Discover Financial's Charge-Off

And, Plug Power’s $1 billion offering.

Today is Thursday, January 18, 2024.

The Early Bird Index today is 62.98.

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Discover Financial's Charge-Off

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) posted troubling financial results on Wednesday, causing the stock to drop by 9.67% in after-hours trading.

Financials: Discover Financial reported earnings of $1.54 per share in the past quarter, which was below estimates. But revenue reached $4.19 billion, which was better than expected.

Details: Net interest income reached $3.46 billion, which was better than expected.

Yes, But: The total net charge-off rate (which refers to defaults) increased to 4.11% due to higher delinquency trends. The provision for credit losses also ticked up. This worried investors.

Stock Price: Discover Financial is down 10% in the last 6 months.

Final Thoughts: After seeing these results, investors are worried about both Discover Financial and the overall state of consumer spending. Seriously, these results show that more consumers are defaulting on payments.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG), Texas Capital Bancshares (Nasdaq: TCBI), J.B. Hunt Transport (Nasdaq: JBHT), Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST), Bank OZK (Nasdaq: OZK), F.N.B. Corp (NYSE: FNB), First Horizon (NYSE: FHN), M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS), Home Bancshares (NYSE: HOMB), WNS (NYSE: WNS), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC), OceanFirst Bank (Nasdaq: OCFC), Banner (Nasdaq: BANR), Metropolitan Commercial Bank (NYSE: MCB), Insteel Industries (NYSE: IIIN).

Notable IPOs Today: CCSC Technology International Holdings Limited Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: CCTG).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: My Contact Network (StartEngine), Crisp Salads (SMBX).

Notable Economic Events Today: Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET), Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Philly Fed Employment (8:30 a.m. ET), Housing Starts (8:30 a.m. ET), Building Permits (8:30 a.m. ET), Crude Oil Inventories (11:00 a.m. ET), Fed's Balance Sheet (4:30 p.m. ET).

Plug Power’s $1 Billion Offering

Shares of Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) fell 14.08% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the developer of hydrogen fuel cell systems shared a company update.

Details: The company announced a potential stock offering of shares valued up to $1 billion. Translation: Plug Power needs extra cash.

Background: Plug Power has problems. The company is spending a lot of money, and higher interest rates are taking a toll. Several analysts have downgraded the stock.

Stock Price: In the past 12 months, Plug Power is down 83%.

Final Thoughts: Lower demand is hurting business for Plug Power, and investors are running away in droves.

Alcoa’s Adjusted EBITDA

Despite posting better-than-expected financial results, aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) fell by 2.80% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

Details: Alcoa’s adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) in the quarter was $89 million, which was lower than expected.

Final Thoughts: Alcoa, down 49% in the past 12 months, is trying to recover. The company even bought back a lot of shares in the last year to boost the stock price.

Ignoring Bearish Heaadwinds: 3 reasons why Ethereum (ETH) price is strengthening against Bitcoin (Cointelegraph) 

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