These 2 Stocks Didn’t Tell Investors What They Wanted To Hear

The stock market had a rough week as Friday’s declines added to those of the previous couple of days. Concerns about a potential recession continued to be high on investors’ minds, with all three major US indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^ DJI -0.85%), S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.11%)Y Nasdaq Composite (^ IXIC -0.97%) — ended the session down around 1%.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Accent (ACN -5.92%) Y ford motor company (F -6.98%) They weren’t the only stocks to lose ground on Friday, but each had a story to tell that its shareholders didn’t seem to want to hear. Below, you’ll learn more about the global automaker and consulting giant, and why they were making headlines as the week drew to a close on Wall Street.

Accenture could see a slowdown

Accenture shares fell 6% on Friday. The consultancy reported fiscal first-quarter results that were generally upbeat, but shareholders were unhappy with the company’s prospects for the near future.

In the quarter, which ended November 30, Accenture posted solid growth across key metrics. Revenue increased 5% year-over-year to $15.7 billion, despite 10 percentage point headwinds attributable to a stronger US dollar. Sales were particularly strong in its healthcare and public services and resources industry groups, while its growth rates in financial services and in communications, media and technology were more muted. Its operating margin expanded from year-ago levels and earnings of $3.08 per share were 11% higher than in the prior-year period.

The problem, however, is that foreign currency weakness is likely to undermine most of Accenture’s growth in fiscal 2023. For the fiscal second quarter, the expected growth of 6% to 10% will be affected by a 5 percentage point impact due to stronger dollar growth. Full year growth of 8% to 11% in local currency terms can also expect a reduction of 5 percentage points when reported in US dollars.

Even management’s boost to its full-year earnings guidance and a 15% quarterly dividend hike to $1.12 per share weren’t enough to reassure investors about Accenture’s long-term prospects. That reflects how much fear there is about corporate earnings going into 2023.

Ford flexes its pricing power muscles again

Meanwhile, Ford Motor shares closed the trading session on Friday down 7%. The automaker took advantage of its popular brand name and strong demand for electric vehicles, but investors don’t seem happy with its strategy.

Ford announced an increase in the price of its new full-size F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Several reports seemed to be looking at slightly different models of the EV truck and pointed to different tools to determine the price, but several pointed to an increase from over $4,000 to almost $56,000 for the cheapest model available.

The automaker tried to justify the move based on the higher costs of its materials. However, this was the third price increase this year for the F-150 Lightning, and it comes at a time when the outlook for the consumer economy is increasingly worrying. Shareholders seem concerned that consumers already have trouble finding cash for discretionary purchases and with financing costs rising along with interest rates, Ford is risking the loss of many potential sales to buyers who will now be unable to afford the vehicles. .

Demand of electric vehicles It has been strong, but with prices rising, buyers will inevitably reach a breaking point. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until Ford’s next quarterly results are released before we know if its actions have backfired.