Earnings highlights: HP, General Mills, Whole Foods, OfficeMax and others

CEC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: CEC) reported a profit loss and flat revenue for the fourth quarter.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) raised its third-quarter and full-year earnings forecasts.
Forward Air Corp. (NASDAQ: FWRD) beat earnings estimates and offered guidance.
General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) raised its 2008 and 2010 earnings forecasts on strong sales.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NASDAQ: HPQ) reported better-than-expected earnings and offered bullish guidance.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) second-quarter profits fell and it offered meager guidance.
JC Penney Inc. (NYSE: JCP) reported a smaller-than-expected profit decline for the fourth quarter.
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) third-quarter profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) easily beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations on lower costs.
TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) fourth-quarter profit beat estimates and helped raise the retail outlook.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) earnings were dragged down by the Wild Oats acquistion.

Also, Douglas McIntyre examines how a slowdown in orders is likely to affect the earnings of Airbus and Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), and Brian White looks at how HP might "do better" for the rest of this year.

Upcoming results to watch for include Lowes Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA), and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: HP, General Mills, Whole Foods, OfficeMax and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Restaurant chain earnings giving indigestion

Kevin Kelly — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:50:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Columns, Chipotle Mexican Grill'A' (CMG), Stocks to Sell

I've held the anti-restaurant thesis for several weeks now, and I think the two reports after the bell yesterday validated the thoughts. Commodity costs are up, labor costs are increasing (and will to continue to increase) with the rise in the minimum wage, the increase in gas prices crunches the consumer's spending power, and so on.

CEC Entertainment (NYSE: CEC), the operator of Chuck E. Cheeses restaurants, reported earnings of 26 cents per share vs. expectations of 34 cents per share. In addition, same-store-sales fell 1.6% while operating costs rose 4%. Interestingly, the company attributed its poor performance not only to gas prices, but also popular new movie releases which drew its young-children demographic out of its restaurants and into movie theaters. If this wasn't enough, CEC cut its full year guidance to $1.96-$2.04 per share -- a rather significant difference from the analyst estimates of $2.26 per share before this report.

Similarly, Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) disappointed the street after the bell. As Beth Gaston Moon reported, the company's guidance for the coming quarter of 32-38 cents per share in EPS came in below prior analyst expectations of 43 cents. In addition, the company's guidance for the second half of the year of $.86-1.02 per share disappointed analysts who expected $1.12 per share.

Continue reading Restaurant chain earnings giving indigestion

Restaurant chain earnings giving indigestion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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