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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported dismal Q1 numbers as same-store sales plunged.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dismal Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) reported lower earnings and revenue for Q1 and offered no guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) earnings, revenue, and same-store sales all fell in the first quarter.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Walmart, JCPenney, Freddie Mac, Playboy, Whole Foods and more

Earnings highlights: Walmart, JCPenney, Freddie Mac, Playboy, Whole Foods and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 May 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What's with Steve & Barry's and why should we care? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVID) sees strong Q1 results driven by Guitar Hero.
• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) raised its Q2 earnings guidance ahead of its report.
• Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS) strong Q4 and full-year results included a record quarterly revenue.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) posted better-than-expected results despite a big loss on further write-downs.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reported better-than-expected results and offered a soft outlook (see transcript).
• Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST) posted strong Q2 earnings despite the housing slump but lower revenues.
• Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) posted strong Q2 results on expansion in Mexico and China.
• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) beat Q2 expectations despite profit and revenue declines.
• International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) easily topped Wall Street earnings expectations.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) beat Q2 estimates and raised its full-year forecast (see transcript).
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) warned of lower Q2 earnings due to energy and distribution costs.
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) reported worse-than-expected Q2 results on further write downs.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) earnings surged but investors were put off by its full-year guidance.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) reaffirmed its guidance following the Kimberly-Clark warnings.
• United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) beat Q2 estimates, lifting shares from a recent 52-week low.
• ValueClick Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) posted weak results and warned about the second half of the year.

For more highlights from this week, see: Google, Intel, JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, Nokia and others

The earnings crunch continues next week. Among companies scheduled to report are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Texas Intruments (NYSE: TXN), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Citigroup, eBay, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When Countrywide fell apart, the government moved in and began to examine the company's loan practices for fraud. Perhaps history is repeating itself. The FBI has set up an office at IndyMac (OTC: IDMC) to investigate whether its loan practices were above board.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud." Both the media and the bank were thin on details, very thin.

The matter, and questions at Countrywide, raise the issue of where regulators were when these firms operating as normal, standalone businesses making hundreds of thousand of home loans each year. Consumers are not terribly well-served if the FBI or any other government agency gets into the act once all of the damage has been done.

If the FBI finds any wrong-doing, what then? Is there a way to make reparations to people who may have lost their home or paid mortgage rates and additional fees which were much too high? Management at some of these lending operations may get into trouble, but the victims are unlikely to be helped.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Fraud at IndyMac? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If Bush's change-up marks the bottom, then WFC is the slugger that hit the ball back over the fence. Can one report from one bank make a difference? Yes it can, if people read it as a sign of things to come. At the same time, the capitulation I describe in IndyMac (IMB) turns to dust is another sign that we may be at the turning point.

Continue reading Did Wells Fargo's earnings report signal a turnaround?

Did Wells Fargo's earnings report signal a turnaround? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last Friday, June 11, 2007, the Feds basically put IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB) into receivership, even as they reminded customers that their deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) covering each individual account up to $100,000.

When I posted IndyMac (IMB) turns to stone on June 8, IMB had shut down lending. Now, as they have turned to dust from a shareholder perspective, customers are still lining up to withdraw their funds despite government assurances that there is nothing to worry about.

Some fret that this bailout will cost taxpayers money but most of the money will be coming from actual deposits as company assets are liquidated. However, while a majority of the costs are covered, the process will incur significant costs nevertheless, since this is only the tip of the iceberg and other banks are sure to fall into the abyss as well.

Continue reading IndyMac (IMB) turns to dust

IndyMac (IMB) turns to dust originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The breadth of the danger is staggering

Cramer on BloggingStocks: The breadth of the danger is staggering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week, the FDIC oversaw the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history -- $32 billion IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB). I thought more would be on the way and this morning's New York Times estimates that 150 of the 7,500 U.S. banks will fail in the next 12 to 18 months. The FDIC only has $53 billion in its fund to cover bank failures so it is going to be needing much more cash, which it may get from raising insurance rates. No doubt those of us with bank accounts will pay the price.

For those looking to profit from this failure, it's time to get a hold of the FDIC's problem bank list and start estimating the ones that are most likely to get taken over. Here are some hints: look at their mortgages as a percent of total loans, their cash flow, when they have to pay back their debt, and the increase in the rate of their bad loans. The Times mentions two that are probably already on the radar of short sellers:

• BankUnited Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: BKUNA) in Florida, which trades at 77 cents a share and is probably too far gone to profit from as a short, went for $20 a share a year ago.
• Downey Financial Corporation (NYSE: DSL) in California, which trades at $1.69 today, traded at $65 a year ago.

Continue reading Profiting from the 150 banks that will fail next?

Profiting from the 150 banks that will fail next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysts believe that another 150 banks in the U.S. could fail over the near-term. According to The New York Times, "as many as 150 out of the 7,500 banks nationwide could fail over the next 12 to 18 months, analysts say. " The failure of IndyMac (NYSE: IMB) puts more focus on the problem

That puts investors in region banks in a tough spot. Shareholders in firms like NCC (NYSE: NCC) have watched the value of their stock drop from $33.54 to $4.42 over the last year as the bank cut its dividend and raised money. These holders can get out now because they fear an event which could take shares down to pennies. Or, they can hang on and hope that, once the financial crisis has passed, they may make some of their money back.

In many cases, the stock price is an excellent indication of what stockholders might want to do. IndyMac shares are down 99%. NCC's are down 85%, and its viewed by most as a bank that will "make it" because it has raised more money.

It would appear that the banks that the market is most worried about are off 90% to 96%. The institutions in that category probably carry the greatest risk of failure, if the stock market is an accurate indicator. The "if" part is the hard part.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

After IndyMac failure, another 150 banks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that worries are deepening among regulators, executives and consumers about the U.S. banking industry following the federal government's seizure of IndyMac Bancorp Inc (NYSE: IMB).
• According to a person familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported that Banco Santander SA (NYSE: STD) is nearing an agreement to buy Alliance & Leicester for around $2.38B.

• Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) chairman Roy Bostock called Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) proposal "ludicrous". Bostock said that "while this type of erratic and unpredictable behavior is consistent with what we have come to expect from Microsoft, we will not be bludgeoned into a transaction that is not in the best interests of our stockholders." Yahoo reaffirmed that it is open to a sale of the company for $33 a share, the New York Times reported.

• CNet reported that the price of the Xbox 360 Pro model with a 20GB hard drive was cut by Microsoft to $299 from $349. The company also introduced introduced a 60GB model to go on sale in the U.S. and Canada in August for $349.

Newspaper wrap-up: Santander nears agreement to acquire Alliance & Leicester originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After the implosion of IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB) and news of the deterioration of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) last week, there's bound to be a certain level of trepidation as the earnings crunch begins this coming week and many big financial companies report. Here's a look at what Wall Street was expecting (see The week in preview: Expectations as the earnings crunch begins for expectations of other reporting companies.)

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting the following of companies to report lower earnings when compared to the same period of the previous year.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): 44 cents EPS (-63.3%) on sales of $16.4 billion (-13.2%)
• Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): 51 cents EPS (-59.2%) on sales of $680.2 million (-7.3%)
• Zions Bancorp. (NYSE: ZION): 75 cents EPS (-47.6%) on sales of $627.3. million (+2.7%)
• Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NYSE: HBAN): 23 cents EPS (-32.4%) on sales of $617.1 million (+50.7%)
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF): $1.31 EPS (-30.7%) on sales of $4.4 billion (+7.8%)
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): 50 cents EPS (-25.4%) on sales of $10.7 billion (+7.7%)
• M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB): $1.50 EPS (-23.1%) on sales of $756.6 million (+1.6%)
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT): 69 cents EPS (-16.9%) on sales of $1.8 billion (+5.9%)
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): 60 cents EPS (-7.7%) on sales of $3.8 billion (+8.3%)
• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC): $1.16 EPS (-7.2%) on sales of $1.9 billion (+8.5%)

Continue reading Financials expected to post earnings declines, losses this week

Financials expected to post earnings declines, losses this week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I've lived through the internet bubble (and have some scars) and tried to avoid the real estate bubble (it wasn't easy). But, bubbles have a way of being painful and longlasting.

So, no doubt, the real estate bubble has been painful (may be the worst market for at least the past 50 years). But, could this be a short-run thing?

Perhaps so. In fact, this is the view from the front-cover piece in this week's Barron's [a paid publication]. Actually, there may be the start of a real estate recovery by the end of this year.

This is certainly a controversial stand. Keep in mind that inventory levels are stubbornly high (helped by foreclosures) and housing prices seem to fall further and further. What's more, the credit crunch is still here and there are serious problems with major real estate operators, such as with the implosion of IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB), as well as the deterioration of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).

OK, so why the optimism? Well, if you peel back some of the recent housing data, it appears that things are stabilizing in terms of home sales and inventories. Basically, market forces are making the necessary adjustments.

Continue reading Barron's: Real estate poised for the giddy days again?

Barron's: Real estate poised for the giddy days again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It is always difficult to discuss one's failings, but nothing has been worse than my suggestion that IndyMac might be a screaming buy last year. The stock is down 97%. The sad truth is it was a screaming sell and my worst call since I have been writing for BloggingStocks.com. That will be a separate story.

Today, IndyMac is trading down 47% to $0.37. It will have to restructure once again and will be submitting a survival plan to the FDIC. The current market cap is about $37 million, while its losses over the last twelve months exceed $600 million.

Continue reading IndyMac (IMB) turns to stone

IndyMac (IMB) turns to stone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

IndyMac (IMB) stops accepting loan applications and announces job cuts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures lower ahead of Bernanke speech, Alcoa; Indymac plunges

Before the bell: Futures lower ahead of Bernanke speech, Alcoa; Indymac plunges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading For low priced stocks, focus on the pumps

For low priced stocks, focus on the pumps originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Things aren't so bad

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Things aren't so bad originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Q2 profits declined on a glut of flash memory chips.
• Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI) beat Q3 expectations and offered full-year guidance.
• Barclay's (NYSE: BCS) reported a big Q1 loss on credit-related write-downs.
• Constant Contact Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) saw big increases in Q1 revenues and in its customer base.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Q2 profits rose on international demand, but results just missed estimates.
• Fluor Corp.'s (NYSE: FLR) strong Q1 results are a signal for the energy sector, says Jim Cramer.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) Q1 loss widened on the housing slump, but not as much as forecast.
• IndyMac Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: IMB) narrowed its loss but predicted it wouldn't see a profit in 2008.
• LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Q1 earnings topped forecasts and it raised its outlook.
• MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) reported a larger-than-expected Q1 loss due to write-downs.
• Mindray Medical International Ltd. (NYSE: MR) beat Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) Q2 earnings were in line with analysts' expectations.
• ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ONNN) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 revenue forecast.
• RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) beat Q1 estimates and announced share buybacks and a spin off.
• Salary.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRY) missed Q1 forecasts, leading to analysts' downgrades.
• Sykes Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: SYKE) beat Q1 estimates and raised its Q2 and full-year forecast.
• Syniverse Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SVR) beat Q1 expectations on strength in "messaging and mobil data."
• Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) warned of lower Q2 profits and more "challenging times" ahead.
• Website Pros Inc. (NASDAQ: WSPI) reported flat earnings despite soaring revenues and operating income.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Deere, Freddie Mac, Applied Materials, Barclay's and others

Earnings highlights: Deere, Freddie Mac, Applied Materials, Barclay's and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 May 2008 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: IMB) reported that its quarterly loss was cut by 64% leaving investors with a small glimmer of hope... although the company has done a small about face. Previously IndyMac had suggested it might be possible to get back to profitability by the fourth quarter. They now are reporting that they probably will not report a positive quarter in 2008.

It was only ten days ago that CEO says IndyMac has 'turned a corner' but the story continues to evolve. The stock closed down today at $3.06, losing 37 cents or almost 11% of it's value.

Disclosure: I own shares of IMB.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

IndyMac earnings: Cuts loss by 64% and looks to stay independent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 May 2008 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The week in preview: Misery loves these companies (WFMI, SIRI, BBI and more)

The week in preview: Misery loves these companies (WFMI, SIRI, BBI and more) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 May 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.