General goods retailer Walmart Inc. (WMT) reported slightly worse-than-expected results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended January 21, 2020. Total revenue of $141.7 billion rose 2.1% year over year, but fell 3.3% short of our estimate. Too, adjusted earnings per share of $1.38 were $0.03 below the year-ago figure. Same-store sales for Walmart U.S. were up 1.9%, missing the 3% mark Walmart had been forecasting. Increases in traffic and the average transaction amount were roughly the same.
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Networking equipment and software maker Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported in-line results for the fiscal second quarter ended January 25, 2020. However, some investors were disappointed with the company's order book, and the shares were down in response.
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New Jersey-based drugmaker and Dow-30 component
Merck & Co. (MRK)
reported fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of $0.92 a share, versus $0.69 in the comparable period of 2018. The sharp year-over-year improvement was fueled primarily by higher revenues and a lower share count, partially offset by increases in production (+12%), SG&A (+9%), and R&D (+15%) expenses. Meantime,
adjusted earnings, which exclude one-time gains, losses, and other nonrecurring items, and are more closely followed by Wall Street,
came in at $1.16 a share, versus $1.04 in Q4, 2018.
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Wall Street sent shares of entertainment and media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company upward despite a slip in profitability, as investors seemed pleased with the company’s improved business prospects.
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Petroleum industry leader Chevron Corp. (CVX) has reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.49 versus our estimate of $1.57 and the year-earlier tally of $1.95. The figure excludes a major writeoff of natural gas properties, partly offset by a gain from the sale of pumping assets in the North Sea. Share profits also fell on a full-year basis, given a poor industry operating environment. Oil prices remain weak, having never fully recovered from a late-2018 selloff. Market sentiment has deteriorated even further lately, on the thinking that the China-based coronavirus will restrict travel, thereby keeping a lid on fuel demand. The stock sold off after the earnings announcement on a bad day for stocks overall.
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Caterpillar beat profit expectations for the
fourth quarter of 2019, but the
shares were
down modestly in value after the manufacturer of heavy equipment reported a
sales miss and issued a
disappointing 2020 outlook.
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Electronic payments processor
Visa Inc. kicked off fiscal 2020 with
solid operating results (fiscal years end on September 30th), but the stock traded slightly lower following the earnings release, nonetheless.
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Oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) has reported earnings of $1.33 a share for the fourth quarter of 2019, largely helped by a $0.92 gain on the sale of assets. Excluding that item, the slide to $0.41 a share from operations for the quarter compared poorly to our estimate of $0.77 and the $1.41 posted in 2018. For the full 12 months, the company earned $3.36 a share, versus $4.88 the previous year. The slippage in operating profits had become increasing likely in recent weeks after what has been a tough year, given a lackluster industry backdrop marked by weak oil prices. The shares eased further following the earnings announcement after recently hitting a series of 52-week lows.
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Verizon Communications stock trades relatively
sideways on the
telecom giant’s December-quarter
results.
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The Coca-Cola Company (KO)
continues to demonstrate healthy top-line momentum. Most notably, organic growth clocked in at 7% for the December quarter and 6% for the full year. This
progress, which was
evident in both sparkling and still beverages, helped the company to achieve its largest value share gains in nearly a decade. And
management emphasized that it was able to make these
positive strides, including in the flagship Coca-Cola brand, even as consumers look to reduce caloric intake by shifting away from full-sugar beverages.
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