Category: Stock Market News

Hershey Co. beat second-quarter earnings expectations Thursday. The company reported net income of $146 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with a loss of $99 million, or a loss of 47 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 78 cents. It reported sales of $1.64 billion, up from $1.58 billion in the year-earlier period and above the consensus of $1.61 billion. The company said it expects adjusted earnings per share to between $4.24 to $4.28 for 2016. The FactSet consensus is $4.25. Shares of Hershey have gained 18% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 4%

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Colgate-Palmolive Co. shares rose 0.9% after second-quarter earnings beat estimates and the company guided for an earnings gain for the year. Colgate-Palmolive reported net income of $600 million, or 67 cents per share, up from $574 million, or 63 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 70 cents per share, flat with last year and above the 69 cents per share FactSet consensus. Revenue for the quarter totaled $3.85 billion, down from $4.01 billion for the same period last year and below the $3.86 billion FactSet consensus. Foreign currency headwinds resulted in a 5.5% sales decline, Chief Executive Ian Cook said in a statement. The company expects adjusted earnings per share for the year to be flat with 2015 on a dollar basis. Colgate-Palmolive shares are up 10% for the year so far, while the S&P 500 Index is up 6% for the same period.

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Ford Motor Co.’s stock tumbled 6.1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the automaker reported second-quarter earnings that missed expectations, while revenue beat. Earnings for the latest quarter fell to $1.97 billion, or 49 cents a share, from $2.16 billion, or 54 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earning per share came in at 52 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Revenue rose to $39.49 billion from $37.26 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $36.2 billion, as a miss in North America was offset by beats in Europe, South America, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. “We remain committed to delivering another full year of strong profitability, even as we address some new risks and market challenges around the world,” said Chief Executive Mark Fields. The stock has slipped 1.8% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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Dow Chemical Co. reported second-quarter earnings that rose to $3.12 billion, or $2.61 a share, from $1.14 billion, or 97 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Operating earnings per share, which excludes a gain related to the Dow Corning ownership restructure and one-time restructuring charges, came in at 95 cents. The FactSet EPS consensus was 86 cents. Revenue fell to $11.95 billion from $12.91 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $11.23 billion, as the chemical company’s performance plastics, performance materials and chemicals, infrastructure solutions and consumer solutions businesses all exceeded expectations. Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said the company is witnessing healthy demand in North America, a measured recovery in Europe, early signs of improvement in Latin America and a rise of increasingly affluent customers in Asia. “Despite the varied economic landscape, we continue to see favorable conditions and robust demand in our core consumer-led markets of packaging, automotive and construction throughout the world,” Liveris said. The stock, which ticked up 0.7% in light premarket trade, has gained 4.2% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 6%.

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WikiLeaks released a second batch of data leaked from Democratic National Committee servers Wednesday night, this time a series of voice mail messages. Last week, WikiLeaks released a trove of DNC emails — which many suspect were stolen by Russian government hackers — that led to the resignation of DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wednesday’s leak consisted of 29 voice mails — about 14 minutes’ worth in total — none of which appeared to be scandalous. In fact, most appeared to be routine, even mundane, personal and business messages. The leak likely will not be the last; WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Tuesday that “a lot more material” relevant to the U.S. election has yet to be released.

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The Florida Department of Health is investigating four cases of Zika virus that may not be related to travel and instead have been possibly spread by local mosquitoes, the department said Wednesday. Of the four cases under investigation, two were newly announced on Wednesday and two had been previously reported and are already under investigation. While a number of cases of Zika virus have been reported in the U.S., local mosquito transmission, though expected, hasn’t yet been confirmed. To determine the number of people affected, the investigation involves door-to-door interviews in the areas the affected people frequently visited and urine and/or blood sample testing of residents and visitors, the department said. A department spokesperson said there is no timeline for the release of the investigation’s results.

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IAC/InterActive Corp. late Wednesday reported second-quarter adjusted earnings and sales that beat Wall Street expectations, although shares remained flat in late trading. The media and Internet company, which owns Internet brands such as Vimeo and Investopedia, said it lost $191 million, or $2.45 a share, in the quarter, versus a net income of $58 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, IAC earned $34 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with $36 million, or also 42 cents a share, a year ago. Second-quarter sales reached $745 million, down from $771 million in the second quarter of 2015. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 49 cents on sales of $748 million. Shares of IAC had ended the regular trading session down 1%.

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Dollar General Corp. said Wednesday that it bought 41 Walmart Express stores across 11 states, which will allow the discount retailer to expand its offerings to fresh meat and produce. The company said it expects to relocate 40 of its existing stores into the acquired Walmart Express stores by October 2016, meaning it will enter one new market as part of the purchases. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had said in January 2015 that it planned to close all 102 of its Walmart Express stores. “Communities served by the newly-relocated stores will enjoy a fresh DG16 layout with additional sales floor square feet, complete with expanded offerings such as fresh meat and produce, all designed to make shopping easier for customers,” the company said in a statement. The stock, which was unchanged in after-hours trade, has run up 32% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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Whole Foods Market Inc. shares fell more than 1% late Wednesday as the grocer’s fourth-quarter earnings guidance fell short of expectations. Whole Foods said it earned $120 million, or 37 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a net income of $154 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue hit $3.7 billion, also in line with expectations and up slightly from $3.6 billion in the fiscal third quarter of 2015. Both quarterly sales and per-share profit came in as expected. Same-store sales decreased 2.6%, more than the 2.3% decline that analysts polled by FactSet had expected. For the fiscal fourth quarter, the company said it expects diluted earnings per share of 23 cents to 24 cents; analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted earnings of 25 cents a share. Shares of Whole Foods had ended the regular trading day down 1.4%.

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Apple Inc. recently sold its billionth iPhone, Chief Executive Tim Cook told employees at a meeting, according to a company blog. “Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone,” Cook told staff. Apple shares closed up 6.6% Wednesday, a day after the company beat earnings expectations for its fiscal third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session flat.

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