The markets started off the week with a strong day as a few merger and buyout deals hit the street. The Dow 30 was higher by 10, the S&P 500 added 3, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 22. Tomorrow's scheduled news is rather light which will leave investors focused on stock specific news.
Broadcom (AVGO ) and Qualcomm (QCOM ) were the dominant headline early in the day as Broadcom has made an official offer to buy Qualcom in a deal valued at $130 billion. Qualcomm shares are up another 1.15% today following Friday's pop, and Broadcom was up as well. President and CEO of Broadcom Hock Tan said in a statement, "Broadcom's proposal is compelling for stockholders and stakeholders in both companies. Our proposal provides Qualcomm stockholders with a substantial and immediate premium in cash for their shares, as well as the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company." Qualcomm confirmed it received the offer from Broadcom but had no immediate comment which is typical. The only comments out of the company were that it plans to "assess the proposal in order to pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Qualcomm shareholders." This is Wall Street talk for, "we will reject your offer and make you offer more."
In earnings news, Michael Kors (KORS ) shares popped 14.66% today following an earnings report that beat expectations. The company announced earnings per share of $1.33 on revenue of $1.15 billion. Analysts were only expecting a profit of 83 cents on sales of $1.05 billion. Further fueling the boost, the retailer also raised its outlook for the year. They now expect total revenue for fiscal 2018 of $4.59 billion, up from its previous outlook of $4.28 billion. Shares are now higher by almost 50% since reporting their previous earnings which also beat expectations.
Sprint (S ) shares sold off to new lows today, losing 11.54% in the process as they have once again called off their merger talks with T-Mobile (TMUS ). The two have publicly struggled to get a deal done that would benefit shareholders. Shares of T-Mobile also sold off today to the tune of 5.72%.