Category: Stock Market News

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $46.9 million, or $1.95 per share, down from $49.2 million, or $2.04 per share, for the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $700.4 million, up from $700.1 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.85 and sales of $713.0 million. Same-restaurant sales fell 0.4%. A 2.1% decline in traffic was partially offset by a 1.7% increase in the average check. The company’s board increased the quarterly dividend by 4.3% to $1.20 per share, and declared a special dividend of $3.50. Cracker Barrel expects fourth-quarter EPS between $2.10 and $2.20. The FactSet consensus is $2.19. The company raised its full-year EPS guidance to between $8.25 and $8.35 from between $8.10 to $8.25, and now expects revenue of about $2.95 billion, reflecting six new Cracker Barrel stores and three new Holler & Dash Biscuit House locations. Same-restaurant sales are expected to be flat to up 0.5%, with comparable same-store retail sales down 3.5% due to cautious expectations for the fourth quarter. The FactSet full-year EPS consensus is $8.23 on sales of $2.96 billion. Cracker Barrel shares are up 1.3% in Tuesday premarket trading, but down 3.3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 7% for 2017 to date.

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Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Monday night’s deadly attack in Manchester, saying in a statement the blast at the Ariana Grande concert was carried out with an explosive device planted at the venue, Reuters reported Tuesday. “One of the soldiers of the caliphate was able to place an explosive device within a gathering of the crusaders in the city of Manchester,” the statement said. BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera noted that the wording can mean ISIS inspired the attack, rather than directed it. The explosion that left 22 people dead and 59 injured was carried about by a suicide bomber, who also died in the blast, according to U.K. police. A 23-year-old has been arrested in Manchester in relation with the attack.

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DSW Inc. reported Tuesday fiscal first-quarter net income that declined to $23.0 million, or 28 cents a share, from $30.0 million, or 36 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share were 32 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 34 cents. Revenue rose to $691.1 million from $681.3 million, above the FactSet consensus of $685.3 million, as the same-store sales decline of 3.0% beat expectations of a 3.4% drop. The shoe and accessories retailer affirmed its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook of $1.45 to $1.55, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.55. “First quarter sales were challenging, but trends improved during the quarter with comps turning positive in April,” said Chief Executive Roger Rawlins. “As expected, planned clearance activity and the addition of Ebuys drove lower gross margin and operating income.” The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 22% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 6.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.9%.

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Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. shares were down 2.2% premarket Tuesday, paring losses of as much as 8% made late Monday after the company said a popular videogame release has been pushed back to 2018. The company on Tuesday reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter that blew past analyst estimates. Take-Two said it had net income of $99.3 million, or 89 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $46.4 million, or 48 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 43% to $571.6 million from $377.2 million a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 57 cents and revenue of $355 million. The company said the biggest contributors to revenue were Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA 2K17, Mafia III, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, and XCOM(R) 2. “Consumer demand for our entertainment offerings remained exceedingly strong in the fourth quarter,” Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in a statement. As announced late Monday, Rockstar Games has moved the release of the much-anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2 to spring of 2018. “As Rockstar stated, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be their first game created from the ground up for the latest generation of console hardware, and some extra time is necessary to ensure that they deliver the best experience possible,” said Zelnick. The company is still expecting fiscal 2018 sales of more than $2.5 billion, he said. For the fiscal first quarter, Take-Two is expecting revenue of $390 million to $440 million and EPS of 65 cents to 75 cents. The current FactSet consensus is for a loss per share of 19 cents and revenue of $260 million. Shares have gained 40% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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JetBlue Airways Corp. raised its second-quarter outlook for a key revenue metric, citing expectations of a “positive” May and June performance. The air carrier now expects revenue per available seat mile to rise 4% to 6% from the same period a year ago, compared with previous guidance announced earlier this month of 3% to 6% growth. The company said the third-quarter outlook has also improved since it reported first-quarter earnings in late April. JetBlue is presenting later Tuesday morning at the Wolfe Research global transportation conference. JetBlue expects capacity to increase 4% to 6% in the second quarter, and 5.5% to 7.5% for the year. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 3.8% year to date, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 1.2% and the S&P 500 has advanced 6.9%.

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AutoZone Inc. reported Tuesday fiscal third-quarter net income that rose to $331.7 million, or $11.44 a share, from $327.5 million, or $10.77 a share, in the same period a year ago. The auto parts and accessories retailer missed the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $11.99. Revenue increased to $2.62 billion from $2.59 billion, but was below the FactSet consensus of $2.71 billion. Domestic same-store sales declined 0.8%, missing the FactSet consensus for 2.7% growth. “Our sales performance for the first five weeks of our quarter was significantly below our expectations, challenged by the well-publicized timing delays in IRS tax refunds,” said Chief Executive Bill Rhodes. “The last seven weeks of sales demonstrated improvement, but not enough to make up for our soft start.” The stock, which was indicated down more than 2% in premarket trade, has tumbled 16.5% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.9%.

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Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it has reached agreements to extend part of its $500 million 2016 secured loan facility and annuitize $515 million of its pension obligations, as it continues to work to reduce its debt burden. The troubled department store chain said some of its subsidiaries have agreed to repay $100 million of the secured loan facility at its original maturity in July and to extend the maturity of the rest of the loan to January 2018. The agreement includes an option to extend the maturity for another six months, pushing it back to July of 2018. The company has entered a separate agreement with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, under which that company will pay future pension benefits to about 51,000 retirees. “This action is expected to have an immaterial impact on the funded status of our total pension obligations, but will serve to reduce the size of the company’s combined pension plan, future cost volatility and plan administrative expenses,” the company said in a statement. Sears is aiming to reduce debt and pension obligations by $1.5 billion in fiscal 2017. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 15.5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday condemned the suspected terrorist bombing in Manchester Monday night, calling it a “callous” attack targeted at “innocent, defenseless children.” Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after holding an emergency “Cobra” meeting, the U.K. leader said police believe they know the identify of the attacker, but will not reveal the name at this point. The attack at Manchester Arena late Monday night that left 22 people dead is believed to have been carried out by one person, but police are investigating whether the person acted alone, May said. The U.K. threat level remains at “severe”, which means another attack is “highly likely.” The highest threat level is “critical,” indicating an attack is expected imminently.

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The fiduciary rule will take effect June 9 without any more delays, said Labor Department Secretary Alexander Acosta in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published late Monday. “We have carefully considered the record in this case, and the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, and have found no principled legal basis to change the June 9 date while we seek public input,” Acosta wrote, as he acknowledged that the rule “as written may not align with President Trump’s deregulatory goals.” The fiduciary rule is a highly contested piece of legislation produced during President Obama’s time in office. It’s focused on mitigating conflicts of interests that may arise in financial advisers’ investment recommendations for retirement accounts. The Department of Labor announced in March that it would delay the rule’s implementation — originally set for April 10 — until June 9.

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A deadly explosion outside the Manchester Arena concert venue in the U.K. is being treated as “terrorist incident” until officials know otherwise, according to a statement from the Greater Manchester Police on Tuesday. The blast took place as concertgoers were leaving an Ariana Grande show late Monday. Twenty-two people, including the suspected attacker, have been confirmed dead and around 50 injured, said the Manchester police. “We are working closely with the national counter terrorism policing network and U.K. intelligence partners,” said police in the statement. Witnesses said the explosion shook the foyer of the arena leading to the train station, according to a report in the New York Post. Police believe the attack was carried out by one person who had a device that was detonated at the site, said Ian Hopkins, chief constable of GMP, said in a press conference, according to media reports. Investigators are now trying to discover whether the suspected attacker was acting alone. Children are among those killed, the police said.

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