What’s new

The time of double-digit growth for the smartphone industry has come to an end, according to a new report from industry tracker IDC. Smartphone shipments are expected to grow just 5.7% year-over-year in 2016, versus a 10.4% increase to 1.44 billion smartphone shipments worldwide in 2015. IDC said the decline is related to saturation of the Chinese market, which has transitioned to a mature market with more stable growth from a fast-growing emerging market in years prior. IDC expects the trend of single-digit year-over-year growth to continue through 2020. Alphabet Inc.’s Android is expected to maintain its leading share of the market over the next few years, with IDC predicting its share rises to 84.6% by 2020 from an expected 82.6% in 2016. Apple Inc.’s iOS is expected to maintain its spot as the second-largest smartphone manufacturer, though its share of the market is projected to decline slightly through 2020 to 14% from an estimated 15.2% in 2016.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. shares are down 1.1% in premarket trading after the company’s earnings missed estimates in the third quarter. The bookseller said net income was $80.3 million, or $1.04 per share, up from $72.2 million, or 96 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.06 per share. Revenue was $1.41 billion for the quarter, up from $1.44 billion last year and meeting the FactSet estimate. The company said retail sales were down 1.2% to $1.4 billion due to a decrease in online sales and store closures. Retail same-store sales were up 0.2%. Nook sales were down 33.3% to $51.7 million due largely to lower device and content sales. The company expects same-store sales to be about flat for fiscal 2016. Barnes & Noble is closing the fewest stores since fiscal 2000 and will launch a new store concept later this year with four new stores in fiscal 2017, said Chief Executive Ron Boire in a Thursday statement. Barnes & Noble shares are down 37.9% for the past year, but up 17.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 2.8% for the year to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. shares are down 1.1% in premarket trading after the company’s earnings missed estimates in the third quarter. The bookseller said net income was $80.3 million, or $1.04 per share, up from $72.2 million, or 96 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.06 per share. Revenue was $1.41 billion for the quarter, up from $1.44 billion last year and meeting the FactSet estimate. The company said retail sales were down 1.2% to $1.4 billion due to a decrease in online sales and store closures. Retail same-store sales were up 0.2%. Nook sales were down 33.3% to $51.7 million due largely to lower device and content sales. The company expects same-store sales to be about flat for fiscal 2016. Barnes & Noble is closing the fewest stores since fiscal 2000 and will launch a new store concept later this year with four new stores in fiscal 2017, said Chief Executive Ron Boire in a Thursday statement. Barnes & Noble shares are down 37.9% for the past year, but up 17.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 2.8% for the year to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s stock dropped 1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the drug maker said late Wednesday that Executive Vice President Deb Jorn resigned, effective immediately. Jorn had been responsible for running Valeant’s U.S. dermatology and gastrointestinal businesses. On Thursday, Valeant said in a statement that Jorn had decided to leave for personal reasons, and “not the result of any action taken by the ad hoc committee of the board of directors.” The company had previously said it had set up an ad hoc committee to review accounting matters. The company announced earlier this week that it had several ongoing investigations, including by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that it was delaying the release of fourth-quarter results. The stock has tumbled 11% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has slipped 2.8%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Angie’s List Inc. laid out a new profitable growth plan in a statement released ahead of its investor day that will cut its ratings and reviews membership fee and offer new tiered services. “Our new profitable growth plan removes the barrier that has limited our growth and enables Angie’s List to engage with more consumers and more services providers than ever before,” Angie’s List Chief Executive Scott Durchslag said in a statement. The home services company plans to begin opening the paywall and rolling out tiered offerings in select markets in the second quarter of 2016, expected to finish by the third quarter. The company said it expects the benefit from lower marketing spend in 2016 to be offset by a decline in membership revenue. Angie’s List expects overall revenue for 2016 in a range of $345 million to $355 million, with revenue growing to $750 million by 2020. The FactSet revenue consensus for 2016 is $362 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to fall somewhere between $31 million and $35 million in 2016, and free cash flow should be break-even. Shares of Angie’s List are down more than 10% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 index is down nearly 3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Kroger Co. shares fell 4% in premarket trade Thursday, after the supermarket chain reported weaker-than-expected sales for its fiscal fourth quarter. Kroger said it had net income of $559 million, or 57 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $518 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $26.165 billion from $25.207 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 54 cents and sales of $26.276 billion. Looking ahead, the company said it expects fiscal 2016 EPS of $2.19 to $2.28, compared with a FactSet consensus of $2.24. Shares have gained 16% in the last 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500, which is down about 7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Intel Corp. were up more than 1.7% before the opening bell Thursday, after they were upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird. Analyst Tristan Gerra wrote in a note that Intel’s mix of data centers has reached sufficient critical mass to drive renewed earnings-per-share growth in 2017. Data center demand is high, according to Gerra, who also increased his price target to $38 from $33. He wrote that Intel’s LTE technology has matured, improving its positioning for a potential tier-one smartphone in the second half of the year. One caveat Gerra laid out in his note is Intel’s reliance on revenue from PCs. “Intel derives nearly two-thirds of its revenues from the PC market,” he wrote, also stating PC units could be down 10% in the first quarter compared to last quarter. To help diversify moving forward, people within the company told The Wall Street Journal recently Intel is working on an augmented-reality headset. Shares of Intel are down more than 11% so far in the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Herbalife Ltd.’s stock plunged 13% in premarket trade Thursday, after the nutritional supplements seller disclosed that it overstated growth in active new members because of “database scripting errors.” The company said in a regulatory filing that it didn’t find the errors earlier because of “limited visibility” into the likely rate of change in the “Active New Member” metric it used. Among some of errors originally reported on Feb. 25, fourth-quarter year-over-year growth in worldwide active new members excluding China was corrected to 3.2% from 16.7%, in U.S. active new members was corrected to 30.7% from 71% and in Europe, Middle East and Africa was corrected to 17.7% from 44%. For the third quarter, North America active new member growth was corrected to 1.8% from 33%. “The company has taken corrective action regarding these issues,” the company stated in the filing. Herbalife said the errors do not impact historical financial statements. Prior to Thursday’s premarket selloff, the stock had climbed 5.2% year to date, while the S&P 500 had slipped 2.8%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Auction house Sotheby’s said Thursday it has appointed Michael Goss as chief financial officer, succeeding Dennis Weibling, who will remain on the board. Goss is a former partner and managing director of private-equity firm Bain Capital. Sotheby’s shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 41% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has fallen about 6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

North Korea has fired six short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korean officials said Thursday, according to media reports. The projectiles were either rockets or guided missiles, and were launched at around 10 a.m. local time from Wonsan on the east coast, the BBC reported. The launches came just a few hours after the United Nations imposed unprecedentedly harsh new sanctions on Pyongyang. The UN move, led by the U.S. and China, was prompted by North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launch in defiance of existing sanctions.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News