Notes From All Over -- Somewhere Over The Rocky Mountains -- 9:12 P.M. CT -- January 19, 2021

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Earlier today we mentioned that there were three companies of interest that would report today. Let's see how they did. From the note this morning:

• NFLX: earnings out today after market close;
• forecast: $1.45/share on revenue of $6.63 billion
• Schwab (SCHW): forecast -- 70 cents/share on revenue of $4.12 billion; 
• BofA: forecast 55 cents/share (adjusted) on revenue of $20.51 billion;

So, let's see how they did. Saving the best for last.

• BofA (BAC): link here. 
• beat estimates on earnings, but fell short on revenue
• shares were mostly flat throughout the day, losing 0.73% to close at $32.77
• diluted EPS of 59 cents; forecast 55 cents
• revenue came in at $20.2 billion, falling short of $22.7 billion forecast, and last year's $22.3 billion;
  
• Schwab (SCHW): link here.
• shares rise on strong 4Q20 earnings
• EPS of 74 cents vs consensus of 71 cents (barely)
• revenue of $4.18 billion grew 60% from the prior year and also surpassed expectations of $4.01
• now operates nearly 30 million brokerage accounts
• total client assets grew 66% year-over-year to a record $6.69 trillion as a result of gaining TD Ameritrade's assets
• 4Q20: Schwab added 15.77 million new clients, 14.5 million of which were created from the merger:
• trading revenue grew 88% to $1.4 billion
• Due to unprecedented market volatility and Covid-19 lockdowns creating a unique opportunity for individual investors, the company also saw a record number of daily average trades during the quarter at 5.8 million. 
• share prices up about one percent today, closing at $59.23
  
• But look at this: NFLX!
• shares absolutely soared: up $3.79 before the close but after the close, after the report, shares surged over 12%, gaining almost $62, trading at $563.50 in after-hours trading;
• Netflix added 8.5 million user in 4Q20, blowing away estimates (can anyone guess why? locked up at home and "no one" watching sports)
• revenue: $6.64 billion vs $6.63 billion expected;
• EPS: $1.19 vs $1.36 expected
• global paid subscriber additions: 8.51 million vs 6.02 million expected
• added 37 million paid memberships in 2020 and achieved $25 billion in annual revenue, a 24% increase y/y

Despite the NFLX surge in share price when I look at the whole story among the three above (BAC, SCHW, and NFLX) I am most impressed with SCHW.

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Malarkey

The headline may be correct; one can always pick starting points and ending points when following the market, but the story itself is full of malarkey as the new president is fond of saying. Be that as it may, it's not how you start a race, it's how you finish it, so let's see how things are going four years from now. If the market shows 10% growth per annum over the next four years and "everyone" is pleased how the country is doing then we'll call it a success story. Until then, the jury is out. 

Having said that, I'm lovin' it and thrilled to see the writer appreciate free market capitalism and a surging US economy. I had not expected that. LOL.