McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) same-store sales have been one of the corporate bright spots during the recession. Now that the recovery in underway, the world’s largest fast food chain’s traffic has stagnated.
In October, same-store sales worldwide rose only .7% and in its home market traffic dropped .6%. Europe, which has been the strongest region for McDonald’s posted another monthly gain, up 2.5% but Asia/Africa/ sales fell 1% on a same store basis. Read More
It seems that the saga over the coffee buyout war is ending as it pertains to Diedrich Coffee, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX). Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) was set to respond by today with an answer over what it planned to do in response to the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) bid to acquire Diedrich. The price of poker, or coffee, became too high. Peet’s is walking away from the table.
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The acquisition of Diedrich Coffee, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX) is getting even more heated. We have seen a raised bid from Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) to acquire Diedrich’s for $32.50 per share in cash and stock. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) also boosted its price above the Peet’s bid recently, and now the company is saying that its is “firmly committed to this strategic combination and are in the process of evaluating our next steps.”
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Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) wants to follow Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), Dell (NADSAQ:DELL) and hundreds of other large American companies into China. It is the promised land for consumer spending. The middle class in the world’s most populous nation is growing at an extraordinary rate, even with a modest slowdown in its rapidly rising GDP.
Wang Jinlong, the head of the coffee company on the mainland told Reuters, “It’s absolutely very, very important. This has really become our second home market.” Based on the leveling off of Starbucks business in America, the strategy may be obvious. Read More
Cadbury plc (NYSE: CBY) is effectively worth almost more than ever because of the merger interest. Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) has a cash and share bid worth roughly $16.4 billion already, and Cadbury wants more. Throwing in the Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) bid, which may only complicate matters. Throw in Italy’s Ferrero and Switzerland’s Nestle, and the matter only grows further. There are many issues to consider. Price and antitrust regulation are just a part.
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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
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) over 3% to a yearly high of $84.92. Barron’s reported that the package delivery company may rise as high as $100 dollars according to a survey of investors and analysts.
Landry’s Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: LNY) rose over 20% to a yearly high of $20.23. After last week’s buyout proposal from the company’s chief executive Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital has reported a stake in the company and has divulged its opposition to the buyout offer.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) rose over 2.5% to a yearly high of $34.35. The company’s Human Health President Keneth Frazier told CNBC that it would not pull Vytorin and Zetia, the company’s cholesterol medications, off of the market.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) rose close to 1% to a yearly high of $576.99. The TechCruch blog put out a piece on Sunday reporting that Google had hired Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) former director of new business development.
Garrett W. McIntyre
NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: NCST) rose over 70% to a yearly high of $1.70. Its rise was driven by the news that Smith & Nephew Plc (NYSE: SNN) has agreed to buy nearly all of NUCRYST’s assets.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SMD) rose over 9% to a yearly high of $17.34. The pork processor was raised to a “buy” by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG.
Garrett W. McIntyre
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) spends a great deal of its test kitchen time trying to beat the clock. It has occurred to the fast food chain that a customer who expects to wait 30 seconds for a meal may leave after a minute if his food is not ready. The world’s largest restaurant operator has its own Innovation Center where management works out the kinks of serving food hot and on time. Read More
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) surged close to 30% to a yearly high of $97.59 following news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) will be buying the freight rail operator for $100 per share, which places the value of the company at $44 billion.
The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) rallied close to 30% to a yearly high of $61.79 following news that the tool makers has agreed to be purchased by Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) in an all stock deal valued at $4.5 billion.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH) rose over 8% to a yearly high of $42.40. The computer services and technology consulting company announced that its 3Q 09 profit rose roughly 21%, beating analyst estimates. The company also raised its 2009 profit estimate to $1.88 per share from $1.78 per share.
Landry’s Restaurants (NYSE: LNY) rose over 25% to a yearly high of $13.99. The restaurant, hospitality and entertainment company following rose on news that the company’s chief executive, Timothy J. Fertitta has agreed to purchase the company for $14.75 per share, or $1.2 billion.
Garrett W. McIntyre
Two coffee companies which sell their products online and through retailers are merging. They should be able to create a formidable competitor for Starbuck’s retail business outside its own stores. Diedrich (NASDAQ:DDRX) will be bought by Peet’s NASDAQ:PEET) for $26 a share or $213 million. The consideration is well above Diedrich’s current price of just over $20.
Diedrich sells it single serving products and beans through restaurants, stores, and coffeehouses. Peet’s sells coffee and tea through restaurants and food services establishments and also sells coffee and tea makers. Neither firm has a chain of stores like Starbucks does, but each competes with the Starbucks branded coffees sold in grocery stores and super markets. Read More
The efforts of Cadbury’s board to keep the company out of the clutches of Kraft (NYSE:KFT) will likely fail because no second bidder has emerged. The Times says that Kraft will make a hostile bid for the UK-based company toward the end of this week. The offer is likely to be at little or no premium to the price at which Cadbury trades now.
Kraft shareholders have every reason to resent the company’s plans to buy Cadbury. The British company is already doing well financially and there is absolutely no reason for Kraft to believe that it can add anything to that performance beyond a one-time set of cost cuts. Read More
Caribou Coffee (NASDAQ: CBOU) is a retail and commercial coffee vendor. Its stock has soared more than 500% this year, well outperforming its peer group. 24/7 Wall St. had an opportunity to interview the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Tattersfield, who recently took the helm at Caribou and brings with him extensive experience in the retail sector. Tattersfield describes how the company has become profitable and how it plans to produce growth going forwards. Read More
Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE: DOLE) is making its re-return this morning and is joining in a long line of a very disappointing IPO market. Dole may be the largest producer and seller of fresh fruits and vegetables in the world, but it is also effectively being treated the same as private equity backed deals as this company has been public before. The Initial Public Offering was for 35.7 million shares and the $12.50 pricing is under the indicated price range of $13 to $15 per share.
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The IPO market has not been going well. Over the weekend we gave a detailed run down of how many busted IPOs we had seen occur in the last couple of months, and this is setting the market up for trouble in companies which are considering becoming public. AGA Medical Holdings (NASDAQ: AGAM), Dole Food Company (NYSE: DOLE), and ZST Digital Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZSTN) are all on deck this week.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) is trying the solar gimmick, yet this is actually just another step on building upon its social already-respectable image. This morning the company announced that it is partnering with Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy to install solar panels on about 75 Chipotle restaurants over the next year that will ultimately produce 500 kilowatt hours of electricity. Chipotle claims that this will make it the largest direct producer of solar energy in the restaurant sector.
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Conseco Inc (NYSE: CNO) rallied 30% to a yearly high of $6.50 on news that Paulson & Co. had taken a large stake in the company as well as on news that the company had entered into an agreement to sell roughly $293 million in convertible notes.
J P Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) rose to a yearly high of $47.47 reporting strong earnings results.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) rose over 4% to a yearly high of $49.91 on news that the company had successfully sold $5.5 billion in debt.
Siemans AG (NYSE: SI) rose over 5% to a yearly high of $103.08 after the company announced outsourcing contracts with University of Pennsylvania Health System, Ernst Klett AG, and Ziggo in the Netherlands.
Garrett W. McIntyre
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was supposed to crush Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the premium coffee business when the world’s largest restaurant chain introduced a line of premium java more than a year ago.
It turns out that McDonald’s impressive start as competition to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and other specialty coffee retailers has begun to flag.
New research shows the momentum in terms of store traffic patterns has turned in Starbucks’ direction and it is likely that the trend will continue. Read More
DOLE FOOD COMPANY, INC. has set the terms for its IPO, which is a Re-IPO after going private back in 2003. The offering is expected to raise close to $575 million, up from $500 million originally forecast. The company plans to sell 35.7 million shares in an expected price range of $13.00 to $15.00 per share. Dole will trade on the NYSE but it will have a four-letter ticker of “DOLE.”
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American Eagle Outfiters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) hit a yearly high of $18.08 after the clothing vendor announced that it had raised its 3Q09 EPS estimate to $0.24-$0.26 from $0.22-$0.25.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) hit a yearly high of $48.19 after yesterday’s announcement that the company would be setting its theme park business to private equity firm Blackstone Group for $2.7 billion.
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) hit a yearly high of $79.03 after the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per common share, payable on the 13th of November to all those in possession of the shares as of October 26th.
3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) hit s yearly high of %5.54 after yesterday’s annoumcement that the company had entered into contracts with the Republic of Korea Army and Republic of Korea Air Force to upgrade their local area networks.
Garrett W. McIntyre
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