Category: Stock Market News

Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. shares fell 7% Thursday, after second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations and the company offered guidance that was below consensus. The company said it had net income of $179 million, or $2.52 a share, in the quarter, down from $320 million, or $4.15 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding higher income tax expenses, per-share earnings came to $3.50, below the FactSet consensus of $3.54. Sales rose to $5.3 billion from $5.2 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. The company said it now expects full-year EPS of $12.40 to $12.90 and adjusted EPS of $14.50 to $15.00. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $15.10. “This quarter appears similar to last quarter, with North America strong but weakness in other regions leading to an EPS miss and guide-down,” MKM analysts wrote in a note. The company expects to generate free cash flow of about $1 billion. The board has approved an additional $2.23 billion shares buyback. Shares have fallen .2.6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 11%.

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The Trump administration and lawmakers will issue “guiding principles” for tax reform on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence told a business group. Pence told the National Federation of Independent Business that details will continue to be worked out, “but rest assured: we’re going to cut taxes, and we’re going to cut taxes this year.” Top congressional Republicans and Trump administration officials have been meeting for months on a tax overhaul.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 17 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 21. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts forecast a build of 22 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 2.990 trillion cubic feet, down 302 billion cubic feet from a year ago, but 111 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. August natural gas was up 4.1 cents, or 1.4%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.965 per million British thermal units. It traded at $2.934 before the data.

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BuzzFeed on Thursday launched a new iPhone app for its popular Tasty web series. The Tasty video series, which shows quick and relatively easy step-by-step recipes, has been a boon for the media company, reaching one in four Facebook users and generating 2.3 billion monthly video views. “Tasty’s strong brand and massive fan base give it almost limitless avenues for expansion — from cookbooks to licensing to consumer tech,” said head of BuzzFeed Product Labs Ben Kaufman in a statement. Tasty already has nine additional brands in its portfolio. Along with the launch of the Tasty app, BuzzFeed announced a bluetooth-enabled cook top that connects with the app, the Tasty One Top.

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The Bank of England on Thursday named Dave Ramsden as its new deputy governor, effective Sept. 4. Ramsden, a chief economic adviser at the U.K.’s Treasury department, will succeed Charlotte Hogg. Hogg resigned in March for failing to disclose her brother’s senior role at lender Barclays PLC. Ramsden will oversee management of the central bank’s balance sheet and be a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, among other roles. A five-year term was given to Ramsden, who will work alongside Gov. Mark Carney.

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The European Union could delay Brexit talks if more progress isn’t made on key issues including how much the U.K. needs to pay to depart the bloc, according to media reports Thursday. The EU’s lead Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told ambassadors from other EU member states the likelihood of further talks with the U.K. in October appears to be diminishing, The Telegraph newspaper reported. Barnier wanted to make more progress on items such as citizens rights and a so-called divorce bill to be paid by the U.K., before talking about the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU. European officials estimated the divorce bill at roughly 60 billion euros and higher, although how that amount should be calculated need to be ironed out, Reuters reported.

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U.S. stock-index benchmarks on Thursday jumped to records at the open, supported by the latest round of upbeat corporate results. Most recently Facebook Inc. reported second-quarter results late-Wednesday that beat expectations, helping it approach a market value of $500 million. Enthusiasm around Facebook helped to lift the broader technology industry . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to an all-time intraday high and was most recently up 0.2% at 21,763, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.2% at 2,481, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5% at 6,453. Separately, Twitter Inc. shares were plunging after it reported lackluster user growth in its recent quarterly report. Shares of the microblogging platform were down about 13%.

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High Times, the publisher of the marijuana culture magazine of the same name, said on Thursday it is seeking a public listing through a business combination with already listed Origo Acquisition Corp. . High Times’ existing equity is valued at roughly $250 million in the merger, according to a news release. Origo, whose shares were halted for news, will acquire 100% of the equity of High Times in exchange for 23.5 million shares of Origo. Following the transaction, High Times will become a publicly-traded company under the Origo ticker, with High Times controlling 83% of the company. “High Times is one of few household names in the cannabis industry,” said High Times Chief Executive Adam Levin. “We believe that the barriers to entry are substantial, given the respect and trust associated with our brand that comes from informing and entertaining people for over 40 years.” With the legal marijuana industry gaining traction, High Times is looking to diversify its business and capitalize on the industry.

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New York Times Co. reported Thursday a second-quarter net profit of $15.6 million, or 9 cents a share, after a loss of $211,000, or breakeven on a per-share basis, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 18 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 13 cents. Revenue rose 9.2% to $407.1 million from $372.6 million, above the FactSet consensus of $393.1 million. Subscription revenue increased 13.9%, as a 46.4% jump in digital-only subscription revenue and an increase in home-delivery prices for The New York Times paper offset a decline in print copies sold. Advertising revenue rose 0.8%, as 22.5% growth in digital-only revenue offset a 10.5% decline in print. For the third quarter, the media company expects total subscription revenue to increase at rate similar to the second quarters, while ad revenue is expected to decline in the mid- to high-single digits percentage range. “We believe that more and more people are prepared to pay for high quality in-depth journalism that helps them make sense of the world,” said Chief Executive Mark Thompson. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 38% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Pinnacle Foods Inc. shares were down 1.3% in Thursday premarket trading after the company reported second-quarter sales that missed estimates. Pinnacle Foods’ portfolio of brands includes Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Hungry-Man and Log Cabin. Net income for the quarter was $18.7 million, or 16 cents per share, down from $45.8 million, or 39 cents, last year. Adjusted EPS was 53 cents, beating the 52-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $744.6 million, down from $756.4 million and below the $764.0 million FactSet consensus. The company attributed the decline to a number of factors such as the business exit, including a recall, of some Aunt Jemima products. Pinnacle Foods reaffirmed its full-year outlook for adjusted EPS of $2.55 to $2.60, and now expects to come in at the low end of the range. The FactSet consensus is $2.59. Pinnacle Foods shares are up 15.6% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 10.7% for the period.

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