Stock Market Today: UPS, Exxon Power Rally; Alphabet to Split 20-for-1
Investors enjoyed another session of broadly higher prices Tuesday; Google parent Alphabet announces 20-for-1 stock split
![UPS truck](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QQAoFHLSxF8q4sWBgVhYVk-415-80.jpg)
The first day of February trading was a relative yawner as the three major indexes finished Tuesday with modest gains. But given that investors just suffered the worst month for stocks since the COVID bear market, they were likely grateful for a quiet, positive session.
If not, they received something a little more exciting in the form of an Alphabet (GOOGL, +1.7%) stock split.
Earlier Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management announced that its January manufacturing index declined by 1.1 points to 57.6. (Readings over 50.0 indicate expansion.) That was in line with expectations and showed continuing growth in the manufacturing sector, albeit at a slower pace than in December.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hwgJ7osrMtUWhk5koeVme7-200-80.png](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hwgJ7osrMtUWhk5koeVme7-320-80.png)
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"The composition of the report was soft, with a small increase in the employment component, but larger declines in the production and new orders components," says Goldman Sachs Economics Research.
The earnings calendar had a few events of note, too.
United Parcel Service (UPS, +14.1%) popped to an all-time high after easily topping the Street's quarterly earnings and revenue forecasts. The better-than-expected results reflected the ongoing surge in online shopping and CEO Carol Tome's efforts to increase profitability.
Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil (XOM, +6.4%) stock hit a level last seen in 2019. The energy major eclipsed fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations and said it would resume stock buybacks this quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8% to 35,405, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to 14,346 and the S&P 500 was 0.7% better to 4,546.
After the bell, Google parent Alphabet surged another 7% or so after announcing a massive Q4 beat and an equally sizable stock split. GOOGL reported 32% year-over-year revenue growth to a record $75.3 billion to easily beat estimates of $72.3 billion. Meanwhile, earnings of $30.69 per share easily cleared consensus expectations for $27.34.
The company also said its board of directors had approved a 20-for-1 stock split on each share of Class A, Class B and Class C stock. Shareholders still must approve the measure. If passed, shareholders of record as of the July 1, 2022, close, would receive on July 15, 2022, a dividend of 19 additional shares of the same class of stock for each share they held.
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 enjoyed a 1.1% improvement to 2,050.
- U.S. crude oil futures eked out a marginal gain to settle at $88.20 per barrel.
- Gold futures rose 0.3% to finish at $1,801.50 an ounce.
- Bitcoin waffled back and forth for most of the day and finished up just 0.1% higher, to $38,527.63. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
- AT&T (T) stock fell 4.2% today after the telecommunications firm said it will divest its WarnerMedia properties, which include HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and Warner Bros. Studios, as part of its planned merger with Discovery (DISCA). The spinoff will give T shareholders 0.24 share for each share they currently own. AT&T also said it will slash its annual dividend, to $1.11 per share from $2.08 per share – a move that was widely expected and caused T to end its reign as an S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat.
- Pitney Bowes (PBI) shares slumped 15.4% after the logistics company reported earnings. In its fourth quarter, PBI reported adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share, missing the consensus estimate for earnings of 11 cents per share. The firm also reported an 8.7% year-over-year decline in global e-commerce revenue, though total revenue of $983.7 million in revenue came in above analysts' average estimate for $691.6 million in sales.
- Cruise stocks were a bright spot on Wall Street today. Among the day's big winners were Carnival (CCL, +5.7%), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH, +3.7%) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL, +4.4%).
The 'January Barometer' Bodes Poorly for Equities, But ...
January performance isn't the market indicator it used to be.
Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist for LPL Financial, recently examined the "January Barometer," first discussed in 1972 by Yale Hirsh of the Stock Trader's Almanac.
Traders sum it up like this: "As January goes, so goes the year."
Specifically, when the S&P 500 has closed January in the green, the index has finished up an average of 11.9% over the final 11 months, and higher 86% of the time. But when the S&P 500 finished January in the red, stocks rose just 2.7% on average in the final 11 months and were higher only 62% of the time.
The good news? "It is worth noting that the January Barometer has been broken lately," Detrick says. "In fact, nine of the past 10 times stocks were lower in January, the final 11 months were higher, with some huge gains in there."
The takeaway? Although hoary market sayings and historical indicators can be entertaining and occasionally useful, past performance – as always – is not indicative of future returns.
The wisest move most investors can make is to build a strong portfolio core tailored to their risk tolerances and goals. Vanguard is among a few fund providers that can help you prepare for just about any eventuality, for a song.
To that end, we've focused on handling 2022's specific challenges – inflation, rising interest rates – in our list of 2022's best Vanguard funds. These stock- and bond-funds are constructed to both benefit from and defend against many of this year's trends.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Visa Is the Worst Dow Stock Wednesday. Here's Why
Visa stock is down sharply Wednesday after the credit card company came up short of revenue expectations for its fiscal Q3.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Another Analyst Moves to the Sidelines on Tesla Stock After Earnings
Tesla stock is spiraling Wednesday after the EV maker's big earnings miss and Wall Street has been quick to weigh in. Here's what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble on Disappointing Big Tech Earnings
Poorly received quarterly results from Alphabet and Tesla sparked a steep selloff in equities.
By Dan Burrows Last updated
-
UPS Stock Heads Toward Worst Day Ever After Earnings
UPS stock is down big after coming up short of analysts’ expectations for its second quarter and cutting its outlook. Here’s what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Mega-Cap Tech Rallies to Drag Markets Higher
Markets focused on upcoming earnings from Magnificent 7 stocks rather than chaos in D.C.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble After Spectacular Global Internet Crash
Market participants rushed out of risk assets to end a wild week of trading.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Sinks 533 Points as Big Banks, Mega Caps Slump
Goldman Sachs and Apple were two of the worst-performing blue chip stocks on Thursday.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Semis Get Slammed and Blue Chips Bounce
The potential for more curbs on tech sales to China set off a rotation into blue chips.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Spikes 742 Points After UnitedHealth Earnings
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scored wins Tuesday albeit with much smaller gains than the blue chip Dow.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Adds 210 Points as Apple, Goldman Hit New Highs
A big rally in blue chips and some dovish Fed speak boosted the equities market Monday.
By Karee Venema Published