Category: Stock Market News

Harley-Davidson Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $68.2 million, or 40 cents per share, down from $114.1 million, or 64 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 39 cents. Revenue totaled $962.1 million, down from $1.09 billion last year but ahead of the $952.0 million FactSet estimate. Harley-Davidson noted that while its U.S. motorcycle sales were down 8.1% year-over-year, the overall U.S. industry was down 9.2% for the period. The company continues to expect to ship 241,000 to 256,000 motorcycles to dealers around the world in 2017 down 6% to 8% from last year. In the fourth quarter the company expects to ship 46,700 to 51,700 in the fourth quarter compared with 42,414 last year. Harley-Davidson shares are inactive in Tuesday premarket trading, and down 20.2% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index was up 14.2% for 2017 so far.

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UnitedHealth Group Inc. reported a third-quarter earnings beat and revenue miss early Tuesday. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $2.56 billion, or $2.51 per share, from $1.98 billion, or $2.03 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $2.66, above the FactSet consensus of $2.56. Revenue rose to $50.32 billion from $46.29 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $50.37 billion. The latest results include $1.6 billion less in year-over-year consolidated revenues, related to the company’s withdrawals from Affordable Care Act markets, which the company said affects comparability of 2017 results with prior periods. Results also include the negative impact of health insurance tax deferral, the company said, and a 17% increase in revenues related to medical benefit products for seniors and Medicare products. The company’s pharmacy-benefit manager unit, Optum, also grew revenues year-over-year by 8%. UnitedHealth now expects 2017 EPS to approach $9.45 per share and adjusted net earnings to approach $10.00 per share, compared with previous 2017 net earnings guidance of $9.20 to $9.35 per share and adjusted net earnings of $9.75 to $9.90 per share. UnitedHealth shares were not active in premarket trade. Shares have risen 3.7% over the last three months, compared with a 4% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Johnson & Johnson rallied 1.4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the drug and consumer products company beat third-quarter earnings expectations and raised its full-year outlook. Net income fell to $3.76 billion, or $1.37 a share, from $4.27 billion, or $1.53 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.90, above the FactSet consensus of $1.80. Revenue rose to $19.65 billion from $17.82 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $19.29 billion. Pharmaceutical sales increased 15% to $9.7 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $9.3 billion, while consumer sales growth of 2.9% to $3.4 billion matched expectations. The company raised its 2017 revenue outlook to a range of $76.1 billion to $76.5 billion from $75.8 billion to $76.1 billion and its adjusted EPS outlook to $7.25 to $7.30 from $7.12 to $7.22. The stock has rallied 18.2% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has climbed 19.0% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 16.2%.

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Softbank Group Corp.’s long-rumored multi-billion-dollar investment in Uber Technologies Inc. could be finalized within the next week, Uber board member Arianna Huffington said Monday night. Speaking at the WSJ D.Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif., Huffington said the Japanese conglomerate is seeking a 14% to 20% stake in the San Francisco-based ride-hailing giant. She said Uber was still waiting for the right price, though she did not disclose any numbers. Separately, Recode reported late Monday that Softbank was considering the creation of a second investment fund, possibly even bigger than its current $93 billion Vision Fund.

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LiveXLive Media Inc. plans to raise up to $123.8 million in its initial public offering, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Monday. The Beverly Hills, Calif.-based live-music video content site said will offer 7.7 million shares at $12 to 14 apiece, with underwriters getting an additional 1.2 million shares to cover overallotments. BMO Capital markets is listed as the sole book-running manager. The company plans to list with the ticker “LXL” on the New York Stock Exchange. LiveXLive reported 2016 revenue of $36.7 million and a net loss of $6.6 million, or $10.5 million to common shareholders.

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Shares of Sonic Corp. fell more than 3% late Monday after the fast-food company reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, pinning the decline in part to devastation brought on by Hurricane Harvey and marketing failures. Sonic said it earned $20.8 million, or 50 cents a share, compared with $25.4 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same period of last year. Adjusted for one-time items, Sonic earned 45 cents a share, the same as last year’s period. Sonic’s sales reached $123.6 million, down from $162 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 43 cents a share on sales of $126.1 million. Same-store sales fell 3.3% in the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a decline of 1.6% for same-store sales.

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Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Satya Nadella is getting at $2.3 million raise this year. Nadella’s total compensation is valued at $20 million, up from $17.7 million in 2016, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. The CEO receives a $1.45 million cash salary, $11.4 million in stock awards, and up to a $7 million cash bonus. Nadella received $18.2 million in total compensation in 2015. Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of global sales, marketing and operations is Microsoft’s second highest paid executive with $18.2 million in total compensation, according the the SEC filing. Microsoft stock was flat at $77.65 after hours. Shares in the Redmond, Wash.-based company are up 25% this year, with the S&P 500 index up 14%.

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Netflix Inc. shares popped more than 2.5% after the streaming giant reported earnings for the third quarter in which it added more subscribers than expected. Netflix reported net income of $129.6 million, or 29 cents per share, up from income of $51.5 million, or 12 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago. FactSet’s earnings consensus was for 32 cents per share. Revenue for the third quarter was $2.98 billion, up from $2.29 billion a year ago and slightly above FactSet’s consensus of $2.97. Netflix continued added 5.3 million subscribers in the quarter, an increase compared with the 3.6 million the company added during the same quarter last year. The company had guided for net additions of 4.4 million and FactSet’s subscriber adds consensus was 4.5 million. Shares of Netflix have gained nearly 64% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up close to 16%.

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U.S. stocks ended with modest gains on Monday, as major indexes eked out closing records as investors looked ahead to the release of major corporate earnings expected to show strong fundamentals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points, or 0.4%, to 22,955. The S&P 500 added 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,558. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 18 points to 6,624, a rise of 0.3%. Wall Street has been in a pronounced uptrend of late; last week, both the Dow and the S&P closed out their fifth straight weekly advance, while the Nasdaq has risen for three straight weeks. Financial stocks were among the strongest of the day, with the sector up 0.7%. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. rose 2.1% while Bank of America Corp. was up 1.6%. Markets were also supported by the latest economic data. The New York Fed reported that its Empire State manufacturing index climbed to a three-year high of 30.2 in October from 24.4 in September, topping the Econoday-compiled consensus of 20.

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Oil prices climbed Monday to settle at their highest level in nearly three weeks as tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about global crude supplies. Iraqi forces reportedly seized the city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil fields from Kurdish forces Monday. Uncertainty surrounding the survival of the Iran nuclear deal also boosted prices. Meanwhile, a monthly report from the Energy Information Administration, released shortly before Nymex oil prices settled Monday, failed to put pressure on prices. The report said shale crude-oil production from seven major U.S. oil plays is expected to edge up by 81,000 barrels a day in November to 6.12 million barrels a day. November West Texas Intermediate oil rose 42 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $51.87 a barrel–the highest since Sept. 27.

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