For the three months ended Jan. 1, Starbucks reported earnings per share of 75 cents, adjusted for one-time items, below the 77 cents a share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. The chain reported net income of $855 million, about 5% higher than the $816 million generated in the same quarter a year earlier.


Qualcomm Posts 12% Drop in Sales

Qualcomm Inc. gave a muted outlook as it posted a 12% drop in sales, reflecting softness in the global smartphone market.

The designer of mobile-phone chips on Thursday said sales in the quarter fell to $9.5 billion, short of Wall Street's expectation of $9.6 billion. The company said sales in the current quarter could fall even more steeply as it forecast revenue between $8.7 billion and $9.5 billion, also missing estimates from analysts surveyed by FactSet.


Meta Platforms Shares Surge 23% on Cost Cuts, Stock Buyback

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. shares soared to their best day in nearly a decade after the company embraced investor-friendly moves including boosting its stock through a $40 billion buyback and cutting expenses in the face of increased competition.

Shares of the social-media company closed Thursday up 23% to $188.87 and are up 57% year to date. The stock recorded its largest percentage increase since July 2013, when it rose nearly 30%.


Google Parent Alphabet Posts Drop in Ad Revenue Amid Slowdown

Google reported its first drop in advertising revenue since the beginning of the pandemic, as a slowdown in online marketing continues to weigh on the search giant's business.

Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, reported $59 billion in advertising revenue for the fourth quarter, a decrease of 3.6% from the same period in 2021. Those results marked the second time ad sales fell since Google became a publicly traded company in 2004.


McDonald's Ruling Shifts Oversight Liability Focus to Corporate Officers

A judge's decision to allow a shareholder lawsuit against a former McDonald's Corp. human resources chief has put corporate executives on alert that they can be held personally liable for failing to oversee the biggest risks confronted by their companies.

The ruling follows a series of Delaware Court of Chancery decisions that have set off alarm bells in corporate boardrooms by making clear that directors can be sued for serious compliance failures. The latest decision by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster clarifies that the legal scrutiny doesn't stop with the board. Corporate officers can also be held to account for failing to do their part, the judge ruled.


Bitcoin Prices Rally as Larger Traders Take Charge

Larger investors appear to be powering a recovery in bitcoin prices, as the sway of smaller individual traders over cryptocurrency markets wanes.

Based on end-of-day trading prices, bitcoin has rallied about 51% from a nadir hit in November, after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was quoted late Thursday at about $23,600, and drifted slightly lower in early trading Friday. Other tokens such as ether and dogecoin have also rebounded. The recovery mirrors a rebound in other risky assets, such as some high-growth technology stocks.


Jobs Report to Show Whether Labor Market Cooling Extended Into January

January's employment report will offer clues about the state of the labor market and overall economy at the start of 2023.

Recent figures paint a mixed picture of U.S. economic health. Consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth, is starting to falter. Manufacturing activity is declining. Price increases are easing, partly as a result of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increases aimed at slowing the economy to bring down high inflation.


Bonds Take Flight. But Investors Should Brace for Bumps Ahead.

Fixed income is off to a flying start in 2023, a major turnaround from last year. But the path ahead looks bumpier.

The rally has swept through nearly all fixed-income sectors. In investment-grade bonds, the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond exchange-traded fund (ticker: AGG) is up 4.1%. More impressive are gains in long-term bonds, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) ahead 8.9%, clawing back a bit of last year's 31% fall.


China Caixin Services PMI Bounced Back in January

A private gauge of China's service-sector activity bounced back in January to expansionary territory, signaling a quick economic recovery following Beijing's removal of its stringent Covid-19 containment regime in December.


The Market Tanked, but Americans Kept Piling Money Into Their 401(k)s

Americans largely stifled the urge to reduce their savings rates and sell stocks in their retirement accounts last year, even as the market declined and inflation soared.

About 90% of investors in the 401(k)-style retirement plans administered by Vanguard Group maintained or increased their savings rate in 2022. And trading activity fell to a two-decade low among participants who manage their own investments, according to data from the Malvern, Pa.-based company.


Mark Cuban and Amazon Are Shaking Up Generic Drugs

Americans tremble at the idea of losing their health coverage, but bypassing giant insurers saves some people serious money on prescriptions in a topsy-turvy system.

Consider the story of Ohio pharmacist Nate Hux. Since 2016, his Pickerington Pharmacy has accepted many types of insurance. But, due to his frustration with the way middlemen, known as pharmacy-benefit managers, pocket large profits through opaque pricing methods, he decided to open another pharmacy right next door that takes no insurance. It sells generic drugs for their cost plus a markup, sometimes saving customers hundreds of dollars.


China Says It Is Looking Into Spy-Balloon Allegation by U.S.

China declined to confirm whether it sent a spy balloon over the continental U.S. but said it wanted to handle the allegation calmly with Washington.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese reconnaissance balloon had been spotted over Montana, adding that it was expected to pass in a southeasterly direction over the country for a few days.


Ukraine Hopes New Bombs From U.S. Will Help It Push Back Russia

ORIKHIV, Ukraine-Ukraine last summer stunned Russian troops with precision strikes from U.S.-supplied Himars mobile rocket launchers. Now an even more potent rocket system holds the potential to re-energize Kyiv's troops.

U.S. officials are expected Friday to say they will give Ukraine new Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, precision-guided, 250-pound explosives that are strapped to rockets and can be fired from a Himars or another launcher. The armament, which has never been deployed and is only at the start of production, has a range of roughly 94 miles, or around twice the range of current Himars shells.


Northeast Braces for Bitter Cold as Wind Chill Could Hit Minus 65 Degrees in Some Areas

A blast of bitter cold will sweep across the Midwest and Northeast Friday, with snow squalls and sudden whiteout conditions making driving, particularly on highways, dangerous.

Wind chill from gusty northwesterly winds will make for the coldest weather in decades, the National Weather Service said. Wind-chill warnings and advisories are in effect for the Northern Plains as well as the Northeast. Record-breaking lows are forecast for the New York City, Boston and Providence areas.


Nearly 1,000 Migrant Children Separated From Parents at Border Haven't Been Reunited, Data Shows

Nearly 1,000 children separated from their parents at the U.S. border under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration haven't been reunited, federal data shows, despite a multiyear effort to do so.

The federal program has reunited 600 migrant children with their parents, according to numbers released by the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, the second anniversary of the establishment of the Family Reunification Task Force by President Biden soon after he assumed office.


Texas Storms Leave Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

Hundreds of thousands of Texans remained without power as utility crews worked to fix power lines and poles downed or iced over by storms this week.

More than 300,000 customers had no power Thursday afternoon, with most of the outages concentrated in central and northern Texas communities, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us.


Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

Brookfield Renewable Partners 4Q

Trilogy Metals 4Q

Economic Events (ET):

0815 Jan Official International Reserves

Stocks to Watch:

Constellation Software Announces Delayed Release Date of Its Results for the 4Q and Yr Ended Dec 31, 2022; Cites Complexities Caused by Carve-Out Acctg Associated With Acquisition of Altera Digital Health; Expects to 4Q Results in March

Diversified Royalty: Stuart Suls Retired, Effective Jan 20

Firm Cap Property Trust Announces Acquisition of 50% Interest in Two Manufactured Home Communities for C$5.7 M

Lion Electric Completed Sale-Leaseback for Mirabel Mattery Manufacturing Building

Methanex 4Q EPS 59c; 4Q Rev $986M


Expected Major Events for Friday

00:01/UK: Jan BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor

00:30/JPN: Jan Japan Services PMI

06:00/RUS: Jan Russian Services PMI

07:45/FRA: Dec Industrial production index

08:45/ITA: Jan Italy Services PMI

08:50/FRA: Jan France Services PMI

08:55/GER: Jan Germany Services PMI

09:30/UK: Jan S&P Global / CIPS UK Services PMI

09:30/UK: Jan UK Official Reserves

13:15/CAN: Jan Official International Reserves

13:30/US: Jan U.S. Employment Report

14:45/US: Jan US Services PMI

15:00/US: Jan ISM Report On Business Services PMI

16:00/US: Jan Global Services PMI

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.


Expected Earnings for Friday

ArcBest Corp (ARCB) is expected to report $2.67 for 4Q.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

02-03-23 0626ET