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Markets Gain on Fed Rate Cut Likelihood - CRM, FIVE Beat & Raise
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Key Takeaways
Markets Rose Today on Stronger Sentiment About Future Rate Cuts
ADP's Private-Sector Payrolls Show an Eroding Labor Force on the Small End
Salesforce, Five Below and Others Beat Earnings Estimates After the Close
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Market indexes shook off any lingering doubts they had through morning trading hours and shifted into solid, steady gains before tapering off slightly toward the end of the session. The Dow gained another +408 points, +0.86%, the S&P 500 another +20 points, +0.30%, the Nasdaq a relatively slim +40 points, +0.17%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 +47, +1.91%.
Weak jobs figures from ADP’s November private-sector payrolls report this morning has helped solidify the belief that another 25 basis-point (bps) rate cut is coming next week, which would take the Fed funds rate down to 3.50-3.75% for the first time in more than three years. Fed Governor Stephen Miran will no doubt vote for a 50 bps cut, but he remains in the minority. Our next CPI report, which contains the Inflation Rate, won’t report until after the Fed meeting.
Earnings Reports After the Bell: CRM, FIVE & More
Although calendar Q3 earnings season is mostly in the books, we do have a few reports worth mentioning from after today’s close. Salesforce.com (CRM - Free Report) easily outperformed earnings estimates in its Q3 report this afternoon, posting $3.25 per share versus expectations of $2.85, while revenues came in only in-line with projections to $10.26 billion. Still, that’s +8.6% revenue growth from a year ago; better than a sharp stick in the eye.
Guidance for next quarter was raised slight on earnings, but more so for revenues: $11.13-11.23 billion now anticipated, from the $10.89 billion Zacks consensus previously. Shares are up more than +5% in late trading, but they still have a long way to go to break even for the year, -28% year to date.
Five Below (FIVE - Free Report) shares are up +3.7% in late trading after its huge Q3 earnings beat, which came in at +$0.68 per share versus expectations for +$0.22, and +$0.42 reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $1.04 billion easily surpassed the $970 million in the Zacks consensus, on +14.3% comps and gaining new stores at a +14.8% clip. Shares had already climbed +55% year to date.
Data cloud software provider Snowflake (SNOW - Free Report) also beat estimates in Q3 — earnings of 35 cents per share on revenues of $1.21 billion outpaced the 31 cents per share and $1.18 billion estimates, respectively — but after gaining +71% year to date, even the bumped-up revenue guidance for next quarter wasn’t enough to keep the stock from selling off -8.5% in the after market.
What to Expect from the Stock Market Tomorrow
Following today’s weak ADP private-sector jobs numbers, Thursday morning brings us Weekly Jobless Claims — easily the most well-behaved of all employment data over the past six months or more. Initial Claims are expected to come in a smidge higher at 220K from a 10-month low 216K reported last week. Continuing Claims came in at 1.960 million a week ago.
New jobless claims shot like a bullet out to +264K the week of Labor Day, back in September. After that, it reported between a range of 220-235K for the next two months. But last week was the lowest initial jobless claims print since mid-January. Continuing Claims are climbing back into the high range going back to late spring; we have yet to notch a 2 million level of longer-term jobless claims, despite being north of 1.9 million since mid-May.
In terms of earnings, believe it or not we still have a few more important companies reporting tomorrow. These include supermarket chain giant Kroger (KR - Free Report) and Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) ahead of the opening bell, DocuSign (DOCU - Free Report) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) after the close. These all carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) rating aside from BMO, which has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Image: Shutterstock
Markets Gain on Fed Rate Cut Likelihood - CRM, FIVE Beat & Raise
Key Takeaways
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Market indexes shook off any lingering doubts they had through morning trading hours and shifted into solid, steady gains before tapering off slightly toward the end of the session. The Dow gained another +408 points, +0.86%, the S&P 500 another +20 points, +0.30%, the Nasdaq a relatively slim +40 points, +0.17%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 +47, +1.91%.
Weak jobs figures from ADP’s November private-sector payrolls report this morning has helped solidify the belief that another 25 basis-point (bps) rate cut is coming next week, which would take the Fed funds rate down to 3.50-3.75% for the first time in more than three years. Fed Governor Stephen Miran will no doubt vote for a 50 bps cut, but he remains in the minority. Our next CPI report, which contains the Inflation Rate, won’t report until after the Fed meeting.
Earnings Reports After the Bell: CRM, FIVE & More
Although calendar Q3 earnings season is mostly in the books, we do have a few reports worth mentioning from after today’s close. Salesforce.com (CRM - Free Report) easily outperformed earnings estimates in its Q3 report this afternoon, posting $3.25 per share versus expectations of $2.85, while revenues came in only in-line with projections to $10.26 billion. Still, that’s +8.6% revenue growth from a year ago; better than a sharp stick in the eye.
Guidance for next quarter was raised slight on earnings, but more so for revenues: $11.13-11.23 billion now anticipated, from the $10.89 billion Zacks consensus previously. Shares are up more than +5% in late trading, but they still have a long way to go to break even for the year, -28% year to date.
Five Below (FIVE - Free Report) shares are up +3.7% in late trading after its huge Q3 earnings beat, which came in at +$0.68 per share versus expectations for +$0.22, and +$0.42 reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $1.04 billion easily surpassed the $970 million in the Zacks consensus, on +14.3% comps and gaining new stores at a +14.8% clip. Shares had already climbed +55% year to date.
Data cloud software provider Snowflake (SNOW - Free Report) also beat estimates in Q3 — earnings of 35 cents per share on revenues of $1.21 billion outpaced the 31 cents per share and $1.18 billion estimates, respectively — but after gaining +71% year to date, even the bumped-up revenue guidance for next quarter wasn’t enough to keep the stock from selling off -8.5% in the after market.
What to Expect from the Stock Market Tomorrow
Following today’s weak ADP private-sector jobs numbers, Thursday morning brings us Weekly Jobless Claims — easily the most well-behaved of all employment data over the past six months or more. Initial Claims are expected to come in a smidge higher at 220K from a 10-month low 216K reported last week. Continuing Claims came in at 1.960 million a week ago.
New jobless claims shot like a bullet out to +264K the week of Labor Day, back in September. After that, it reported between a range of 220-235K for the next two months. But last week was the lowest initial jobless claims print since mid-January. Continuing Claims are climbing back into the high range going back to late spring; we have yet to notch a 2 million level of longer-term jobless claims, despite being north of 1.9 million since mid-May.
In terms of earnings, believe it or not we still have a few more important companies reporting tomorrow. These include supermarket chain giant Kroger (KR - Free Report) and Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) ahead of the opening bell, DocuSign (DOCU - Free Report) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) after the close. These all carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) rating aside from BMO, which has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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