Finances

Oracle Corporation (ORCL) released its latest quarterly earnings report on Monday, September 11. The multinational computer technology company's stock fell 12% after the release of the report.

The company posted net revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter. This was up 9% from $11.45 billion reported in the same quarter last year and fell short of analysts' expectations of $12.47 billion.

"Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenue grew 66% in Q1, much faster than our hyperscale cloud infrastructure competitors," said Oracle CEO, Safra Catz. "Oracle Cloud Services plus License Support revenue now accounts for 77% of Oracle's total revenue. This highly-predictable, highly-profitable recurring revenue stream—combined with continued expense discipline—drove 16% growth in non-GAAP earnings per share, 21% growth in free cash flow, and $7.0 billion in operating cash flow in the Q1."

Oracle reported first quarter net income of $2.42 billion or $0.86 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, the company reported net income of $1.55 billion or $0.56 per adjusted share.

The company's cloud services and license support segment revenue was up 13% to $9.55 billion in the quarter. Cloud license and on-premises license segment revenue was down 10% to $809 million. Oracle's cloud infrastructure climbed 66% to $1.5 billion. Oracle's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share of common stock. The cash dividend will be due to the stockholder of record on October 12, 2023, with an anticipated payment date of October 26, 2023.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL) shares closed at $113.91, down 10% for the week.

Cracker Barrel Serves Up Quarterly and Full-Year Earnings

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Wednesday, September 13. The Tennessee-based company's stock ticked lower following the release, despite its slight increase in revenue.

Cracker Barrel posted quarterly revenue of $836.7 million. This was slightly above $830.4 million in revenue reported at the same time last year but missed analysts' expectations of $842.6 million. Revenue for the full year reached $3.4 billion, up 5% from $3.3 billion reported last year.

"This fiscal year underscored the resiliency of our teams amid continued challenges, and I am proud of all we accomplished," said Cracker Barrel CEO, Sandra B. Cochran. "Although there was much to celebrate in fiscal 2023, our Q4 topline performance fell short of our expectations. We have taken and will continue to take numerous actions to improve our traffic performance on the marketing and operational front which we believe will be effective, particularly as we enter our important holiday season."

Cracker Barrel reported fourth quarter net income of $37.5 million or $1.68 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, the company reported net income of $33.4 million or $1.47 per adjusted share. For the full year, net income reached $99.1 million.

Cracker Barrel comparable store restaurant sales increased approximately 2.4%, while comparable store retail sales decreased 6.8%. During the quarter, the company closed one Cracker Barrel store and opened three Maple Street Biscuit Company stores, ending the period with 719 total locations. The company announced it authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $1.30 per share of common stock payable on November 7, 2023, to shareholders of record as of October 20, 2023.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) shares closed at $69.43, down 8% for the week.

Adobe Quarterly Earnings

Adobe Inc. (ADBE) released its third quarter earnings report on Thursday, September 14. Despite the digital media and marketing software maker reporting record revenue, shares fell more than 4% following the release of the report.

The company posted quarterly net revenue of $4.89 billion, up 10% year-over-year and above analysts' expectations of $4.87 billion. At the same time last quarter, Adobe reported revenue of $4.43 billion.

"We are unleashing a new era of AI-enhanced creativity around the world with innovations across our product portfolio," said Adobe CEO, Shantanu Narayen. "The recent launches of Firefly, Express, Creative Cloud and GenStudio make Adobe magic available to millions of users. We are excited about the potential to reimagine the content supply chain for all businesses through the integration of our clouds, enabling the delivery of personalized and engaging customer experiences."

For the quarter, Adobe reported net income of $1.40 billion or $3.05 per adjusted share. This is up from $1.14 billion or $2.42 per adjusted share reported at the same time last year.

Adobe reported increased year-over-year growth in net revenue across all segments of the company. The company's digital media segment revenue increased 11% to $3.59 billion. The company's creative cloud segment revenue grew 11% to $2.91 billion. Adobe's document cloud segment revenue was $685 million, a 13% increase year-over-year. The company's digital experience segment revenue increased 10% to $1.23 billion and digital experience subscription revenue grew 12% to $1.10 billion. The company updated its fourth quarter revenue target to be between $4.98 billion and $5.03 billion.

Adobe Inc. (ADBE) shares closed at $528.89, down 6% for the week.

The Dow started the week of 9/11 at 34,650 and closed at 34,618 on 9/15. The S&P 500 started the week at 4,481 and closed at 4,450. The NASDAQ started the week at 13,884 and closed at 13,708.

U.S. Treasury Yields rose early in the week as investors waited for the latest inflation data. Yields rose at the end of the week as the markets digested the latest economic data and pondered possible interest rate hikes at next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the cost of dozens of everyday consumer goods, rose 0.3% in August and was in line with economists' forecast of 0.3%. The CPI year-over-year rose to 3.7%, slightly higher than economists' projections of 3.6%.

"Today's inflation report likely does not move the needle much for the [central bank's policy committee] ahead of its session next week – no rate hike remains the base case, especially given the considerable tightening that has yet to completely work its way through the economy," said Chief Investment Officer at Glenmede, Jason Pride. "However, the pickup in inflation may increase the chance of additional tightening before year-end, as getting the inflation genie back in the bottle does not appear as straightforward as some would have hoped."

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of September 11 at 4.27% and traded as high as 4.37% on Wednesday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.34% and traded as high as 4.40% on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment increased by 3,000 to 220,000 for the week ending September 9. Continuing unemployment claims increased by 4,000 to 1.69 million.

"Layoffs remains low and, for now, there is no sign that businesses are shedding workers in large numbers in response to restrictive monetary policy that is aimed at weakening demand and economic activity," said Chief U.S. Economist at High Frequency Economics, Rubeela Farooqi.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 9/11 at 4.33%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.42%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, September 14. The survey showed 30-year mortgage rates moved slightly higher after two consecutive weeks of decline.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 7.18%, up from last week's average of 7.12%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.02%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.51% this week, down from 6.52% last week. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.21%.

"Mortgage rates inched back up this week and remain anchored north of 7%," said Freddie Mac's Chief Economist, Sam Khater. "The reacceleration of inflation and strength in the economy is keeping mortgage rates elevated. However, potential homebuyers can still benefit during these times of high mortgage rates by shopping around for the best rate quote. Freddie Mac research suggests homebuyers can potentially save $600-$1,200 annually by applying for mortgages from multiple lenders."

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.43% as of 8/21. The one-year CD averaged 1.76%.

Editor's Note: The publicly available financial information is offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends. This article is not an endorsement of any company, product or service.