As the stock market comes off its worst two-day slump in 4 years, we’re going to look at three stocks which are bucking the trend this week.
Feb. 27, 2020
Sound the alarm and abandon ship!
Wall Street is taking a battering right now, with the market experiencing its worst two-day slide in four years to start the week. The fear of a global pandemic, with outbreaks of the coronavirus being reported in Italy, South Korea, and Iran, is moving investors away from equities which have mollycoddled them for the past decade, and into safer havens. Heavy-hitters like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Mastercard (NYSE: MA), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are also revising their earnings for the quarter due to concerns around the virus.
For anyone in need of some reassurance, check out some of our other pieces at MyWallSt:
However, before you make a mad dash for the life rafts, let’s take a look at three stocks bucking the trend this week.
Teladoc posts stellar earnings
The pioneer of the telehealth industry, Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) announced its Q4 earnings report yesterday after market close and it brought a welcome salve to the burns administered this week. The company beat expectations on top and bottom lines, posting revenue of $156 million and a loss per share of $0.26, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153 million in revenue and $0.33 loss per share. The strong growth in users and a promising outlook for 2020 has caused the stock to rise more than 17% in after-hours trading at the time of writing.
Teladoc, along with one of our most recent additions to the MyWallSt Shortlist, video-conferencing stalwart Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM), are some of the few stocks which may actually benefit from fears of the coronavirus, as people begin to see the benefit of accessing medical assistance from their own homes through the platform.
Beyond Meat lands Starbucks deal
Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) announced that a Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) sandwich would be added to its menu in Canada. The Beyond Meat, Cheddar and Egg sandwich (are they trying to take on the classic BEC with that name?!) will be launched at the start of the month in stores across the great white north. With over 30,000 stores across the globe, this deal holds massive potential for Beyond. The stock was up more than 2% yesterday.
The news is a very welcome boon for the alternative meat company, who has just seen one of its biggest rivals in the meat-free revolution, privately-owned Impossible Foods, clinch a deal to become Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) “preferred plant-based burger” across its theme parks and resorts.
Square stock jumps as it tops expectations
Payments disruptor Square (NYSE: SQ) beat expectations on earnings, revenue, and gross payment volume growth, seeing the stock jump about 6% in after-hours at the time of writing. Let’s look at the highlights of what was a stellar quarter for the payments processor:
| Q4 Results | Analysts’ Expectations | |
| GPV Growth | 25% | 24.2% |
| Earnings Per Share | $0.23 | $0.21 |
| Net Revenue | $1.31 billion | $1.186 billion |
| EBITDA | $119 million | $116 million |
| Expected Revenue for 2020 | $5.9-$5.96 billion | $5.61 billion |
Other positive news to come from the earnings call included revenue increases of 147% from the Cash App, a competitor to Paypal’s (NASDAQ: PYPL) Venmo, and 45% from subscription and services.
With this momentum coming into the year and over $2 billion in cash at hand for potential acquisitions, 2020 has all the potential of a blockbuster year for Square.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in Teladoc, Apple, Microsoft, Mastercard, Beyond Meat, Disney, Paypal, and Square. Read our full disclosure policy here.