bellwether stocks posts
FeedPosted Aug 2nd 2009 1:00PM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO)
Internet search firm Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) recently reported that its second-quarter net income rose to $143 million, or 10 cents per share, from $132.4 million, or 9 cents per share in the same period a year earlier. Net revenue in the period ended in June fell to $1.14 billion from $1.35 billion.
Wall Street analysts on average had been expecting Yahoo! (whose options value is increasing) to post second-quarter earnings of 8 cents per share, and the company beat that estimate by a few pennies.
But those earnings came on revenues that were just in line with revenue expectations of $1.14 billion.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #10: Yahoo! (YHOO)
Posted Aug 2nd 2009 11:00AM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Merck and Co (MRK), Stocks to Buy
Although earnings for Merck (NYSE: MRK) were down in the last quarter, the stock is gaining momentum.
The pharmaceutical giant reported a 3% decrease in sales to $5.9 billion from $6.05 billion in the year-earlier period. Earnings were $1.56 billion or 74 cents per share, compared with $1.77 billion or 82 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.
A strong dollar and lower sales for cholesterol and vaccine drugs contributed to Merck's decline this quarter. But investors were cheered by the fact that Merck reaffirmed its annual earnings forecast of $2.84 to $3.09 per share.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #8: Merck (MRK)
Posted Aug 2nd 2009 9:00AM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Intel (INTC)
As an all-around barometer of the tech sector, as well as a chipmaker, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is one of the cases where revenue and earnings both managed to best expectations.
Excluding the effects of a European Commission fine, Intel earned $1 billion or 18 cents per share in the second quarter.
Although the numbers handily beat analysts' estimates of 8 cents per share, they were still 36% lower than the profit of 28 cents per share the same period last year.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #6: Intel (INTC)
Posted Aug 1st 2009 1:00PM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Ford Motor (F), Stocks to Buy
Ford (NYSE: F) is the most fiscally-sound U.S. automaker, and the company also managed to post better-than-expected earnings, despite a very rough economic climate for car manufacturers.
For the second quarter, Ford earned $2.3 billion, or 69 cents per share, versus a loss of $8.7 billion, or $3.89 per share, in the year-ago period. The increase was largely due to lightening its debt load, but it tells me that Ford is on the track to profitability.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #5: Ford (F)
Posted Aug 1st 2009 12:00PM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), Stocks to Sell
Excluding a 15-cent-per-share hit from restructuring charges, chemicals giant DuPont (NYSE: DD), yet another Dow component, said it would have earned 61 cents per share. That number bested consensus estimates for a 53-cent per share profit, but once again, the top-line number is cause for concern.
DuPont said its second-quarter profit dropped 61% to $417 million, or 46 cents per share, with revenue falling 24% to $7.09 billion. Analysts had expected the company to bring in $7.14 billion in revenue.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #4: DuPont (DD)
Posted Aug 1st 2009 11:00AM by Louis Navellier (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Coca-Cola (KO)
The world's largest soft-drink maker, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), also is a Dow component. Like so many of the companies in the Dow, Coca-Cola has managed to beat its bottom-line earnings number. Profits for the recent quarter came in at 92 cents per share, topping analysts' forecast of 89 cents per share.
When it came to top-line revenues, Coca-Cola was flat. Operating revenue fell 9% to $8.27 billion, missing the consensus expectation of $8.57 billion. But the reason for the drag was due to the strong dollar.
Continue reading Bellwether stock #3: Coca-Cola (KO)