5% after Capital One missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations, reporting $10.19 billion compared to the LSEG consensus estimate of $10.21 billion. On the other hand, adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share topped the anticipated $2.82 earnings per share.
David Einhorn, President at Greenlight Capital, speaking at the 14th CNBC Delivery Alpha Investor Summit in New York City on Nov. 13th, 2024.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn thinks speculative behavior in the current bull market has ascended to a level beyond common sense.
“We have reached the ‘Fartcoin’ stage of the market cycle,” Einhorn wrote in an investor letter obtained by CNBC. “Other than trading and speculation, it serves no other obvious purpose and fulfills no need that is not served elsewhere.”
A crypto token called “fartcoin” exploded in popularity as the re-election of Donald Trump unleashed a storm of animal spirits on Main Street. The meme coin is now edging towards a $2 billion market value, surpassing many U.S.-listed companies.
More meme coins have emerged since the inception of fartcoin. President Donald Trump launched $TRUMP, a meme coin built on the Solana platform. Its market cap over the weekend climbed past $14 billion. The coin at one point was down more than 20% over the past 24 hours, but it has since cut its losses to around 3%. Trump’s wife Melania also unveiled a coin.
“Nothing stops the launch of many more tradable coins,” Einhorn said. “Perhaps we are leaving the Fartcoin stage of the market and entering the Trump (and Melania) memecoin stage. It’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen next, but it feels like it’s going to be wild.”
Einhorn’s letter comes as investors drive equities higher, buoyed by expectations of lower taxes and deregulation from the second Trump administration. On Tuesday, the day after the inauguration, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 400 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
Shorting leveraged bitcoin ETFs
Greenlight took advantage of the craziness around crypto during the fourth quarter by betting against some popular ETFs linked indirectly to bitcoin.
The two funds the firm focused on were the T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) and the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (MSTX). Those funds use derivatives to try to achieve two-times the daily returns of MicroStrategy, a software company that has turned itself into a bitcoin treasury vehicle in recent years.
The funds have at times struggled to achieve that goal due to MicroStrategy’s volatility and little supply of the derivatives most easily used to get the leveraged returns.
The letter said Greenlight took short positions against those funds during the quarter, partially offset by owning MicroStrategy stock in an arbitrage trade that was a “material winner.”