Tag: stock market

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shares fell 1.8% in Thursday premarket trading after the retail giant reported fiscal third-quarter sales that missed consensus. Net income was $3.03 billion, or 98 cents per share, down from $3.30 billion, or $1.03 per share last year. The FactSet estimate was 96 cents per share. Revenue was $118.18 billion for the quarter, up from $117.41 billion, but falling short of the $118.59 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales at Walmart U.S. rose 1.2%, driven by a 0.7% increase in traffic, the company said. Wal-Mart now sees full-year fiscal 2017 EPS of $4.34 to $4.49, compared with $4.29 to $4.49 previously, and full-year fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS of $4.20 to $4.35, compared with $4.15 to $4.35 previously. The company expects fourth-quarter same-store sales for Walmart U.S. to rise 1% to 1.5%. Wal-Mart shares are up 16.5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 6.5% for the same period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 8.3% for the same period.

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Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. soared 7.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the consumer electronics retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations, and provided an upbeat earnings outlook. For the quarter ended Oct. 29, earnings rose to $194 million, or 61 cents a share, from $125 million, or 36 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 62 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 47 cents. Revenue increased to $8.95 billion from $8.82 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.85 billion, with both domestic and international revenue exceeding expectations. Domestic same-store sales grew 1.8%, beating the FactSet consensus of 1.0% growth. For the current quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.62 to $1.67, above the FactSet consensus of $1.58. Revenue is expected to be $13.4 billion to $13.6 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $13.7 billion, with product recalls expected to lower domestic revenue by $200 million. The stock had run up 33% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 4.7% and the S&P 500 has climbed 6.5%.

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Staples Inc. [s:spls] on Thursday posted quarterly earnings that met expectations but revenue fell short of Wall Street’s target. The office- supplies retailer said third-quarter earnings were $179 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $198 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings came in at 34 cents a share. Revenue was $5.36 billion, down from $5.59 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 34 cents, on sales of $5.40 billion. Staples forecast fourth-quarter sales to decline from the year-earlier period. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings are projected to come in between 23 cents to 26 cents a share and analysts are looking for 26 cents share.

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Amgen Inc. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the biotech said a late-stage migraine drug study reached its primary endpoint. Amgen shares rose 1.2% to $148.97 after hours. The company said patients given its drug erenumab experienced migraines an average 3.2 to 3.7 fewer days — based on different doses — compared with 1.8 fewer days in the group given a placebo. Patients in the study were suffering an average 8.3 days a month with migraines.

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Shares of L Brands Inc. fell in Wednesday’s extended session after the retailer posted a weak outlook for the all-important holiday shopping season. L Brands reported its third-quarter earnings fell to $121.6 million, or 42 cents a share, from $164 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 4% to $2.58 billion while same-stores sales rose 2% in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast L Brands to report earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue of $2.58 billion. The parent company of Victoria’s Secret forecast fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.85 to $2, below the average of $2.03 projected by analysts. L Brands slid 2% after hours.

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Shares of solar-panel maker First Solar Inc. were halted late Wednesday after the Tempe, Ariz., company updated its guidance for this year and the next and announced a restructuring. First Solar raised its expectations for 2016 adjusted earnings by 30 cents to $4.60 a share to $4.80 a share, and said it expects a GAAP loss between $4 a share and $6 a share this year, whereas it expected GAAP earnings between $3.75 a share and $3.90 a share. It said it expects its 2017 GAAP results to range from a loss of 10 cents a share to earnings of 45 cents a share, and its adjusted 2017 earnings from breakeven to earnings of 50 cents a share. Restructuring charges, mostly related to layoffs, are expected to range between $500 million and $700 million. Such charges are expected mainly this year, First Solar said. It kept 2016 net sales unchanged at $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion. The shares had ended the regular trading day off 1.1%.

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Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell in Wednesday’s extended session after the network equipment company issued a weak second-quarter earnings forecast. Cisco reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell to $2.3 billion, or 46 cents a share, from $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned 61 cents a share. Revenue totaled $12.4 billion versus $12.3 billion, normalized to exclude the SP Video CPE business unit which it sold last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $12.33 billion. For the second quarter, the tech giant expects adjusted earnings per share of 55 cents to 57 cents and revenue to decline 2% to 4% year-on-year. Analysts are projecting quarterly earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $12.14 billion. Cisco shares slumped 4.5% after hours.

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Shares of H&R Block Inc. tumbled 6.9% in afternoon trade Wednesday, after the tax preparer was downgraded at Morgan Stanley, which cited the potential headwinds associated with President-elect Donald Trump’s policies and the company’s “Refund Advance” plan. Analyst Thomas Allen cut his rating to equal weight, after being at overweight the last three years, and trimmed his stock price target to $25 from $26. He said he was “puzzled” that the stock (HRB) had run up 12% the past four sessions, as he believes a simplified tax code and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which were cornerstones of Trump’s candidacy, would remove an industry tailwind. “We see a Trump presidency as an incremental negative to HRB and the broader tax prep industry,” Allen wrote in a note to clients. He also said his research suggests that while the Refund Advance program–a loan product for early-season filers to get their refunds quickly–can provide a near-term tailwind, it is likely to eventually weigh on margins. The stock has tumbled 33% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.5%.

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Among American adults who plan to purchase a tech product during Black Friday Week, most are considering a television, according to the latest data from the Computer Technology Association’s 2016 Pre-Black Friday Survey. Almost half of the adult U.S. population, a record 116 million, said they plan to purchase tech or tech accessories between Nov. 21 and Nov. 28. Rounding out the top five tech items on shoppers’ lists, in order, are laptops, smartphones, video game consoles and tablets. “Outside of the tech perennials – TVs, laptops, smartphones – expect to see front page circular deals form a variety of retailers on emerging products including drones, virtual reality and digital assistant devices such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the CTA. Amazon.com Inc. shares are up 10.2% for the year so far, Alphabet Inc. shares are up 0.2% for the year so far, and the S&P 500 index is up 6.5% for that period.

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Oil futures ended lower Wednesday, pressured by data showing that U.S. crude inventories rose 5.3 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 11. However, prices found some support following a report indicating that Russia will support the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ deal to curtail output. December West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $45.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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