Diamonds and Dogs

4/14/20

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) beats on earnings while raising their dividend. J&J is up 4% not far from all-time highs after beating earnings by 30 cents and raised their dividend 6%. Johnson & Johnson made a statement saying they are built for times like this, adding they are leveraging their scientific expertise, operational scale and financial strength in the effort to advance the work on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.  

The big banks are lower. JP Morgan (JPM) is down 3% while Wells Fargo (WFC) is down 4% on sobering news of the current business environment. Both JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. posted their highest loan-loss provisions in a decade, setting aside more than $12 billion to cover defaults across the economy, but especially from credit-card borrowers and oil companies. JPMorgan's profit fell 69% to the lowest in more than six years, even as the firm's traders seized on record volatility to deliver their best quarter ever. Wells Fargo posted earnings of 1 cent per share, down from $1.20 a year earlier.