By Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: General Motors — Shares jumped 5% after the automaker said it would raise its quarterly dividend by 25% to 15 cents per share. GM also initiated a $6 billion share repurchase plan, with $2 billion in buybacks planned for the second quarter. Anheuser-Busch InBev — Shares of the world’s largest brewer surged about 9% following a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat . For the quarter, Anheuser-Busch InBev posted adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share on revenue of $14.84 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had penciled in 69 cents in earnings per share and $14.18 billion in revenue. Stellantis — The automaker shed 4% after posting full-year 2024 net profit of 5.5 billion euros , which was under the 6.4 billion euros analysts polled by LSEG had forecast and down 70% from 18.6 billion euros in full-year 2023. Lowe’s — The home improvement retailer popped 3% on better-than-expected fourth-quarter results . Lowe’s earned an adjusted $1.93 per share on revenue of $18.55 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $1.84 per share on revenue of $18.29 billion. Bloomin’ Brands — Shares plunged 17% after the Outback Steakhouse owner posted first-quarter and full-year earnings guidance that were under FactSet’s consensus estimates. Advance Auto Parts — The automotive parts supplier plummeted 14% after Advance Auto Parts predicted that first-quarter same-store sales would fall 2%, while FactSet consensus had called for a 0.7% drop. The company also expects first-quarter revenue to come in at $2.5 billion, below expectations of $2.62 billion. However, Advance Auto Parts delivered a fourth-quarter beat in adjusted losses and revenue. NRG Energy , GE Vernova — Shares of NRG Energy and GE Vernova popped 11% and nearly 7%, respectively, after the two companies announced a new partnership , together with Kiewit, to increase new electricity generation in response to rising computing power demand from artificial intelligence use cases. Super Micro Computer — Shares jumped 18% after the server company filed delayed financial documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Super Micro Computer had faced the prospect of being delisted from the Nasdaq if it did not make the filings soon. The company said in a press release it has now “regained compliance” with the exchange. Workday — The finance and human resources software maker added nearly 6% following its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat . Workday posted adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share, beating the LSEG consensus estimate of $1.78 per share. Revenue came in at $2.21 billion, versus the $2.18 billion expected from analysts. Axon Enterprise — Shares soared about 17% after the Taser maker reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines. In its last quarter, Axon earned $2.08 per share, excluding items, while FactSet consensus had called for $1.40 per share. The company’s $575 million revenue also exceeded the forecast for $566 million. Intuit — The tax software provider surged 12% as earnings for the fiscal second quarter impressed Wall Street. Intuit earned an adjusted $3.32 per share on $3.96 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG anticipated earnings of $2.58 per share and revenue at $3.83 billion. Flywire — The global payments stock plunged more than 40% after the company reported a fourth-quarter miss on the top and bottom lines. Flywire also said it would cut around 10% of its current workforce under a new restructuring plan. AST SpaceMobile — The satellite manufacturer jumped 10% after announcing a contract award in support of the U.S. Space Development Agency through a prime contractor. The contract’s total revenue is expected to be $43 million. AppLovin — The mobile software stock tumbled 10% after short sellers Culper and Fuzzy Panda both released short reports on Wednesday. In its report, Fuzzy Panda alleged that AppLovin had used tactics such as “Ad Fraud” and stolen data from Meta Platforms. Health insurers — Health insurer stocks moved lower on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the House narrowly passed a Republican budget bill that would cut Medicaid spending. Shares of Molina Healthcare and Centene each dropped more than 7%. Lucid Group — The electric vehicle maker saw shares tumbling more than 11% after news that CEO Peter Rawlinson has stepped down . Lucid did report a narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter and said it expects to more than double vehicle production this year to 20,000 units. Instacart — Shares of the grocery delivery company slid 11% after it reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and issued soft guidance for the current quarter. The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $883 million, below the $891 million estimate that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. Meanwhile, Instacart expects adjusted EBITDA of between $220 million and $230 million for the first quarter, less than the consensus forecast of $237.1 million. Freeport-McMoRan — The U.S. copper miner rose about 5% after the White House started an inquiry that could lead to the imposition of tariffs on imported copper. Southern Copper and the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX) each advanced more than 2%. Brinks Co. — The armored car and cash handling company gained 2%. Fourth-quarter earnings of $2.12 per share, excluding items, topped Wall Street estimates of $1.89 per share, according to FactSet. Revenue of $1.26 billion beat a consensus of $1.25 billion. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Michelle Fox, Alex Harring, Fred Imbert, Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Scott Schnipper contributed reporting.
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