To The Moon

Monday’s earnings exposed two different kinds of forward risk. Apple beat quarterly estimates but warned that memory costs would squeeze holiday margins. Palantir nearly doubled revenue and issued a strong forecast, yet slowing commercial contract growth gave investors a reason to question the stock’s valuation.

Marriott was the clear winner, rallying 4.3% as travel demand and guidance exceeded expectations. Estée Lauder delivered a clean beat and raised its outlook, but an early gain reversed into a 4.1% closing loss.

$Palantir(PLTR)$ down nearly 3% in late after-hours trading.

Palantir sells data-management and artificial-intelligence software to businesses and government agencies.

Third-quarter revenue jumped 96% to $2.31 billion, beating the roughly $2.18 billion consensus. Both GAAP and adjusted EPS were 44 cents, compared with an adjusted estimate of 41 cents.

U.S. commercial revenue surged 148% to $984 million, overtaking U.S. government revenue for the first time. Palantir forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $2.649 billion to $2.653 billion, well above Wall Street’s $2.46 billion estimate, and raised its full-year target to about $8.53 billion.

The shares turned lower after an initial gain and were down nearly 3% in late after-hours trading. Investors focused on U.S. commercial contract-value growth, which slowed to 11% from more than 153% in the prior quarter. At a valuation above 150 times trailing earnings, even 96% revenue growth left little room for weaker bookings.

$Apple(AAPL)$ dropped roughly 2.8% after hours.

Apple makes the iPhone, Mac and other consumer devices and operates a large digital-services business.

Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 12% to $114.5 billion, beating the roughly $113.5 billion consensus. GAAP diluted EPS of $2.10 topped expectations near $2.00. iPhone revenue increased 17% to $57.58 billion, also ahead of forecasts.

The concern came from the holiday outlook. Apple expects gross margin of 45% to 46%, down from 47.9% in the reported quarter, as memory-chip prices increase. Services growth is projected at 8% to 9%, below Wall Street’s 10.7% estimate.

Apple fell about 1.6% during regular trading and dropped roughly 4% after hours. The selloff reflected worries that higher component costs and slower services growth could pressure profitability despite healthy device demand.

$Estee Lauder(EL)$ dropped roughly 4%

Estée Lauder owns prestige beauty brands including La Mer, MAC, Jo Malone and Tom Ford Beauty.

Fiscal first-quarter sales rose 7% to $3.72 billion, ahead of the approximately $3.65 billion estimate. GAAP EPS was 64 cents, while adjusted EPS of 72 cents easily beat the 51-cent consensus.

Management raised its fiscal 2027 organic-sales growth forecast to 4%–5.5% from 3%–5% and increased its adjusted EPS outlook to $3.20–$3.45. Organic sales in mainland China grew 9%.

The stock gained nearly 3% before the open but reversed to close 4.1% lower. Shares had already risen almost 28% over the previous three months, while part of the Americas sales improvement came from a one-time gift-card accounting benefit. Investors appeared to want more evidence that the recovery can carry through the holiday quarter.

$Marriott(MAR)$ gained nearly 4.3%

Marriott operates and franchises hotels under brands including Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Westin and its namesake chain.

Third-quarter revenue reached $7.01 billion, topping the $6.91 billion consensus. Adjusted EPS of $3.02 beat the $2.83 estimate; GAAP EPS was $3.04.

Worldwide revenue per available room rose 6.5%, with 7.4% growth in the U.S. and Canada. Marriott projected fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.14 to $3.21, versus the $2.96 consensus, and raised its full-year range to $12.07–$12.14.

Shares finished Nov. 2 up 4.3% as investors rewarded stronger travel demand, higher guidance and $1.3 billion of third-quarter buybacks.

💬 Discussion

Which one is most likely to bounce first: Apple, Palantir or Estée Lauder?