JHVEPhoto
U.S. stock index futures on Friday were slightly higher, pointing to continued gains from the previous session that were driven by interest rate cut bets. Here are some stocks to watch on Friday:
- Class A shares of SoundHound AI (SOUN) jumped more than 15% in pre-market trading, after the voice artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider reported a narrower loss for Q1 and a 73% Y/Y surge in revenue. The company – which provides voice AI features that can be used by industries such as restaurants, automobiles and smart devices – also said its cumulative subscriptions and bookings backlog at the end of the quarter increased 80% to $682M. SoundHound (SOUN), which is backed by chip giant and AI leader Nvidia (NVDA), also tweaked the lower end of its full year 2024 revenue guidance range, now seeing sales of $65M to $77M versus a prior forecast of $63M to $77M.
- Gen Digital (GEN) stock added nearly 5% ahead of the opening bell, after the cybersecurity company delivered a FQ4 2024 top and bottom line beat. Tempe, Ariz.-based Gen Digital (GEN) owns cybersecurity and anti-virus services such as Norton, LifeLock, Avast and AVG. The company’s results were helped by customers increasing their spending on digital protection in the wake of a recent rise in cyberattacks and hacking attempts. Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, Gen (GEN) expects revenue of $3.89B to $3.93B, just under the consensus estimate of $3.94B. The company also raised its share buyback program to $3B.
- U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) climbed about 3% ahead of market open, after the world’s largest contract chipmaker announced a ~60% Y/Y jump in April revenue. Taiwan Semi (TSM) – which makes chips for some of the biggest tech companies in the world including Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) – said revenue in April came in at NT$236.02B ($7.28B), a 20.9% increase from March and a 59.6% surge from April 2023. Investors were cheered by the numbers, especially after Taiwan Semi’s (TSM) chief executive on the company’s last earnings call had warned about overall semiconductor market growth in 2024.
- Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) stock advanced around 13% in pre-market trading, after the lingerie retailer unveiled preliminary Q1 results in which it said it expected a better-than-feared sales decline and an adjusted profit. The company now sees Q1 sales shedding 3% to 4% Y/Y, compared to an earlier forecast for a fall of 4% to 6%. Moreover, Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) now anticipates earning 7 cents to 12 cents per share on an adjusted basis, versus a prior outlook for a loss of 15 cents to earnings of 10 cents. The lingerie retailer said it experienced “improving trends throughout the quarter” in both its stores and in its digital business.
