Equifax (EFX) released their second fiscal quarter earnings on Wednesday, and the report caused an immediate stock price drop.

The credit scoring company’s shares fell 9% once the earnings report was released. The company failed to meet analysts’ expectations for earnings and is suffering from mortgage problems as well. Equifax issued a statement that their decreased earnings are in line with an 11% decrease for mortgage credit requests in the United States.

Equifax’s shares fell their steepest since July of last year. The company was able to quickly recover from that decline, and they may pull a similar feat this year.

Expected earnings for Equifax were stated at $1.44 billion for the quarter. That number has been readjusted now to about $1.42 billion. Despite the reduced guidance moving forward, the company still expected to meet its estimated goal of $5.72 billion in earnings for the fiscal year.

Equifax stock is now trading at $227 per share.

The Low Stock Market

The current stock market environment is a timid one, with many investors waiting to see if inflation numbers will improve before they heavily invest. This week’s FOMC meetings are addressing the economic environment of the United States and sharing the government’s concerns about inflation and interest rates both being higher than expected at this point in 2024.

After US jobless claims came in for today and showed some improvement, the stock market bumped up, with the Dow Jones going from closing down to increasing by 0.60%. The S&P 500 is also up, gaining 0.46%. Additionally, the Nasdaq Composite index has gained 0.45%.

The markets may continue to improve slightly throughout the day as this information is processed, but recent consecutive weeks of losses will be tough to overcome.

The Dow Jones has been in decline since the end of March, with the Nasdaq Composite only starting to decline in the last week. The S&P 500 is also deep into its second week of losses.