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Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits?

In this week's (November 9) Preview Section of Barron's (subscription required) I was surprised to find that on Wednesday (11/9) it is noted that Computer Sciences (CSC), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Macy's (M) reported "profits." How do they know this?

On other days they refer to the "earnings" of various companies reporting. Perhaps I am splitting hairs, perhaps it is editorial haste (like you might find on our site), or perhaps there is no difference in some people's minds? From my perspective there is a difference between earnings and profits. Every quarter, public companies report their earnings. They do not always report a profit.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits?

The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers

The conventional wisdom is that consumer spending is what drives the U.S. economy. And consumer spending arises out of consumer confidence. Unfortunately, the signals along the road to economic recovery are mixed, what with the rising GDP growth and the dismal unemployment numbers. Its enough to leave investors scratching their heads. What barometers of consumer confidence will the coming week bring?

The TIPP Economic Optimism Index for November is scheduled for Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November is due out Friday.

Continue reading The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • Collins Stewart upgraded General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) to Buy from Hold as it finds the valuation compelling at current levels and sees potential upside from a better economy and better-than-expected defense budgets.
  • SunTrust views the sell-off in shares of Cabot Oil (NYSE: COG) as a buying opportunity and expects the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection order to be resolved quickly. The firm upgraded Cabot to Buy from Neutral.
  • Barclays upgraded Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on expectations for improved carrier demand, continued U.S. momentum, and an improved Europe.
  • Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) was upgraded to Gradually Accumulate from Hold at Soleil.
  • Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ...

Earnings highlights: Blockbuster, Walmart, Applied Materials, ING, Priceline ...

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Blockbuster, Walmart, Applied Materials, ING, Priceline ...

Applied Materials beats in Q3: Time to trade?

I'm indecisive about Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT). The semiconductor company, which also works with solar photovoltaic cells, is starting to look like a good trade to me. However, I still shudder when I examine the numbers. What I've got to keep telling myself, I guess, is that the market is a discounting mechanism, and that now may be the time to act.

According to the press release, which was issued after the market closed on Tuesday, net sales decreased 39% in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at 0 cents per share. That was obviously much less than the 17 cents per share earned one year ago. According to Reuters, which made a further adjustment for equity-based compensation, Applied Materials lost 3 cents per share. The market was expecting a loss of 8 cents per share. The top line beat projections as well.

Continue reading Applied Materials beats in Q3: Time to trade?

Applied Material (AMAT) CEO predicts failing chip companies

AMAT logoApplied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT - option chain) stock is falling today after company CEO Mike Splinter said that weak demand and high development costs could lead to multiple failures in the semiconductor equipment sector. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on AMAT.

This morning, AMAT opened at $11.87. So far today the stock has hit a low of $11.53 and a high of $11.88. As of 11:30, AMAT is trading at $11.57, down $0.49 (-4.1%). The chart for AMAT looks bullish and S&P gives AMAT a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Continue reading Applied Material (AMAT) CEO predicts failing chip companies

Applied Materials has a bad Q2

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) reported Q2 numbers earlier in the week. They were dismal, to say the least. According to Jon Ogg's Closing Bell on Wednesday, the semiconductor business saw its top line reduced by 50%, and the adjusted loss came to 10 cents per share. Yes, yes, that met expectations. So what? The article also mentioned that the solar operation wasn't doing so hot.

Looking through the actual earnings release, I don't see a lot of things that would make a shareholder happy. Backlog was down. Applied Materials had to use cash to keep things going over the last six months (obviously investors would rather see cash generated from operations). And CEO Mike Splinter described the current climate as very tough in terms of customer demand.

Continue reading Applied Materials has a bad Q2

The week in preview: A peek at apparel retail earnings

As earnings season begins to wind down, some apparel retailers are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters anticipate that Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the 800-pound gorilla in the space, will report that it earned $0.77 per share in the first quarter, about the same as in the first quarter of last year. But JCPenney Co. (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) are expected to report lower profits for the first quarter as consumers continued to hold off on spending. Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) are expected to have swung to a loss year over year.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) are likewise expected to report declining earnings, while the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (NYSE: GAP), parent of the A&P supermarket chain, is expected to have narrowed its net loss 68.9% to $0.28 per share.

Continue reading The week in preview: A peek at apparel retail earnings

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations

Analyst upgrades:
  • Jefferies upgraded shares of SourceFire (NASDAQ:FIRE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company is benefiting from recent spending by the U.S. Federal government and private enterprises to improve cybersecurity. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $11 from $7.
  • Piper Jaffray upgraded Brocade (NASADAQ:BRCD) to Buy from Neutral as they believe an expanded OEM announcement with IBM (NYSE:IBM) could be announced as early as the end of April, creating a positive catalyst. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $6 from $4.
  • UBS upgraded Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) to Buy from Sell but lowered their target to $4 from $21 citing reduced churn and cashflow concerns, expectations for FY10 to be a trough year, and a potential reacceleration in deferred growth.
  • AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • Strattec (NASDAQ:STRT) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
  • Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) was upgraded at William Blair to Outperform from Market Perform.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations

The week in preview: Bernanke, earnings winners, and Raymond James conference

After testifying before a Senate committee about AIG (NYSE: AIG) last week, the Fed's Ben Bernanke participates in a Council of Foreign Relations event Monday evening.

Economic data due to be released this week include wholesale trade and job vacancies for January on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Treasury budget for February on Wednesday, retail sales for February and business inventories for January on Thursday morning, and the U.S. trade balance for January on Friday morning.

Continue reading The week in preview: Bernanke, earnings winners, and Raymond James conference

How big is your pay cut?

President Obama has encouraged companies to cut pay -- particularly at the executive level. Some companies -- many of which are in Silicon Valley -- are complying. And others, like Boeing (NYSE: BA), are holding off on the pay cuts and going for the layoffs instead. This is a tricky problem and there's no doubt that CEOs are probably in a better position to make the call then Washington.

It's hard to hire engineers. So rather than fire them, many Silicon Valley companies are giving pay cuts to their executives and their employees alike. For example,

  • Hewlett Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ) will cut its CEO's base salary by 20%, executives' pay by 10% to 15%, and most employees' salaries by 5%
  • Applied Materials Inc., (NASDAQ: AMAT) the will cut executive pay 10% adding to an earlier 10% reduction
  • Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) zeroed out its budget for merit pay or promotions, its CEO received e-mails from employees saying they would rather take pay cuts than lose a job or see co-workers terminated

Continue reading How big is your pay cut?

Earnings highlights: Viacom, UBS, RIM, ArcelorMittal, Lions Gate, McAfee and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Viacom, UBS, RIM, ArcelorMittal, Lions Gate, McAfee and others

Stocks in the news: MT, AMAT, NVDA, MJN, SIRI, CS, DF, NKE, RIMM, RTP ...

Before the bell: Stocks to rebound, but investors remain cautious

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) swung to a surprising $2.6 billion loss in the fourth quarter -- its first ever -- as it experienced a collapse in demand and a sharp drop in prices. It wrote down $4.4 billion in pre-tax charges. The steel giant is also shedding some 9,000 workers. MT shares jumped over 6% in premarket trade.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) warned late Tuesday that chipmakers will spend 50% less this year for its products. The maker of semiconductor production equipment also posted a fiscal first-quarter loss of $3 million, excluding charges, and said it will cut 14% of its workforce, or about 2,000 jobs, as well as production. AMAT shares declined some 2% in premarket trade.

Continue reading Stocks in the news: MT, AMAT, NVDA, MJN, SIRI, CS, DF, NKE, RIMM, RTP ...

The week in preview: Coke versus Pepsi

It's about that time again: Pepsi vs. Coke. No, not another taste test or another Battle of the Brands. It's time for the next quarterly results from these two soft drink titans.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate that PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), global beverage and snack food giant, will report fourth-quarter earnings this week that are 9.1% higher that a year ago, or $0.88 per share. Revenue is expected to total $12.8 billion, which is 3.9% higher than last year. For the full year, the profit is expected to be $3.67 per share on revenue of $43.4 billion, up from $3.38 per share on $39.5 billion in 2007. PepsiCo's earnings met or beat estimates in four of the past five quarters, but missed by only two cents per share in the third quarter. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to buy PEP. The share price fell to a 52-week low in January and is now 24.4% lower than it was a year ago. During the fourth quarter, PepsiCo declared a $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, agreed to acquire a Spitz International, and announced investments in China and Mexico.

Continue reading The week in preview: Coke versus Pepsi

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Last updated: November 09, 2009: 09:34 PM

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