Posts related to ‘Earnings’

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): The Case Against The Share Buyback

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) is the latest large American company to announce it would buyback many more of its shares. This has become popular once again among the cash rich in the Fortune 500. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have become particularly aggressive.

The arguments against share buybacks are old and hardly worth repeating except for the fact that as a rising number of companies adopt the practice returning to the case the these harm shareholders keeps the debate fresh. Read More »

Posted on: November 24, 2009 – 5:54 am in Dividend, Earnings, , , ,

H-P Holds Its Own (HPQ, COMS, DELL)

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) had already given its guidance for today’s earnings two weeks ago when it announced the surprise acquisition of 3Com Corp. (NASDAQ: COMS).  But that doesn’t keep traders from looking through the numbers.  H-P posted $1.14 EPS on $30.78 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $1.13 EPS and $30.36 billion in revenues.
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Posted on: November 23, 2009 – 4:16 pm in Earnings, PC Companies, Technology Companies, , ,

52-Week High Club (DDS, DBRN, SJM, MRK)

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) rose as high as over 10% to a yearly high of $15.79 after the department-store chain was upgraded by Deutsche Bank AG.  

Dress Barn Inc. (NASDAQ: DBRN) rose as high as 9.2% to a yearly his of $22.42 after the women’s clothing retailer announced earnings of $0.37, beating analysts estimates.

The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) rose as high as 6.3% to a yearly high of $56.86  after the jam and peanut butter maker reported earnings of $1.222 per share, beating analyst estimates.  

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) rose nearly 4% to a yearly high of $36.67 after the pharmaceutical company announced that drug Elonva was recommended for treatment of the ovaries in the European Union.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: November 20, 2009 – 4:11 pm in Earnings, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, , , ,

Next Week’s Top 10 Earnings on Deck (HPQ, TSN, CPB, LDK, TECD, BKS, BGP, JCG, DLTR, DE)

Earnings season has mostly wound down, but as always at least some major companies are reporting earnings.  Some are actually market-movers as well and it is a short week with earnings out only Monday and Tuesday, with a few on Wednesday.  On deck are Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP), J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE).

We have included estimates from Thomson Reuters, relative data on peers and recent developments, and relative performance on each where it was applicable.
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Posted on: November 20, 2009 – 1:19 pm in Calendar, Earnings, , , , , , , , , ,

52-Week High Club (DCI, NTAP, TSL)

Donaldson Company Inc (NYSE: DCI) rose over 8.5% to a yearly high of $45.19 after the air filter maker reported 3Q earnings of $0.45 per share, beating analyst estimates.  

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) rose over 5.5% to a yearly high of $31.25 after the server maker reported profits of $0.37 per share, beating analysts estimates.  

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) rose over 9.5% to a yearly high of $46.80 after the Chinese solar company reported 3Q profits of $1.29 per share, beating analyst estimates by nearly 50%.  

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 7:05 pm in Autos, Earnings, Technology Companies, , , ,

Dell Very Disappointing… Very (DELL)

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) reported earnings of $0.17 EPS as a headline, but the clean number is $0.23 EPS on a non-GAAP basis and $12.9 billion in revenues.  Thomson Reuters had estimates pegged at $0.28 for non-GAAP EPS and $13.18 billion in revenues.

Dell had previously noted that it did not expect the commercial refresh and upgrade cycle to come into play until 2010.  Michael Dell noted, “We are seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand that is continuing into the fourth quarter. The same is true with momentum in Dell’s business, specifically in our Large Enterprise and SMB segments. The launch of Windows 7 is being very well received by SMBs and consumers, and we’ll see the benefits of that more fully in our fiscal Q4.”  Unfortunately, that is where the decent to good news stops and is nowhere near good enough for the show-me attitude of investors now.

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Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 4:07 pm in Earnings, PC Companies, Technology Companies, , ,

Make or Break Earnings for Dell (DELL)

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is set to report earnings after the closing bell today.  Thomson Reuters has estimates pegged at $0.28 EPS and $13.18 billion in revenues.  For the coming quarter those estimates are $0.30 EPS and $13.54 billion in revenues.  We have heard whisper numbers of $0.29 EPS and even higher, and the highest estimates look to be $0.30 EPS and just over $13.5 billion in revenues.  The numbers and guidance are going to be closely looked at, perhaps even more than the bulk of the rest of the commentary.
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Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 12:30 pm in Earnings, PC Companies, Technology Companies,

Thursday Earnings Retail Bonanza (DKS, FL, GPS, ROST, SHLD, BKE, PLCE, WTSLA, WSM, ZUMZ)

The earnings season is mostly winding down, but we still have a slew of retail earnings in the apparel and home categories.  On Thursday alone, we have earnings from Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), The Buckle (NYSE: BKE), The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), and Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ).

We have compiled data and analysis here using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates, recent metrics offered by the companies, relative performance, and more.  As with what we have seen at most retail and apparel earnings this week and last, many of these are richly valued and probably cannot just hope to please the bulls by meeting estimates on cost cutting and inventory management and then giving cautious guidance.
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Posted on: November 18, 2009 – 3:38 pm in Apparel, Calendar, Earnings, Retail, , , , , , , , , ,

Melco Crown Outlines IPO Risks at Las Vegas Sands, MGM Too (MPEL, LVS, MGM, WYNN)

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) is holding up better than many might have expected after the stellar rise seen in the casino stocks with Macau ties.  Melco Crown turned a wider loss over a year ago, despite a 70% revenue rise.  The loss was on a net basis rather than operating basis on higher depreciation and related expenses as well accounting for interest payments from the City of Dreams project.  This has implications for the coming Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) IPO, and possibly even for MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) after Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) managed its IPO for Macau.
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Posted on: November 17, 2009 – 4:12 pm in Casinos, China, Earnings, IPOs, , , ,

Lowe’s (LOW): Hope Gets In Your Eyes

bearOne word from a CEO can obscure an entire earnings reports. Home improvement giant Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) reported lackluster earnings. However, its chief Robert A. Niblock said, “We are beginning to see signs of improved performance in some of the hardest-hit housing markets including California, Florida and areas of the desert Southwest.” Those areas were crushed so flat that it would require a massive turnaround the regions to do much to help the prospects of Lowe’s or Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Read More »

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 9:45 am in Earnings, Housing, ,

Earnings Duel on Deck: Lowe’s vs. Home Depot (LOW, HD)

Money Stack PicThis week’s earnings calendar is going to be dominated by retail earnings.  Early in the week you have the home improvement and building material wars with earnings first out of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) on Monday and then Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) on Tuesday.

We have compiled estimates from Thomson Reuters, made some key comments on what to look for in each report, shown past performance, and given some added color on what to look for ahead.  We have some concerns here about how these stocks are valued.  We also showed the relative performance for 2009, the gains since March 9 that traders use as the official end of the death spiral, and we are also showing performance since July 31.
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Posted on: November 15, 2009 – 10:46 am in Calendar, Earnings, Housing, Retail, ,

Retail & Apparel Earnings Dominate Next Week (SKS, BJ, GYMB, ANN, DKS, FL, GPS, SHLD, PLCE, WTSLA, ZUMZ)

Bull and Bear ImageIt seems that earnings season is winding down, but next week we have many of the key retail and apparel players reporting earnings.  Saks Incorporated (NASDAQ: SKS), BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ), Gymboree Corp. (NASDAQ: GYMB), and Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) are all reporting next week.  Next Thursday may feel like a retail and apparel earnings bonanza as we have Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), and Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) all reporting earnings in one day.

We have provided estimates from Thomson Reuters, recent sale store sales data, share performance, and added color on what else to consider where applicable.
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Posted on: November 13, 2009 – 11:36 am in Apparel, Calendar, Earnings, Retail, , , , , , , , , , ,

Despite Many Drops, Disney Delivers (DIS)

DIS LogoThe Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is out with earnings and the report is a solid one compared to what we have seen elsewhere, yet it too saw mostly erosion in its business segments. For the quarter, the Mouse House posted $0.47 EPS compared to $0.40 in the prior-year quarter, but that figure had gains from the Lifetime/A&E transaction and restructuring and impairment charges, which together resulted in a net benefit of $0.01.  If you back out all items, the company is showing a 5% earnings gain to $0.46 EPS.  Revenues were down 4% year over year to $9.867 billion.  Thomson Reuters had estimates at $0.41 EPS and $9.27 billion in revenues.  The units are where the story sounds worse than the raw figures.
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Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 4:35 pm in Earnings, Entertainment, Media,

52-Week High Club (COMS, AMD, PLA, BID)

3Com Corp (NASDAQ: COMS) rose over 30% to a yearly high of $7.52 after Hewlett-Packard, the PC maker, announced plans to buy 3Com for $2.7 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) rose over 20% to a yearly high of $6.73 after the announcement that the company would receive $1.25 billion from Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) under an agreement that ends a legal dispute between the two companies over patents and antitrust accusations.  

Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) rose over 60% to a yearly high of $4.75 because the magazine is in talks to sell itself to Iconix Brand Group (NASDAQ: ICON).

Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) rose as high as 11% to a yearly high of $19.50 after the action house raised $117 million at a sale yesterday.  

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 4:31 pm in Earnings, Law, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , ,

Wal-Mart (WMT): It’s Beginning To Look At Lot Like Christmas

WMTWal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) beat Wall St. expectations for earnings and revenue.

Perhaps more important, it indicated that the fourth quarter would be OK. The Christmas retail season just began to look a bit better.

Wal-Mart reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 of $0.84, exceeding the company’s guidance of $0.78 to $0.82. Walmart earned $0.77 per share from continuing operations in the third quarter last year. Net sales for the third quarter were $98.667 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent from $97.619 billion in the third quarter last year. Read More »

Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 7:43 am in Earnings, Retail,

Tech Strangeworld: 3Com Bought by H-P (COMS, HPQ, CSCO, IBM)

HO LogoSometimes the unimaginable happens, and that is today.  3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) is being acquired, and in a deal that won’t run regulatory risk at least over China having access to core technology.  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is the surprise buyer.

H-P is buying the networking and routing company for a price of $7.90 per share in cash, which comes to an enterprise value of about $2.7 billion.   The deal has also been approved by the boards of directors at each company.  Based upon Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) expanding its reach further out into data centers and beyond and based on some recent moves from IBM (NYSE: IBM), this is actually a lower surprise than had this been announced a year ago.  That would make one wonder what moves those companies will make.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 4:30 pm in Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology Companies, , , ,

Applied Materials 360-Degree View Before Earnings (AMAT, SMH, USD)

AMAT LogoApplied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is on deck for earnings this afternoon right after the market closes. The chip equipment giant, and relatively new solar player, is the king of its sector to most traders and investors and will potentially have an impact on all the chip equipment stocks in the sector.  Estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.03 EPS and $1.32 billion in revenues for its October quarter, which is also its year-end with estimates of -$0.14 EPS and $4.80 billion in revenues.

Applied Materials does represent about 13.55% of the Semiconductor HOLDRs (NYSE: SMH) ETF, but only represents about 5% of the Ultra Semiconductor ProShares (NYSE: USD) ETF.  We will be looking to its fiscal-2010 comments more than this last quarter.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 12:12 pm in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Semiconductor, Technology Companies, , ,

Macy’s Highlights Value-Performance Conundrum in Dept. Stores (M, JWN, KSS)

Bull and Bear ImageMacy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is showing just how much of a conundrum there is between today’s retail stock valuations and the reality of what to expect from earnings ahead.  Macy’s had a narrower loss in the last quarter of $35 million, or -$0.08 EPS; but outside of items its earnings were -$0.03 EPS.  Revenues were down over 3% to $5.28 billion. Thomson Reuters had estimates at -$0.07 EPS and $5.25 billion in revenues.    The company did manage solid inventory management controls and its ongoing localized merchandise by region was part of why it raised its sales and earnings guidance for the year.

Still, there are issues between today’s share price versus valuations and where it came up from.  This also highlights issues that lie ahead for Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) ahead of their earnings this week.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 10:12 am in Apparel, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Retail, , ,

Clearwire Shows Earnings & Financing Hand (CLWR, S, CMCSA, TWC, DRWI)

Clearwire LogoInvestors are getting a look at why Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) announced that it was getting new partner financing ahead of its quarterly earnings report.  The wireless broadband services provider did show a gain in revenue to $68.8 million, up 13% from the $60.8 million a year ago and up from $63.59 million just in the June quarter.  Thomson Reuters had revenue estimates at just over $66.6 million.  The net loss of -$0.43 EPS was in-line with estimates.  Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), its strategic partners, are set to expand selling efforts in 4G areas. Today’s news also has implications for DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI).
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Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 4:45 pm in Earnings, WiMAX, Wireless, , , , ,

52-Week High Club (PCLN, TWTC, FOSL)

Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) surged over 20% to a yearly high of $209.19.  The global online travel agency rose after the company forcast that 4Q earnings would be at least $1.52 a share, with current analyst estimates resting around $1.49.  

tw telecom inc. (NASDAQ: TWTC) rose as high as 10% today as it reached a yearly high of $15.24.   The internet and telephone service provider was upgrade by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to “overweight” from “neutral”. 

Fossil Inc (NASDAQ: FOSL) rose as high as 11.5% to a high of $32.07 toda as the fashion accessory designer and distributor raised their earnings estimates.  

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 4:29 pm in Earnings, Retail, Telecom, , , ,