6:25am ET
Retail
Another Big Quarter For Costco
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) continues to be the cream of big box retailers. May sales were up 7% to $7.67 billion. Same store sales were up 6%. Costco is not as large as…
WMT Coverage Page 153
6:40am ET
Investing
China Tops Global Online Retail, U.S. Left Behind
China’s Ministry of Commerce told the nation’s official news agency, Xinhua, that the People’s Republic will be the country with the most online retail volume in the world by 2013. U.S. e-commerce companies do…
6:23am ET
Investing
Europe Turns Against China
China wants to do business in Europe. It is the world’s largest region by GDP, even if the economy has slowed. But many companies in European nations have lost some of their…
8:44am ET
Retail
Walmart Express Stores a Surprise Success
In a conference presentation earlier this week, Bill Simon, the CEO of US operations for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), made some comments about the 10 Walmart Express stores the company now…
Paul Ausick 11:22am ET
Retail
After the Fall: Retail Stocks Upside Potential Remains (COST, WMT, TGT, M, KSS, JCP, GPS, LTD, AEO, ANF, TJX, DG)
Retailers have fared better than many other sectors over the past year, with the majority of share prices having risen although price to book values remain negative. Thus, either the sector is…
6:29am ET
Investing
What’s Important in the Financial World (5/24/2012) Costco Earnings, Oil Below $90
Oil has hit an extraordinarily low price, below $90 a barrel for WTI crude. That is the lowest level since October. It shows no inclination to spike back up. PMI data from Europe and China actually…
6:21am ET
Investing
Costco Posts Another Strong Quarter
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) continues its extraordinary run as the most successful big box retailer. Its “club membership” system has bettered the more traditional store operations of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE:…
7:36am ET
Companies and Brands
Retailer Earnings Up Most in Two Years (WMT, DKS, HIBB, BBBY, WSM, BWS, FL, BBY, GME, WTSLA, GPS, ANF)
With 80% of the 120 companies it tracks having reported first quarter 2012 results, research firm Retail Metrics says that retailers who beat earnings estimates are up 5% year-over-year for the period,…
6:33am ET
Investing
CalSTRS: The Dogs Turn on Walmart
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), by many measures the second largest pension in the United States, has taken the advice of and has joined proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis in…
6:31am ET
Media
Media Digest (5/23/2012) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg
Merkel and Hollande will fight over stimulus for the eurozone at the EU summit. (Reuters) The OECD expresses concerns that Europe could slip into a deep recession. (Reuters) The EU debt crisis pushes global…
8:35am ET
Investing
Best Buy Bounces, But Not Enough (BBY, RSH, GME, AMZN, WMT, AAPL)
Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported first quarter results this morning that were better than expected and the company’s shares are getting a much-needed bounce. The company reported adjusted…
6:16am ET
Investing
Zynga’s 15% Stock Loss — Lemmings over the Cliff
ZyngaZynga’s (NASDAQ: ZNGA) shares are down 15% over the past two days, a little more than those of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) after its initial public offering. There are several critical difference between the…
4:04pm ET
Investing
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 17, 2012
The three major US stock indexes opened essentially flat this morning as investors were faced with a flat report on new claims for jobless benefits (our coverage here). Manufacturing data from the…
8:21am ET
Retail
Sears, Walmart Turnarounds?
Neither Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) nor Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was expected to post big numbers for the quarter just ended. And they didn’t — but the numbers were better…
6:24am ET
Investing
Despite Attack, Amazon’s Appeal Lingers
Famous short-seller David Einhorn attacked Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) in a presentation recently. The company’s business model will not lead to consistent profits, he said. Therefore, the stock is overvalued. It is not hard…