Earnings Recap - Week of July 15th, 2024

UnitedHealth, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and more

Good morning investors!

Every weekend we publish our “Earnings Recap” — an in-depth summary of the earnings reports for stocks that we cover.

Earnings season is winding down but three of the stocks we cover reported quarterly results this week — here is the list of companies we focused on:

  • UnitedHealth, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, and BlackRock

Let’s dive in.

UnitedHealth (UNH)

UnitedHealth Group reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, and shares have reacted very positively after the stock was hit by rising medicare costs and a cyber attack a few quarters back.

For the second quarter, UnitedHealth said adjusted earnings rose 10.7% to $6.80 per share, exceeding expectations. Revenue increased by 6.4% to $98.86 billion, also beating forecasts, slightly.

Optum, the group's primary earnings driver, had flat revenue at $62.9 billion. UnitedHealth's medical-cost ratio increased to 85.1%, indicating higher payouts on insurance claims. Premiums grew by 6.1% to $76.9 billion, while medical costs rose by 8.6% to $65.4 billion.

The company maintained its adjusted earnings forecast of $27.50 to $28 per share but noted that the cyberattack would reduce reported earnings by $1.90 to $2.05 per share, higher than the initial estimate due to additional costs.

UNH shares +6.2% so far this week.

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Bank of America (BAC)

Bank of America reported second-quarter revenue and profit that topped Wall Street estimates.

The bank reported a 6.9% decline in profit to $6.9 billion, or 83 cents per share, due to decreased net interest income amidst higher interest rates. Revenue saw a slight increase of less than 1% to $25.54 billion.

Investment banking fees rose by 29% to $1.56 billion, surpassing estimates, while asset management fees grew by 14% to $3.37 billion, leading to a 6.3% revenue increase in the wealth management division, meeting expectations.

Net interest income fell 3% to $13.86 billion, in line with estimates. However, new guidance suggests NII will increase to around $14.5 billion in Q4.

BAC shares are +5.9% so far this week.

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Morgan Stanley (MS)

Morgan Stanley’s quarterly results topped analyst expectations in both revenue and earnings.

The firm reported a 41% increase in second-quarter profit to $3.08 billion, or $1.82 per share, and a 12% rise in revenue to $15.02 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates due to strong trading and investment banking results.

Equity trading revenue jumped 18% to $3.02 billion, and fixed income trading revenue increased 16% to $1.99 billion, both exceeding estimates. Investment banking revenue surged 51% to $1.62 billion, driven by non-investment-grade companies raising debt. 

However, the wealth management division's revenue rose only 2% to $6.79 billion, missing estimates, with interest income falling 17% to $1.79 billion.

MS shares are +2.4% so far this week.

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Goldman Sachs (GS)

Goldman Sachs reported better-than-expected profit and revenue, driven by strong fixed income results and lower-than-anticipated loan loss provisions.

Second-quarter profit surged 150% to $3.04 billion, or $8.62 per share, while revenue grew 17% to $12.73 billion, boosted by core trading, advisory, and asset and wealth management operations.

Fixed income revenue increased 17% to $3.18 billion, surpassing estimates. The bank's provision for credit losses fell 54% to $282 million, well below expectations.

Equities trading revenue rose 7% to $3.17 billion, and the asset and wealth management division saw a 27% revenue increase to $3.88 billion, both matching estimates.

Platform solutions revenue climbed 2% to $669 million, slightly above estimates. However, investment banking fees rose 21% to $1.73 billion, missing expectations due to lower advisory fees.

GS shares are +4.5% so far this week.

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Charles Schwab (SCHW)

Charles Schwab reported earnings and revenue slightly above analyst expectations.

The company reported net income of $1.33 billion, or $0.73 per share, compared to the expected $0.72 per share, and revenue of $4.69 billion versus the expected $4.68 billion.

Total net new assets were $74.2 billion, slightly below the $75.91 billion estimate, but total client assets reached $9.41 trillion, surpassing the estimated $9.36 trillion.

New brokerage accounts were 985,000, short of the 1.04 million expected, yet the total number of active brokerage accounts was 35.61 million, just above the 35.59 million estimate.

CEO Walt Bettinger highlighted the company's continued appeal to investors despite increased competition in the retail brokerage space. Schwab plans to launch an alternative investments platform for qualified investors this year.

SCHW shares are -9.1% so far this week.

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BlackRock (BLK)

BlackRock’s quarterly profit topped analyst expectations while revenue fell short of estimates.

The firm reported earnings of $1.495 billion, or $9.99 per share, up from $1.366 billion, or $9.06 per share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.550 billion, $10.36 per share, surpassing the $9.95 per share estimate.

However, revenue fell short, reaching $4.81 billion versus the expected $4.85 billion, despite an 8% year-over-year increase.

Assets under management (AUM) rose 13% to $10.65 trillion but missed the $10.73 trillion projection. Net inflows were $81.57 billion, falling short of the $101.24 billion estimate.

The company's largest revenue segment, investment advisory and related fees, grew to $3.875 billion from $3.611 billion, driven by organic base fee growth and market impact on AUM.

The adjusted operating margin improved to 44.1%, exceeding both the previous year's 42.5% and the 42.7% estimate. Equity net inflows were $6.44 billion, well below the forecasted $31.85 billion. 

BLK shares are +0.9% so far this week.

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Disclosure

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.

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