How did SW's Q4 2024 earnings surprise impact investor sentiment?

Smurfit WestRock's (SW) Q4 2024 earnings surprise had a mixed impact on investor sentiment, as evidenced by the fluctuations in the stock's performance around the earnings release dates. 1. **Initial Reaction**: The stock experienced a significant positive reaction on October 1, 2024, with a post-market percentage change of 3.16% and an intraday percentage change of 11.99% following the earnings release. This suggests that investors initially reacted positively to the earnings news, potentially due to the company's performance exceeding expectations. 2. **Subsequent Movements**: However, the stock's performance cooled down over the subsequent reporting dates. It faced a decline of 1.32% on October 10, 2024, and a decrease of 0.34% on October 21, 2024. This could indicate that while the initial reaction was positive, investors' confidence might have been affected by other factors or revised their expectations downward. 3. **Final Report Date Impact**: The stock showed a slight increase of 0.47% on December 10, 2024, and a minimal change of 0.02% on December 31, 2024. This suggests that by the final report date, the market might have adjusted its sentiment based on the earnings results, with any negative concerns potentially alleviated by the absence of further negative surprises. In conclusion, while the initial Q4 2024 earnings surprise likely led to a positive sentiment, the subsequent stock movements indicate that investor sentiment was influenced by other factors, leading to a more nuanced reaction over time.