Apple, Facebook, Caterpillar, United Technologies: Mixed Bag of Financial Results

With a variety of sites like Twitter, where we can scroll quickly to see top news or financial headlines, we can be left feeling a bit confused on what the recent financial results are. This is how this week has left us feeling. Here’s a list of some headline topics if you weren’t able to read throughout the week:

• Apple reported continued strong earnings and revenue
• The Fed held interest rates steady
• Strong Earnings from companies like Caterpillar and United Technologies, among others
• Earnings announcements which were positive however the CEO hinted at how the current tariffs would affect the longer-term for their company profitability
• Suspected mid-term election tampering via Facebook
• According to Morgan Stanley, the biggest sell-off since February is coming
• US and China reportedly seeking to restart talks to avert trade war, but it won’t be a simple process

What do these mean for financial results?

Overall financial results have been positive. Earnings and profits have continue to show strength. We have seen weakness in some companies and this has led to a pullback specifically in technology names. Facebook was a company that did not have a great earnings call and the stock reacted accordingly. When we see a pullback amid strength in so many companies it is important to ask, “Is there a reason?”

If a majority of stocks are trading higher you’ll likely be concerned or feel like you’re missing something if other of your stocks are trading low. That’s the importance of maintaining a diversified portfolio. Consider each of these investments that are trading lower and ask yourself if there is a reason. Let’s take Facebook as an example. Over the past several months they have been required to testify amid suspicion of election-meddling through the use of Facebook.

Whenever any company like this is the subject of such investigations into their product or service it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that it will affect the overall success of the company. After such a pullback you need to answer questions of whether this will have a longer-term impact or if this is incidental and short-term in nature. After you’ve considered these questions you can then make changes as you decide.

It seems like Apple’s reported earnings may have been positive enough to pull the rest of the market out of the technology led decline by Facebook.  We will be watching to see if trade talks with China will make real progress to continue the market momentum forward.

When the news is a mixed bag of stories be sure to step back and ask questions. Do some research and survey the overall investing landscape which can provide a bigger scope to make decisions. As always, we are here to help you navigate the financial results from the top news headlines each week!