Thursday, April 17, 2025

Considering the blue-chip Dow face-planted ahead of the open on a disappointing Q1 report from UnitedHealth UNH, which results in a -22% tanking by Thursday’s close, this was a pretty flat day. The S&P 500 closed +0.13% and the Nasdaq finished the session -0.13% — hard to get flatter than that. And the small-cap Russell 2000 quietly put together a decent +0.92% showing.

UnitedHealth has now swung to a -10% loss year to date, just as investors were coming around to putting their money to work in safe havens like major insurance companies. But the Dow was also hampered by another -2.87% selloff for NVIDIA NVDA today, and generic pharma giant Amgen AMGN was down -1.89% for the session.

The Russell 2000 remains in the green over the past five trading days, but the other major indexes are all down over that time. Over the past month, the Russell 2000 is down a dismal -9%, the Nasdaq is -8.5%, the S&P 500 -7% and the Dow -6.5%. We’d obviously welcome any positive news on the trade tariff front over the weekend, which starts tomorrow for the markets in observance of Good Friday.

Netflix Beats & Raises Earnings

Netflix NFLX shares are surging ahead more than +4% in late trading following its better-than-expected earnings results and guidance in Q1: earnings of $6.61 per share took out the Zacks consensus by nearly a full dollar ($5.69 per share was expected) on revenues that were a smidge light of estimates: $10.543 billion versus the $10.55 billion analysts were looking for.

Next-quarter guidance is now moved up to $7.03 per share versus $6.22 previously. Operating Margins rose +5% month over month to +31.7% — pretty impressive. But Netflix no longer reports detailed subscriber numbers in its quarterly earning report, nor does it trace subscriber growth internationally. It has a lot of subscribers, however — this is very clear. 

In fact, if we are to enter a recession, Netflix may be a good place to hide out, as families begin to pinch pennies and attempt to keep their entertainment costs under control. Shares are up +4.5% in late trading on this news, adding to the company’s +9% performance year to date.

What to Expect from the Stock Market Going Forward

As we mentioned, the markets are closed in observance of Good Friday tomorrow. Aside from a public speech by San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, we see nothing of note for markets until next week. Barring any developments on the tariff front, of course.

Economic reports next week will also be on the light side, with U.S. Leading Economic Indicators (LEI), S&P flash PMI for Manufacturing and Services, New Home Sales and Durable Goods Orders leading the way. We won’t see a new Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report until a week from tomorrow.

The big news for next week is Q1 earnings season. Tesla TSLA reports on Tuesday after the close — that will be an interesting earnings call. But it’s far from the only important company reporting: Alphabet GOOGL, Boeing BA, Chipotle CMG, Intel INTC, Procter & Gamble PG and American Airlines AAL.

Check out the updated Zacks Earnings Calendar here.

Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Intel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (PG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research