Tesla Drops After Reporting Fall in Income

Wall Street barely budged again on Wednesday following another set of mixed earnings reports from big US companies. The S&P 500 inched down by 0.35 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,154.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 79.62, or 0.2%, to 33,897.01, and the Nasdaq composite edged up by 3.81 points, or less than 0.1%, to 12,157.23. Netflix slumped 3.2% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts, the AP reports. Elevance Health dropped 5.3% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected . The health insurer gave a forecast for earnings this year that fell short of some analysts' expectations.

Tesla weighed heavily on the market after the electric-vehicle company cut prices for its two top-selling models, its fourth price cut in the US this year. That could be a signal Tesla is trying to spur sales amid shifting US tax credits for electric vehicles. Tesla fell 2% before releasing its latest earnings report after trading closed. It dropped another 4% in extended trading after it disclosed that reductions across the model lineup cut into the company's first-quarter net income, causing it to fall 24% from a year ago, reports the AP. Tesla said it made $2.51 billion from January through March, down from $3.32 billion a year ago. Revenue rose 24% to $23.33 billion, but the company's operating profit margin fell.

Intuitive Surgical leaped 10.9% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Abbott Laboratories rose 7.8%, Nasdaq Inc. gained 3.1% and United Airlines flew 7.5% higher after they also topped Wall Street’s expectations for profits.

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So far, most companies have been beating profit forecasts to clear a bar that was set particularly low. Profits are under pressure because inflation is high, interest rates are much higher than a year ago, and portions of the economy are slowing. "That’s part of the reason why the market has been kind of directionless" recently, says Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors. "We got mixed earnings, but not as bad as people expected." (More stock market stories.)