Tesla, IBM, Humana, United Rentals, Boeing, American Airlines, PayPal, and More Market Movers

Tesla’s
fourth-quarter adjusted earnings missed analysts’ estimates and the electric-vehicle maker warned that in 2024 its “vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas.”
Tesla’s
sales volumes rose by about 38% in 2023, while Wall Street currently projects growth of about 20% for 2024. The vague guidance from Tesla sent its stock down 12%.

International Business Machines
delivered mixed fourth-quarter results as both its software and consulting arms grew less than anticipated. But IBM provided upbeat guidance for the year and disclosed a surge in demand for its artificial-intelligence software and services businesses. The company’s full-year free cash flow forecast also was higher than expected. IBM shares jumped 10%.

United Rentals
reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations on revenue of $3.73 billion, up from $3.3 billion a year earlier and higher than forecasts of $3.63 billion. Rental revenue rose 13.5% from a year earlier to a fourth-quarter record of $3.12 billion, “reflecting broad-based strength of demand,” the company said. The stock was up 13%.

Humana
dropped 12% after the managed-care company reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss and issued 2024 guidance far short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported a loss of 11 cents a share on revenue of $25.6 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 89 cents a share on revenue of $25.5 billion.

Boeing
fell 5.7% after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the company’s 737 MAX 9 jet to resume flying after airlines complete inspections but said it wouldn’t “agree to any request from
Boeing
for an expansion in production or approve additional production lines for the 737 MAX until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.” The MAX 9 was grounded on Jan. 6, after an emergency door plug blew out of an 
Alaska Air
 flight in midair.

Alaska Air,
meanwhile, reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 30 cents a share, said it was preparing to complete the final inspections on all of its Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, and that it had initiated “a thorough review of Boeing’s production quality and control systems, including Boeing’s production vendor oversight.” The stock was up 4.4%.

U.S.-listed shares of
Nokia
rose 11% after the Finnish telecom equipment maker reported a sales decline of 23% in the fourth quarter but gross margins of 43.1% that topped analysts’ estimates.

American Airlines
gained 10% after the carrier posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and said it expects adjusted earnings in 2024 of between $2.25 and $3.25 a share, compared with consensus of $2.14. 

PayPal
fell 3.7% after it detailed a slate of changes meant to redefine its position in the payments business. The changes include a revamped checkout process, and Smart Receipts, which will let customers track their purchases and uses artificial intelligence to determine what they might want to buy next.

ResMed
was up 8.5%. The maker of digital health devices reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.88 a share on revenue of $1.2 billion, beating forecasts.

Corrections & Amplifications:

Adjusted fourth-quarter earnings at International Business Machines beat analysts’ estimates. An earlier version of this article said earnings missed Wall Street’s profit estimates.

Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]