Tiffany's serves up solid quarterly earnings

Posted Nov 25th 2009 11:30AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Tiffany and Co (TIF)

Luxury retailer Tiffany (TIF) provided some news for a normally slow pre-Thanksgiving trading session, announcing third-quarter earnings for the Street to chew on.

The luxury retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 35 cents per share, matching its results from a year earlier. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 34 cents per share. By either measure, TIF handily topped the consensus estimate for earnings of 24 cents per share.

Revenue came in at $598.2 million, which was down quite a bit from last year's $616.15 million, but better than the Street's expected $575 million. Looking ahead, TIF expects worldwide sales to increase in the mid-single-digit range during the fourth quarter.

Technically, TIF is battling resistance in the $43 region, which has proved a bit of a boondoggle in the past. On four different occasions the shares have retreated from this region. The good news is that the stock has seen a healthy 2009 as the retailer has retreated in four of the past 11 months. Moreover, TIF's 10-month moving average has completed a bullish cross of its 20-month moving average. This technical formation often precedes a continued run higher from the shares.

If this scenario comes to fruition for TIF, we could see the stock make a serious attempt at moving past the $43 region. We could see this region act as support if needed. For this to happen, the stock has to make a clear break higher. Of course, better-than-expected earnings could be the impetus for such a move.

Tags: earnings, featured, inthenews, luxury retail, retail, retail earnings, TIF, Tiffany