Stocks have finally found their footing in the short term, as investors are focusing on the idea that declines over the past several weeks have been exaggerated. Even with plenty of concerns hitting the market, the onslaught for the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.97%) has been unrelenting. It's therefore not surprising to see a rebound on more optimistic hopes for the future. As of 7:30 a.m. ET, futures on the Nasdaq were up about a quarter-percent, working toward trying to break an eight-week losing streak for the tech-heavy market.
What was surprising, though, is that gains for the Nasdaq came amid sizable declines for two companies, including one that until recently was at the top of its game. Nvidia (NVDA 4.84%) shares gave up ground after the chipmaker reported its latest financial results, joining a host of other companies that haven't been able to satisfy shareholders despite solid business performance. However, Nvidia's losses were minor compared to those of Nutanix (NTNX 1.61%), which threatened to sink to an all-time low following its own quarterly report.
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Nvidia falls on an uncertain future
Shares of Nvidia were down more than 4% in premarket trading on Thursday morning. The semiconductor giant reported its first-quarter financial results late Wednesday, and while the backward-looking numbers were strong, investors seemed more worried about what the future would bring in terms of growth.
Nvidia's financial report was full of promising results about the quarter that just ended. Record revenue of $8.29 billion was up 46% year over year. Adjusted net earnings of $1.36 per share similarly jumped by nearly half from year-ago levels. Nvidia said its data center and gaming segments posted record levels of sales that helped the company overcome the challenging macroeconomic environment.
Moreover, founder/CEO Jensen Huang noted that Nvidia intends to release a huge number of new products onto the market in the second half of the year. With applications in areas from artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles to graphics and its vision of the omniverse, Nvidia has high hopes for its long-term success. The company also boosted its share repurchase program, bringing it back up to $15 billion to spend between now and the end of 2023.
Yet investors weren't pleased with Nvidia's outlook for second-quarter sales of roughly $8.1 billion. The company cited loss of business in Russia and COVID-19 lockdowns in China for a $500 million reduction in potential revenue, and that only seemed to confirm the short-term worries of traders despite the company's promise.
Nutanix takes a double hit
Shares of Nutanix dove in premarket trading, posting a decline of 37%. The hybrid cloud computing specialist had to deal with a pair of headwinds that weighed on its results and could continue to hurt its performance going forward.
Nutanix's results for the fiscal third quarter ending April 30 didn't seem entirely bad on their face. Revenue rose 17% to $404 million, with annualized recurring revenue rising at a much healthier 46% pace to $1.1 billion. Moreover, reduced operating expenses helped the company narrow its operating losses substantially from year-ago levels.
However, Nutanix said it had to deal with supply chain delays from its hardware partners, forcing it to push out start dates on key projects into future quarters. In addition, Nutanix reported that attrition among its sales professionals increased dramatically during the quarter. The company is working to get retention levels back up, but with many people looking for better jobs, talent could be a challenge for some time to come.
Nutanix now sees full-year revenue for fiscal 2022 of $1.535 billion to $1.555 billion, with annualized billings of $735 million to $745 million. For those who had hoped for a faster turnaround, the news was devastating, and that explains much of the firmly negative reaction from shareholders.
