Kellogg shares rise after earnings beat

Kellogg Co. shares are up 1% in Thursday premarket trading after the food company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Kellogg had a net loss of $53 million, or a loss of 15 cents per share, compared with a loss of $41 million, or 12 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 92 cents per share, beating the 85-cent FactSet consensus. The EPS decline was driven mainly by a charge for deconsolidating its Venezuela subsidiary, the company said. Sales for the quarter were $3.10 billion, down from $3.14 billion, but ahead of the $3.07 billion FactSet estimate. Kellogg also announced that it will eliminate its Kellogg direct store delivery selling and distribution system, which will affect about 60% of the U.S. Snacks segment. That portion of the snacks business will move to the retailer warehouse distribution system, which is used for the rest of the U.S. snacks business and all other North America businesses. The transition will be primarily executed in the second and third quarters. Kellogg sees a 2017 sales decline of 2% on a currency-neutral basis. Kellogg shares are up 3% for the past year, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 24% for the last 12 months.

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American Airlines January load factor falls as capacity grows while traffic declines

American Airlines Group Inc. reported Thursday that January travel demand declined slightly from a year ago despite an increase in seat supply. Traffic slipped 0.3% to 17.0 billion revenue passenger miles, while capacity increased 1.2% to 21.7 billion available seat miles. That pushed the load factor down to 78.6% from 79.7%. Domestically, traffic fell 1.7% to 9.66 billion RPMs, while capacity increased 0.8% to 12.04 billion ASMs, to knock load factor down to 80.2% from 82.3%. The air carrier affirmed its first-quarter outlook of total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) growth of 2.5% to 4.5%. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 24% over the past 12 months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has soared 43% and the S&P 500 has climbed 24%.

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Tempur Sealy adopts shareholder rights after heavy selling of stock in last few weeks

Tempur Sealy International Inc. said Thursday it has adopted a stockholder rights plan, a tactic often used by companies to stave off a hostile takeover. The news comes just weeks after the mattress company’s stock suffered its biggest one-day selloff in nearly nine years on the news that it had terminated all contracts with major customer Mattress Firm. That came after Mattress Firm and its South African owner Steinhoff International demanded significant changes to supply agreements. With its stock so low, Tempur Sealy could become a target for an interested buyer. Under the rights plan, the company is distributing one right for each outstanding share as a dividend on Feb. 20. The company said the plan “is intended to protect Tempur Sealy and its stockholders from the actions of third parties that the Board of Directors determines are not in the best interests of Tempur Sealy and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Tempur Sealy.” Shares were slightly higher in premarket trade, but have lost 20% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 24%.

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Twitter posts flat U.S. monthly active user growth, despite election focus

Twitter Inc. continued to drop 11% in premarket trade Thursday after the company issued a weak outlook and revealed relatively flat fourth-quarter growth in the U.S. Twitter touted its live-video streaming services, saying live-streaming of the inauguration had 8.6 million unique viewers, the biggest election numbers for the platform, followed by 7.5 million on election night and 4.2 million for the final presidential debate. Still, Twitter posted flat sequential growth in U.S. monthly active users, with 67 million for the third and fourth quarter. Twitter saw a slight boost in international MAUs which were at 252 million for the quarter, up from 250 million in the previous quarter. Overall, Twitter reported 319 monthly active users, a 0.6% increase from the previous quarter. Analysts had said that the election should give Twitter a boost in users, given President Donald Trump’s proclivity for tweeting. International growth also drove Twitter’s revenue growth, with U.S. decreasing 5% year-over-year and international revenue increasing 12% year-over-year. Shares of Twitter have fallen 2% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained of 6%.

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Reynolds stock lifts 1% after Q4 profit and revenue beat

Tobacco company Reynolds American Inc. shares lifted 1.1% after the company reported a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat early Thursday. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $851 million, or 60 cents per share, from $279 million, or 19 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share were 62 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Revenue rose to $3.19 billion from $3.05 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.15 billion. Reynolds shares have risen 11.0% over the last three months, compared with a 6.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Viacom shares climb after company posts Q1 earnings above forecasts, lays out strategic turnaround plan

Viacom Inc. class A voting shares jumped 3% in premarket trade Thursday, after the media company blew past earnings estimates and outlined a five-point strategic plan. The company’s nonvoting class B shares were inactive. Viacom said it had net income of $396 million, or $1.00 per share during its fiscal first quarter, compared with $449 million, or $1.13 during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.04 per share, well above FactSet’s 83 cents consensus. Revenue for the quarter hit $3.32 billion, improved compared with $3.15 billion last year and above the FactSet consensus of $3.18 billion. Revenue at Viacom’s media networks rose 5%, with affiliate revenue growing 2%, but advertising revenue seeing a 2% decline. The company’s struggling MTV network showed its first ratings growth since 2014 during the quarter. And revenue at Viacom’s film studio grew 24%. As part of Chief Executive Bob Bakish’s much anticipated turnaround plan, Viacom plans to put it’s full capabilities behind its six flagship brands: BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Paramount Pictures. Viacom also laid out plans to revitalize and elevate its approach to content and talent, deepen partnerships to drive traditional revenue, make big moves in the digital and physical world and to continue to optimize and energize the organization. Shares of Viacom have gained nearly 22% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 24%

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Coca-Cola’s stock slips after profit matches expectations but outlook is below forecasts

Shares of Coca-Cola Co. slipped 0.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the beverage giant matched profit expectations, but provided a downbeat outlook for this year. Net earnings for the quarter to Dec. 31 fell to $550 million, or 13 cents a share, from $1.24 billion, or 28 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 37 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 6% to $9.4 billion from $10.0 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $9.1 billion. Total unit case volume declines 1% for the quarter, as growth in developed markets was offset by continued challenges in Latin America. For 2017, Coke expects adjusted EPS to decline 1% to 4% from $1.91 in 2016, while the FactSet consensus is for an increase to $1.95. The stock has lost 3% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 25%.

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Twitter shares tank after revenue miss, flat user growth

Shares of Twitter Inc. fell 9% in premarket trade after the company missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations and posted flat sequential user growth. The company reported a net loss of $167 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to a loss of $90.2 million, or a loss of 13 cents in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 12 cents. Revenue was $717 million, up 1% from the year-earlier period, but below the FactSet consensus of $739.7 million. Twitter reported 319 million monthly active users for the quarter, an increase of 0.6% from the 317 million in the previous quarter, and up 4% year-over-year. The company said daily active users had grown 11% year-over-year for the quarter, compared to an increase of 7% in the previous quarter. For the first quarter of 2017, Twitter said it expected adjusted EBITDA between $75 million and $95 million and stock based compensation expense between $125 million and $135 million. For the full-year 2017, Twitter expects non-GAAP expenses to be about 5%, which is flat compared to 2016. Shares of Twitter have fallen 2% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained of 6%.

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Tesla to build Model 3 test vehicles this month: report

Tesla Inc. will produce test versions of its Model 3 vehicle this month, Reuters reported Wednesday afternoon, ahead of a mid-year deadline to start production of the new car. Anonymous sources told Reuters that the electric-car company plans to begin test-building the sedans at its Fremont, Calif., factory on Feb. 20, two days before Tesla details fourth-quarter earnings. Tesla has already disclosed disappointing fourth-quarter deliveries, though that hasn’t hurt its stock price, which is up 22.6% so far in 2017. Chief Executive Elon Musk has framed the Model 3 as his attempt to offer an electric car for the masses, with a targeted starting price of around $35,000, and an important piece of his plan for the company. After revealing the car at an event last April, Tesla reported more than 370,000 reservations were taken to purchase one, a move that required customers to put up $1,000. Musk has promised to reach a production rate of 500,000 cars by the end of 2018 to meet that demand, though the company failed to deliver its stated goal of at least 80,000 cars in 2016.

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