Wall Street got off to another rough start on Friday morning as coronavirus fears once again took center stage. Investors seem paralyzed by the implications of the Covid-19 outbreak for the global economy, and with little clarity on the potential impacts, markets have continued to respond negatively. As of 11:00 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) was down 799 points to 24,967. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) had fallen 83 points to 2,896, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) had dropped 182 points to 8,384.
Amid all the losses, a few stocks managed to post gains. The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) and Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) both gave their most recent earnings reports, and shareholders of both companies seemed pleased by what they saw.
The Trade Desk keeps powering forward
Shares of The Trade Desk jumped 7% after the programmatic advertising specialist announced strong results for the fourth quarter of 2019. Growth rates remained solid, giving investors reassurance that the company is still poised to keep building itself up as a force in the broader ad market.
Image source: The Trade Desk.
The Trade Desk reported sales gains of 35% in the fourth quarter compared to the year-earlier period, capping a 39% jump in revenue for the full year. Gross spending on The Trade Desk’s platform climbed 33% to more than $3.1 billion, and the company reported strong customer retention above the 95% level.
Innovative new distribution channels continued giving The Trade Desk exposure to even faster growth rates. Connected TV ads saw growth of 137% in 2019 compared to 2018, and audio-channel ads soared 185% year over year. Strong growth rates in mobile video and mobile in-app channels also helped drive the programmatic ad company’s success.
The Trade Desk is optimistic that it can keep up its momentum into 2020, with continued expectations for 30%+ gains in ad spending. Unless the coronavirus outbreak completely transforms the advertising environment, The Trade Desk looks poised to sustain its success for the foreseeable future.
Foot Locker sticks its landing
Meanwhile, shares of Foot Locker were higher by 5%. The athletic footwear and apparel retailer didn’t see the best of performances during its holiday quarter, but the numbers held up better than many investors had expected.
Foot Locker saw mixed performance during its fiscal fourth quarter. Revenue was down 2.2%, with comparable store sales falling 1.6% year over year. Net income also dropped under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), but on an adjusted basis, earnings of $1.63 per share were up 4% from the year-ago period.
Foot Locker’s executives noted that the shorter holiday shopping season and extreme levels of promotional activity throughout the retail sector weighed on results. Yet looking forward, the retailer believes that it’s built a good foundation for better performance, especially with stronger inventory management and cost controls in place.
Some analysts fear that spending on consumer discretionary items might fall if the coronavirus outbreak results in workplace shutdowns. For now, though, Foot Locker seems to be holding up fairly well in a tough retail environment.