Markets
Garmin stock soars on earnings
(Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

A record-high share price shows Garmin is still a thing

The resilient GPS-enabled device company posted much-better-than-expected results, driven by its fitness division. The stock jumped over 20% on Wednesday.

10/30/24 4:15PM

Shares of Garmin, the venerable producer of fitness and other standalone devices, posted their second-biggest single-day jump on Wednesday, as the stock closed at a record $204.92. It was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 on the day.

A stellar earnings report was the reason. The company posted much-better-than-expected profit of $399 million on a record $1.59 billion in revenue. It was Garmin’s third straight quarter of record sales.

One watching the markets today would have no inclination that Garmin’s goose could have been well and truly cooked 15 years ago.

In October 2009, Google announced that its Android mobile-phone operating system would include personal navigation services for free, a development quickly followed by Apple.

In one fell swoop, the reason to own standalone GPS devices — what Garmin sold and still sells — was effectively destroyed.

As smartphone sales boomed and the economy contracted sharply between late 2007 and early 2009, Garmin’s sales collapsed by 65%.

How did Garmin survive? After an ill-fated and costly attempt to develop its own smartphone, it decided to stick to niches it knew well by providing GPS devices for aviation, personal fitness, and boating. It expanded geographically, boosting sales to Europe. And it grew through acquisitions.

In its most recent quarter, the company’s lines of Forerunner and Fenix watches for athletes continued to do numbers, helping drive a 21% surge in revenue in Garmin’s outdoor division to $527 million.

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Rocket lab soars to new record close amid rally for retail faves

Rocket Lab ripped by roughly 10% Friday to close at a new all-time high, riding an upturn of retail enthusiasm for a coterie of tech-themed favorites, even as the broader market was more or less flat on the day.

Goldman Sachs’ basket of “retail favorites” — its heaviest weights are Reddit, AppLovin, and Tempus AI — was the second-biggest gainer among the company’s flagship US equity baskets on Friday, rising about 1.6%. The S&P was almost dead flat.

It’s not Rocket Lab’s first retail rodeo, as the money-losing company has more than doubled this year and is up nearly 700% over the last 12 months.

Oracle Wall Street Revisions

Analysts revise up anything and everything they thought about Oracle

After the company’s bombshell earnings this week, Wall Street thinks Oracle’s trajectory has changed.

markets

Six Flags pops after reiterating its guidance as theme park attendance rebounds

Six Flags shares rose more than 7% today after the company reported a rebound in attendance and early season pass sales heading into the fall. The nine-week period ended August 31 saw 17.8 million guests, up about 2% from the same stretch last year, with stronger momentum in the final four weeks. 

More importantly, Six Flags reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $860 million to $910 million, showing confidence that its cost and operations strategy can stay strong for the duration of the year. Riding that wave, Six Flags also said early 2026 season pass unit sales are pacing ahead of last year, and average season pass prices are up about 3%.

The good vibes come despite a drop in in-park per-capita spending, especially from admissions, where promotions and changes to attendance mix (which parks or days guests visit) have weighed. Earlier this week, the amusement giant signed a new agreement that extended its position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America through 2030.

Despite the rally, Six Flags shares are down about 52% year to date.

markets

Rivian turns red on the year, squeezed by a recall and the looming end of the EV tax credit

Shares of EV maker Rivian are down more than 5% on Friday following the company’s recall of 24,214 vehicles due to a software issue. The stock move erases Rivian’s year-to-date gain and turns the company negative on the year.

Rivian’s 2025 model year R1S and R1T are affected by the defect, which was identified after a vehicle’s hands-free highway assist software failed to identify another vehicle on the road, causing a low-speed collision. Rivian said it’s released an over-the-air update to fix the issue.

The recall marks Rivian’s fifth this year, affecting nearly 70,000 of its vehicles.

Rivian’s shares are down more than 20% from their 2025 high, which came prior to the passage of President Trump’sbig, beautiful bill.” Through the legislation, the $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of the month.

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