Before the bell: MS, F, TOL, WMT, HPQ ...

Posted Nov 8th 2007 8:22AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the Bell, Earnings Reports, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Wal-Mart (WMT), Ford Motor (F), Walt Disney (DIS), Costco Wholesale (COST), Morgan Stanley (MS), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Toll Brothers (TOL), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Vonage Holdings (VG)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) joined a growing list of financial companies in booking losses on subprime mortgage- related assets and said the outlook for credit markets is bleaker than in September. Morgan Stanley said it lost $3.7 billion in the two months through Oct. 31. After dropping over 6% yesterday, MS shares are gaining over 4% in premarket trading.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) shares are gaining around 5% in premarket action. The second-biggest U.S. automaker reported a third-quarter loss that narrowed to $380 million after it managed to lower costs through plant closings and job cuts. Excluding one-time costs, the company lost $24 million, or 1 cent a share, beating analysts expectations of a loss of 47 cents, according to Bloomberg.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) issued preliminary fourth-quarter results this mornings, showing a sharp drop in the number of new homes sold. As buyers canceled orders for more expensive homes, Toll also saw a deep plunge in the average price of the home it was able to sell.

Several major retailers are reporting October same-store sales today:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT)October same-store sales rose 0.7%, below analysts expectations of 1.1%. The sales were boosted in part by strength in fresh food, grocery, video games and office supplies in its Sam's Club unit. As of 7:42, WMT shares are up 0.9% in premarket.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) October same-store sales rose 9%, beating analysts' expectations of 5.7%. Overall sales rose 13% to $5.21 billion.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) said after the close yesterday that it would take a $30 million pre-tax charge for its fiscal fourth quarter due to plans to outsource the manufacturing of its H-P branded digital cameras.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) reported after the close yesterday a 27% drop in third-quarter net income, as earnings were hit by ... the subprime mortgage crisis of course. AIG's adjusted net income, which excludes net realized investment gains and losses and other items, was $3.49 billion, or $1.35 a share, below estimates of $1.62 a share. AIG shares are dropping 1.5% in premarket action.

Also reporting today: Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Vonage (NYSE: VG).

Tags: aig, cost, dis, f, hpq, inthenews, ms, qcom, tol, vg, wmt