Take-Two Stock Falls; Expedia rises thanks to resilient demand for travel

A video game maker’s stock came under pressure after the decision to postpone the launch of a long-awaited game, while strong growth in gross bookings helped the travel company’s shares rise.

Major US stock indexes ended Friday’s session mixed as Michigan’s consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level since June 2022, suggesting the US government shutdown is negatively impacting people’s views on the economy. Technology stocks remained under pressure amid concerns about high valuations for artificial intelligence plays.

The Dow added 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.2%. All three companies posted weekly losses, with the Nasdaq ending its worst week since early April, when President Donald Trump’s “Deregulation Day” tariffs rocked markets. See here for more Investopedia In today’s major market news.

Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 on Friday, with shares falling 8% after the video game maker announced another delay in the release of its long-awaited “Grand Theft Auto VI” title. Take Two’s stronger-than-expected earnings and improved full-year outlook were overshadowed by the recent postponement of the major release.

Block (XYZ) shares fell nearly 8% after the payments provider missed third-quarter sales and revised earnings expectations. While growth from the company’s Cash App platform fueled year-over-year gains in gross profit, outpacing growth from its Square payments unit, the results reflected higher expenses, including an increase in general and administrative costs.

Tesla ( TSLA ) stock fell nearly 4%, a day after shareholders voted to approve a big pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could be worth as much as $1 trillion if the company and its shares reach established performance targets. The plan, which represents the largest CEO pay plan ever, was approved by more than 75% of the votes in favor.

The top daily performer in the S&P 500 was Expedia Group (EXPE) stock, which rose more than 17%. The online travel platform operator beat third-quarter earnings expectations thanks to strong domestic demand. Expedia also raised its guidance for annual revenue growth to a range of 6% to 7%, compared to a previous forecast of 3% to 5%.

Shares of Akamai Technologies (AKAM) rose nearly 15% after the cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and boosted its outlook. Strong demand for its Guardicore security platform and cloud infrastructure services helped fuel Akamai’s strong performance.

Solventum (SOLV), a healthcare company that will be spun off from 3M (MMM) in 2024, also beat expectations with its quarterly sales and adjusted earnings. The company saw positive impact from portfolio optimization and divestitures, including the sale of its purification and filtration business, which it closed in September. Solventum shares rose 8% on Friday.