Juniper Networks (JNPR) is on the upswing, with the stock catching a 6% boost Wednesday morning on the heels of a well-received fourth-quarter earnings report. Juniper reported a quarterly profit of $190.2 million, or 35 cents per share, substantially improved from its year-ago results of $22.9 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings improved to 42 cents from 32 cents per share on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter increased 26% to $1.19 billion. Gross margin retreated slightly, falling to 66.6% from 67.1%.

Continue reading Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat

Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has taken a drastic dive, with the stock staging a bearish gap with the sound of Friday's opening bell. Thursday night, the company unveiled its fiscal fourth-quarter results, and also confessed to a disappointing outlook for the first quarter.

Specifically, Green Mountain said it banked a fourth-quarter profit of $27 million, or 20 cents per share, up from its year-ago earnings of $14.1 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed 73% to $373.1 million. The results fell roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $359.2 million.

Continue reading Green Mountain Coffee Crushed by Lackluster Forecast

Green Mountain Coffee Crushed by Lackluster Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Diamond Foods (DMND) was on the upswing Thursday, as traders cheered the company's latest earnings report. Diamond said it banked a fiscal first-quarter profit of $14.2 million, or 64 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings arrived at 65 cents per share, while revenue increased 40% to $252.6 million.

The results comfortably exceeded Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 60 cents per share on revenue of $239.8 million.

Continue reading Diamond Foods Finds New Record High After Earnings

Diamond Foods Finds New Record High After Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Mosaic Company (MOS) is slated to take its turn on the earnings stage after Monday's closing bell, with the agricultural chemical concern set to unveil its fiscal first-quarter results.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating a profit of 72 cents per share, substantially higher than the company's year-ago earnings of 23 cents per share. Mosaic has a dismal history in the earnings spotlight, having fallen short of Wall Street's consensus profit expectations in three of the past four quarters.

Continue reading Can Mosaic Co. Tackle Resistance After Q1 Earnings?

Can Mosaic Co. Tackle Resistance After Q1 Earnings? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Isle of Capri Plunges on Unexpected Q1 Loss

Isle of Capri Plunges on Unexpected Q1 Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) is slated to take its turn in the earnings spotlight before the opening bell Tuesday, Aug. 24. It's not exactly business as usual for Barnes & Noble, though -- with a proxy battle waging between Chairman Leonard Riggio and activist investor Ron Burkle, there's going to be an unusually harsh media glare on the quarterly results.

Of course, it's not just the financial media who will be eager to get a glimpse at Barnes & Noble's performance. Investors will also be chomping at the bit ahead of the firm's annual meeting, because Burkle has proposed a slate of three nominees for the retailer's board, and Riggio's seat is among those up for reelection. As Reuters' Phil Wahba explained it on Friday, "the extent of the damage is likely to affect who shareholders vote for at next month's annual meeting."

Continue reading Pressure's On Ahead of Earnings from Barnes & Noble

Pressure's On Ahead of Earnings from Barnes & Noble originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Retailer J. Crew Group (JCG) is scheduled to take its turn in the earnings spotlight tomorrow, and option volume is rising as traders anticipate the quarterly results.

Today's activity appears to be primarily bullish in nature; in the early hours of the session, one speculator initiated a bull put spread by simultaneously selling JCG's out-of-the-money June 40 put, and simultaneously purchasing an equivalent number of June 37.50 puts.

Continue reading Speculation Heats Up on J. Crew Ahead of Earnings

Speculation Heats Up on J. Crew Ahead of Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hormel Foods (HRL) surged past analysts' fiscal first-quarter earnings estimates, with the sultan of Spam swinging to a profit of $111.2 million, or 82 cents per share, up 37% from the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter climbed 2.3% to $1.73 billion. Both numbers easily exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations, which called for a profit of just 68 cents per share on $1.67 billion in revenue.

Hormel added to the positive momentum by boosting its earnings forecast for the rest of fiscal 2010. The packaged-foods firm now expects to bank a profit of $2.68 to $2.78 per share, up from its prior forecast of $2.63 to $2.73 per share.

Continue reading Spam Still Going Strong: Hormel Hikes Earnings Forecast

Spam Still Going Strong: Hormel Hikes Earnings Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Baidu (BIDU) are pointed sharply higher in after-hours trading, with investors cheering the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. The Internet-search issue swung to a profit of $62.7 million, or $1.80 per American depositary share, while revenue jumped 40% to $184.7 million. Analysts were looking for a slimmer per-share profit of $1.69, according to Thomson Reuters.

Looking ahead, BIDU said it expects first-quarter revenue to range between $176 million and $181 million, compared to consensus expectations for revenue of $170 million. This upbeat forecast sent the stock surging to a gain of nearly 9% in electronic trading.

Continue reading Baidu Blazes Past 4Q Earnings Expectations

Baidu Blazes Past 4Q Earnings Expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo! down 8% after Q1 earnings report: Will it ever finish transitioning? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) will be reporting on its fiscal first quarter earnings next Friday the 20. The stock has had a pretty nice run over the last year with shares climbing over 35% since last July. Will this impressive run continue after next week?

If past performance is any indication, there is a strong possibility that McDonald's won't let the market down. It has a great history of meeting or surpassing analyst estimates. The last time that the company was unable to meet estimates was back on January 28, 2005 when it missed by just a penny.

This time around analysts are expecting to see McDonald's report $0.62 per share when it announces its first quarter numbers before the market opens next Friday. For the first quarter last year, the company matched its estimates when it reported $0.49 per share.

There hasn't been a whole lot of news surrounding the fast food giant lately, other than troubles it has run into in China. After being accused of underpaying its employees in the country, China officially cleared the company of any wrongdoing. While it is good news to hear, if you read the fine print of the news release you see that the only reason that the company was cleared is because China does not legally protect the working conditions of working students.

Last week McDonald's announced that it will give unions a bigger presence in its Chinese restaurants, so we can expect to hear a little more on this subject during the conference call next week.

Continue reading McDonald's quarterly earnings preview

McDonald's quarterly earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) will be reporting its first quarter 2007 earnings before the market opens next Tuesday (April 17). The last time the company reported earnings was back on Valentine's Day, when it was able to put up better than expected earnings for its fourth quarter 2006. At that time, the company posted earnings of $0.52, which came in higher than analyst estimates of $0.50. Sweet.

Coca-Cola has a strong history of beating Wall Street's expectations, so it would come as no surprise to me if the company is able to beat its numbers again this quarter. In fact, to find the last time that Coke was unable to post better than expected earnings, you would have to go all the way back to April 16, 2003 when it matched estimates for its first quarter 2003 report.

Continue reading Coca-Cola quarterly earnings preview: Still sweet

Coca-Cola quarterly earnings preview: Still sweet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Putting the first quarter behind us, as many wish we would, gives us pause to look ahead in hopes of finding the gems of success that wait for us. Here are some of my areas of interest as dictated by gut instinct. Please, before you groan and wretch and move on to the next post, remember that in defiance of one major writer's claim that no one warned you of the bear(ish) market that passed by this way ... I did.

I had also suggested steering clear of big pharma quite some time ago. You may take note that all but a few of them have, at least temporarily, splattered on the wall. The clear exception I see at this time is Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), which I consider to be in turn-around mode. I'll even be so bold as to hint that you may want to watch it for some acquisition movement of some kind. Pfizer has a sharp, well-run operation with some fine projects on the table. I like Pfizer and have no reason to change my attitude towards it.

Here are some of my watch words for at least the next two quarters:

• Watch natural fibers including cotton, glass derivations, carbon, and cellulose. Apply liberal amounts of nano-technologies and your world vastly increases in breadth and scope.
• Pay attention to water in all it's forms and applications. You shall benefit if you move it ,use it ,split it, spend it, clean it, or own it.
• Continue to avoid bonds unless your slopping around with bundles of loose cash that you have nothing better to do with.
• Scrap metals remain solid and steady. Beware of mining, at least temporarily.
• Watch for increased use of wood as raw material in things other than home construction. In cost of materials, the dynamics are changing. Stay on top of what the manufacturing sector is hinting towards.
• Look hard at the building and maintenance of diesel engines. I'm receiving reports that biodiesel is having some negative impact on the current trucking fleet. Adaptations in materials and design will be needed soon to accommodate the changes in fuel make up. Be there and be ready.

That's what I have to offer you for right now. At this time I need to make one small apology. I hope those fine people who hold shares in General Electric (NYSE: GE) haven't lost faith in me yet. I promised you $40 per share and I still believe it's coming. Hold tight my friends, nothing good ever comes easy.

One quarter down -- digging deeper for the rest of 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Live from BloggingStocks, it's Starbucks' Q1 2007 earnings call

Live from BloggingStocks, it's Starbucks' Q1 2007 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) presents its fiscal first quarter 2007 earnings on January 31, the company might want to roll out a new numbered cup, with the quote, "Can't Starbucks just serve its holiday beverages year-round?" Its eggnog lattes and maple macchiatos have customers slurping each winter, and investors licking their lips in anticipation of seasonally spicy earnings.

According to First Call, analysts expect the coffee retailer to earn 26 cents a share, a big bump of 36% over the year-ago quarter. But for analysts who are hoping for a whopping growth rate? They don't sound so hopeful. William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia is worried about the holiday merchandise -- the red ceramic mugs, the CDs, the bears. "Starbucks' pre-holiday markdowns on seasonal merchandise were earlier and more aggressive this year and post-holiday inventory levels were higher leading to subsequently deeper markdowns," she wrote, and it's certainly true that the Starbucks outlet on my corner was packed with holiday goodies in the weeks after Christmas (we picked up a set of coffee-cup ornaments for half price).

With a wealth of small changes to its business -- including a bigger focus on low-margin, but not labor-intensive items like books, music and those pretty red-themed mug; a bigger push into breakfast with eggy biscuity sandwiches; and a focus on spending more for more socially reponsible coffee -- the variables are many. And investors are skeptical; in the three months since the last earnings release, the stock is down about 13%. Are you really this skeptical?

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.

Starbucks Q1 2007 earnings: will holiday drinks lift the company's spirits? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading In real time: Microsoft first quarter 2007 earnings call

In real time: Microsoft first quarter 2007 earnings call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft first quarter earnings: Xbox sales in strong originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Invesors have grown accustomed to thinking of General Electric as a portfolio of companies -- after all, what do light bulbs, consumer loans, power generators, dishwashers and Nanny McPhee have in common? How much "synergy" can there really be between its divisions?

When own a conglomerate, the test of management iss not just what it does to improve its underlying companies, but whether it can buy and sell them at the right time to make extra money for shareholders. But that trading activity isn't valued as highly by investors as growth that comes from actually improving operations.

Thus, one of the hallmarks of CEO Jeff Immelt's tenure at the company is emphasizing more organic growth. That means the underlying companies are now expected to actually improve their businesses -- not just buy additional companies -- to increase sales.

Immelt started off the conference call a week ago crowing about 9% organic growth in sales achieved in the first quarter. That doesn't sound all that high, until you consider that it is more than twice as high as the company's historic rate. It's also darn good when you take into account that the company had $37.8 billion in revenues last quarter.

General Electric goes organic -- when it comes to growth, that is originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.