Chipotle first-quarter sales miss estimates after same-store sales sink

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares fell 3% in after-hours Tuesday trading after it reported same-store sales that fell below estimates. The Mexican fast-casual chain said it had net loss of $26.4 million, or 88 cents per share in the first quarter, down from net income of $122.6 million, or $3.88 per share last year. The FactSet consensus was a loss of 98 cents per share. Sales totaled $834.5 million, down from $1.1 billion last year and below the FactSet consensus of $868 million. The company said the sales miss was driven by a 29.7% decrease in same-store sales, partially offset by new restaurant openings. Same-store sales declined largely as a result of a decrease in both transactions and, to a lesser degree, a decline in average check size. Chipotle has struggled to recover after illness outbreaks in late 2015. Chipotle shares are down 30.1% for the past year, while the S&P 500 is down 1.2% for the same period.

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Chipotle first-quarter sales miss estimates after same-store sales sink

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares fell 3% in after-hours Tuesday trading after it reported same-store sales that fell below estimates. The Mexican fast-casual chain said it had net loss of $26.4 million, or 88 cents per share in the first quarter, down from net income of $122.6 million, or $3.88 per share last year. The FactSet consensus was a loss of 98 cents per share. Sales totaled $834.5 million, down from $1.1 billion last year and below the FactSet consensus of $868 million. The company said the sales miss was driven by a 29.7% decrease in same-store sales, partially offset by new restaurant openings. Same-store sales declined largely as a result of a decrease in both transactions and, to a lesser degree, a decline in average check size. Chipotle has struggled to recover after illness outbreaks in late 2015. Chipotle shares are down 30.1% for the past year, while the S&P 500 is down 1.2% for the same period.

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Oil prices climb after API data said to show surprise fall in U.S. crude supplies

The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported that crude supplies fell by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended April 22, according to sources who reviewed the report. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a climb of 800,000 barrels for crude inventories. The closely watched Energy Information Administration report will be released Wednesday. June crude was at $44.49 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $44.04 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Fortinet shares rally after earnings beat Street view

Fortinet Inc. shares jumped in the extended session Tuesday after the cybersecurity company topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. Fortinet shares surged 9.1% to $33.75 after hours. The company reported adjusted earnings of 12 cents a share on revenue of $284.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of 9 cents a share on revenue of $273.5 million.

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White House lockdown lifted after fence-jumper incident, reports say

A lockdown at the White House has been lifted after an incident involving a fence jumper, reports said Tuesday. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment, but one report said the incident involved a fence jumper at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House.

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Panera Bread earnings beat estimates, raises outlook

Panera Bread Co. shares are up 1.8% in after-hours trading Tuesday, after the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year earnings outlook. The fast-casual chain said it had net income of $35 million, or $1.45 per share, up 21% from $32 million, or $1.20 per share for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were $1.56 per share, exceeding the FactSet consensus of $1.51. Sales for the quarter totaled $685.2 million, up from $648.5 million and above the $674 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales for all Panera restaurants was up 4.7%, while same-store sales for company-owned restaurants was up 6.2%. Franchise-operated restaurants saw same-store sales increase 3.3%. Panera raised its full-year earnings outlook to between $6.50 and $6.70 per share from between $6.33 and $6.52. It also raised the same-store sales outlook for its company-owned stores to between 4% and 5% from between 3.5% and 4.5%. Panera Bread shares are up 15.3% for the past year while the S&P 500 is down 1.2% for the same period.

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Barracuda Networks rallies after profitability improves

Shares of Barracuda Networks Inc. jumped in Tuesday’s extended session after the security and storage company said it swung to black in the most recent quarter. Barracuda reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.2 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $69.4 million, or $1.30 a share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 15 cents a share. Revenue rose 16% to $83.7 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected earnings of 8 cents a share on revenue of $80.9 million. Barracuda shares climbed 7.5% in after-hours trading.

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Micron’s stock soars to pace S&P 500 gainers after Hynix’s upbeat DRAM outlook

Micron Technology Inc.’s stock soared 9.2% in active afternoon trade Tuesday, enough to make it the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500, after South Korea-based chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. gave an upbeat outlook for the dynamic random-access memory chips, which is a key product of Micron. Volume of 40.4 million shares was nearly double the full-day average. Hynix said late Monday in a conference call following first-quarter results that it anticipates “more positive demand momentum around the second half,” given that inventory levels aren’t too high and with new smartphone launches expected to stimulate demand, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. Hynix said it expects DRAM bit shipment growth in the mid-teens percentage range for the second quarter, after a 3% decline in the first quarter. For the quarter ended in February, Micron had reported a 9% decline in DRAM gigabits sold.

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Gold futures gain 0.3% as dollar declines

Gold futures settled slightly higher Tuesday as the dollar slipped ahead of the Wednesday conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Gold for June delivery rose $3.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,243.40 an ounce, as the U.S. dollar declined 0.3% against a basket of major currencies. Silver for May delivery gained 10.1 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $17.11 an ounce. Although the Fed isn’t expected to raise interest rates at the end of its meeting, the wording of its updated statement and outlook for future rate hikes will influence momentum for the dollar and precious metals priced in the currency.

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Twitter’s stock surge defies recent history of sharp post-results selloffs

Twitter Inc.’s stock surged 4.1% in afternoon trade Tuesday, putting it on track to close at a 7-week high, ahead of the social network company’s first-quarter results scheduled for after the closing bell. It’s a bit curious that the stock would be rising so much before results, considering that strategy hasn’t worked too well the last few quarters. The stock has dropped on the day after the last four quarterly reports were released, by an average of 6.7%, according to FactSet. If the 18% plunge on April 28, 2015 is used, instead of the 8.9% drop on April 29–the results were released inadvertently before the closing bell, about an hour earlier than intended–the average one-day, post-results decline, would be 9.7%. And that was after the stock gained ground, by an average of nearly 4%, the day before the past three quarterly reports. The stock has gained 7.5% so far this month, but has still tumbled 23% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.1% this year.

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