JetBlue’s profit declines but beats expectations, as revenue rises

JetBlue Airways Corp. reported Tuesday third-quarter net income of $179 million, or 55 cents a share, down from $199 million, or 58 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 53 cents. The air carrier estimates that hurricanes reduced its EPS by 6 cents. Revenue rose 4.7% to $1.81 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $1.83 billion, as passenger revenue growth of 3.3% to $1.62 billion missed expectations of $1.66 billion. Load factor declined to 85.1% from 86.3%, below the FactSet consensus of 85.4%. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) decreased 0.4% to 11.34 cents, while operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 0.9% to 12.67 cents. The stock, which tacked on 0.6% in premarket trade, has plunged 12.7% over the past three months through Monday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has lost 5.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.9%.

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Caterpillar shares jump 7% after company beats Wall Street Q3 earnings expectations

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. rose more than 7% in premarket trade on Tuesday after the construction equipment company reported third-quarter earnings that were above Wall Street expectations. Caterpillar reported net profit of $1.06 billion, or $1.77 per share, compared with $283 million in profit, or 48 cents per share during the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.95 per share, above FactSet’s consensus of $1.27. Revenue for the quarter was $11.4 billion, up from $9.2 billion a year ago and above the $10.7 billion FactSet consensus. The company said it continues to see strength in construction in China and on-shore oil and gas in North America. Management is increasing production to meet customer demand for improving markets. Caterpillar expects earnings per share for the full year to be about $4.60 per share, or $6.25 on an adjusted basis. That’s in increase from its previous forecast of $5.00 when adjusted. The company also said it expects revenue for the full year to be $44 billion, which is the top of the range it provided in July. Shares of Caterpillar are up 42% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up almost 18% during the same time frame.

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Lockheed Martin stock slips as it misses estimates but guides higher

Shares of Lockheed Martin were nearly 1% lower in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company said it had third-quarter earnings that just missed analyst estimates. Lockheed reported third quarter net income of $939 million and per-share earnings of $3.24, compared to $1.1 billion and EPS of $7.93, in the year-ago period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $3.24, versus $3.26 a year ago, and missing the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.26. For the third quarter, revenue came to $12.2 billion. The company said it now expects full-year sales of $50.0 to $51.2 billion, up from earlier estimates of $49.8 to $51.0 billion, and earnings per share of $12.85 to $13.15, versus $12.30 to $12.60. CEO Marillyn Hewson pointed to “a record backlog that supports long term growth” in a statement. Shares of the defense company have gained 28.3% for the year to date, while the S&P 500 [s:spx] is up 14.6% for the same period.

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3M’s stock jumps after profit and revenue rise above expectations

Shares of 3M Co. rallied 1.6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the industrial, safety and consumer products company beat profit and revenue expectations, and raised its earnings outlook. Net income rose to $1.43 billion, or $2.33 a share, from $1.33 billion, or $2.15 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.21. Revenue increased to $8.17 billion from $7.71 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $7.92 billion. Sales at its industrial, health care and electronics and energy businesses were above expectations, while safety and graphics and consumer sales matched. The company raised its net EPS guidance range to $9.00 to $9.10 from $8.80 to $9.05. The stock has surged 24% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 18%.

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Impax Labs stock surges 4.4% on FDA approval of generic kidney disease medication Renvela

Impax Laboratories Inc. shares rose 4.4% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company said that its generic Renvela, used to lower phosphorus levels for patients on kidney dialysis, had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Impax said it has “immediately” launched commercialization activities for generic Renvela. Sales of the product are included in the company’s previously-announced 2017 earnings guidance, the company said. Brand and generic sales of Renvela totaled nearly $2 billion in the year ending August 2017, Impax said, referencing IMS Health data. Sanofi manufactures Renvela , and generic maker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. recently launched a generic Renvela in the U.S. Impax shares have surged 8.5% over the last three months, compared with a 3.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Eli Lilly beats profit and sales expectations, as diabetes sales soar 39%

Eli Lilly & Co. reported Tuesday net income of $555.6 million, or 53 cents a share, down from $778.0 million, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, including asset repairment charges and acquired in-process research and development charges, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.05, above the FactSet consensus of $1.03. Revenue rose 9% to $5.66 billion from $5.19 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $5.52 billion, as revenue from its diabetes products collectively grew 39%. Among the drug maker’s biggest drug sellers, sales of Humalog, Alimta, Cymbalta and Zyprexa beat expectations, while Cialis sales fell short. The company raised its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook to $4.15 to $4.25 from $4.10 from $4.20. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 2.9% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF fell 3.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.9%.

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Commerzbank hires advisers as it prepares for possible bids: report

Commerzbank AG shares climbed Tuesday following a report the Frankfurt-based lender has hired financial advisers as it prepares for possible takeover bids. The bank has been working with Goldman Sachs and Rothschild to assess possible M&A scenarios, the Financial Times reported. Shares in Germany second-largest bank rose as much as 4% during morning trade, and have climbed roughly 64% on a year-to-date basis.

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AMS shares jump more than 20% as quarterly sales surge

AMS AG on Tuesday posted a rise in third-quarter group revenue, with sales coming in at €262.6 million, up 79% from €146.7 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were €34.8 million compared with €28 million a year ago. Gross margin during the quarter was 41%, down from 55% logged in the same quarter last year. AMS forecast “very strong” sequential sales growth, with fourth-quarter revenue expected at €440 million to €480 million. Shares of AMS jumped more than 20% during Tuesday’s European trading session.

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Amazon Studios has now lost its third high-ranking executive this month: report

Amazon Studios is seeing the departure of a third high-ranking executive in a month, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with Joe Lewis, head of comedy and drama development, on his way out just days after the resignation under pressure of programming chief Roy Price. Price faced allegations of sexual harassment and was serving a suspension at the time he resigned. Separately, Morgan Wandell, who had served as head of international series at the Amazon unit, left for a similar post with Apple , the trade publication noted.

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Facebook denies plans to charge publications for posts

Facebook Inc. said in a blog post Monday that it does not plan to push publishers out of its main product, amid tests of a new approach that in some countries exiled all such posts from Facebook’s News Feed. Several reports about tests in six countries that split posts from pages out of News Feed and into a new feed called Explore focused on the fact that publishers would have to pay to advertise to get their stories into the News Feed if Facebook made the change globally and permanently. “There is no current plan to roll this out beyond these test countries or to charge pages on Facebook to pay for all their distribution in News Feed or Explore,” wrote Adam Mosseri, who leads Facebook’s News Feed product. “Unfortunately, some have mistakenly made that interpretation – but that was not our intention.” Facebook stock closed down 2.1% Monday but got a 0.2% boost in after-hours trading.

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