Key takeaways:

• Earnings season finished with a series of mixed results this week

Woodside Energy may have capped off earnings season, but it was a number of other names driving the headlines this week on the back of shock results.

Which shares excelled?

Gold stocks are among the week best performers after the precious metal bounced off a two-month low. The price of gold is trading about 1.5% higher week-to-date, which has been supportive for a host of ASX-listed producers like Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL), Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS), De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG), Perseus Mining (ASX: PRU), and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN).Fresh from being the subject of a takeover tussle, Strike Energy (ASX: STX) is powering forward. The Australian-based onshore energy producer and urea manufacturer this week launched a gas acceleration strategy across its projects based in Western Australia. 

That will be funded by the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Warrego Energy, with the company eyeing four gas production sources by the end of 2025. Explaining its rationale behind the move, Strike described the WA gas market as attractive on account of a shortfall in future supply options.

Elsewhere, Aussie Broadband (ASX: ABB) is making itself known following its earnings report. While the initial reception to the company report wasn't overly strong, it appears that investors took their time to digest the numbers and reassess the stock a day later.

Nonetheless, the company accounts showed a 516% increase in net profit after tax to $8.6 million. That was driven by a 65% increase in revenue from ordinary activities, while gross margins increased 250 basis points to 34.9%. At the same time, the company improved its operating cash flow by 35%. 

A surge in broadband connections and mobile services were the key catalysts, but average voice minutes and synergies from its acquisition of Over the Wire helped the cause. In light of those developments, ABB gained market share in a tough market, and management upgraded full-year EBITDA guidance to between $85 million and $90 million.

Another company rounding out earnings season on a high is Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS). The oil major share price has seen a steady rise this week after the company reported a record underlying net profit after tax of US$5.2 billion. 

Higher oil prices led to a 142% increase in operating revenue, with free cash flow of US$6.5 billion allowing the company to hike its final dividend 37% to US$1.44 per share. In total, the company recorded annual sales volume of 168.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a realised sales price of US$98.40 per barrel, and unit production costs of US$8.1 per barrel.

Some others stocks marching higher this week include Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU), Bluescope Steel (ASX: BSL), Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM), South32 (ASX: S32), Polynovo (ASX: PNV), Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN), and Qantas (ASX: QAN).

Which shares dragged on the market?

Tech company Silex Systems (ASX: SLX) headlines this week underperforming names, with the company emerging from a trading halt to successfully raise $120 million through a share placement. 

The funds will be used to help the company accelerate the commercialisation of its SILEX laser enrichment technology, a laser isotope separation product, designed for applications like nuclear power, silicon quantum computing, and cancer diagnostics. While the company issued new shares at $4.05 each under the placement, the stock quickly fell below that level when trading resumed.

Shares in funeral operator Invocare (ASX: IVC) hit a 10-year low this week after shareholders sold the stock in the wake of its earnings report. While a 12% increase in revenue was positive, the company took a big hit on prepaid funds under management given the significant market volatility across 2022. 

Invocare invests prepaid funeral revenue into assets like stocks and property, so a tough year for equities impacted its unrealised mark-to-market valuation of funds. Furthermore, some analysts raised questions about the prospect the company may have lost market share given the failure to grow the bottom line despite a surge in revenue.

Integrated services company Downer EDI (ASX: DOW) was slammed this week after the company half-year results showed a big hole in the bottom line. Although revenue increased by a modest 2.9% compared with the prior period, profit slumped more than 20% to $68.1 million. If that wasn't enough, management downgraded the company full-year guidance, with labour shortages and inclement weather among the headwinds.Also posting results this week, retailer Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) released its half-year report. The company delivered revenue of $2.3 billion for the period, flat against the prior corresponding period. However, a fall in margins led to underlying profit decreasing 14.5%. That prompted management to cut the fully-franked interim dividend by 35% to 13 cents per share. Furthermore, investors may be concerned about the soft start to the second half, with local franchise sales down 10.2% in January.Last but not least, it been a tough week for battery metals stocks, with Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS), Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC), and Ioneer (ASX: INR) all sliding, while Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX: CUV), Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA), Adbri (ASX: ABC), and Life360 (ASX: 360) are some of the other laggards across the market.

We'll be back next week with another Weekly ASX Trading Wrap Up - until then, have a great week!