11:49 AM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Indexes were both up in late morning trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down, as the three major averages look to close out another positive week.

In company news, Netflix ( NFLX ) reported Q3 earnings late Thursday of $5.40 per diluted share, up from $3.73 a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of $5.12. Third-quarter revenue was $9.82 billion, up from $8.54 billion in the year-ago period and above the Capital IQ consensus of $9.77 billion. The company said it expects Q4 diluted EPS of $4.23 on revenue of $10.13 billion. Analysts expect EPS of $3.93 on revenue of $10.02 billion. Netflix's ( NFLX ) global paid net additions declined to 5.07 million in Q3 from 8.76 million a year earlier, but they exceeded the consensus on Visible Alpha of a 4.6 million increase. Netflix ( NFLX ) shares were up 10.3% around midday.

Procter & Gamble ( PG ) reported fiscal Q1 core earnings Friday of $1.93 per diluted share, up from $1.83 a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of $1.90. Fiscal Q1 net sales were $21.74 billion, down from $21.87 billion in the year-ago period and below the Capital IQ consensus estimate of $21.98 billion. Shares of the company were up 0.2%.

American Express ( AXP ) reported Q3 adjusted earnings Friday of $3.49 per diluted share, up from $3.30 a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of $3.29. Third-quarter revenue was $16.64 billion, up from $15.38 billion a year earlier but below the Capital IQ consensus estimate of $16.65 billion. The company raised its 2024 EPS guidance to a range of $13.75 to $14.05 from its prior outlook of $13.30 to $13.80. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expect $13.28. Shares of American Express ( AXP ) were down 3.6%.

United States Cellular ( USM ) said Friday it has agreed to sell a portion of its retained spectrum licenses to Verizon Communications ( VZ ) for $1 billion. Shares of United States Cellular ( USM ) were up 9.8%, while those of Verizon were up 0.7%.

CVS Health ( CVS ) said Friday it named David Joyner as its new chief executive while also issuing a preliminary Q3 earnings outlook that came in below Wall Street estimates. Joyner, whose appointment was effective Thursday, most recently served as executive vice president of CVS Health ( CVS ) and president of CVS Caremark. The company expects Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.05 to $1.10, well below the Capital IQ consensus of $1.57. CVS anticipates reporting a negative impact of $0.63 tied to premium deficiency reserves, primarily related to the company's Medicare and individual exchange businesses within its health care benefits segment. CVS shares were down 9.2%.

Price: 758.77, Change: +71.12, Percent Change: +10.34