U.S. stocks on Thursday opened mixed, as Wall Street’s slow start to 2024 continued. Equities have been under pressure while bonds have sold-off, sparked by markets lowering their expectations of interest rate cuts. Here are some stocks to watch on Thursday:
Shares of Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) retreated almost 10%, after the footwear maker rattled investors with a warning on margin pressures in its first quarterly results since going public. The company’s Q4 2023 top and bottom line improved Y/Y, but its adjusted gross profit margin fell 20 basis points to 62.1% of sales. Looking ahead, Birkenstock (BIRK) issued full year 2024 revenue guidance above expectations. The firm also expects a modest headwind to adjusted EBITDA margins due to planned ramp-up costs and an initial under-absorption at its production site in Pasewalk, Germany.
Kinder Morgan (KMI) stock was marginally lower. The pipeline operator after hours on Wednesday delivered a Q4 2023 top and bottom line miss, while distributable cash flow per share slipped 4% Y/Y. Kinder Morgan (KMI) said the decrease was largely related to increased interest expense which was anticipated in its 2023 budget guidance. The company added that it finished the year slightly behind its budget primarily due to lower commodity prices.
Shares of KeyCorp (KEY) slipped nearly 4%, after the banking and financial services firm reported a Y/Y decrease in Q4 2023 taxable-equivalent net interest income and net interest margin. The decrease in both metrics “reflect the impact of higher interest rates, partly offset by a favorable earning asset mix. The higher interest rate environment drove the cost of interest-bearing deposits and borrowings higher, which outpaced the benefit from higher earning asset yields,” KeyCorp (KEY) said.
Alcoa (AA) stock saw gains of more than 4%, after the aluminum producer reported a mixed Q4 2023. Its adjusted loss narrowed Y/Y, but its revenue fell more than 2%. Its Q4 production fell 1% sequentially to 2.79M metric tons on lower output from its Australia refineries, while revenues from the aluminum segment fell 5% due to third-party price decreases. For 2024, Alcoa (AA) guided for higher Y/Y production and shipments.
