Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) just crushed their earnings and revenues for what typically is the slow first quarter. Usually the first quarter is met with a yawn. I have written three posts in the last month that this first quarter would be different, and it was. The street was looking for earnings per share of $.63 -- .66 and Apple reported $.87 on revenues of $5.26 billion, 100 million more than estimates.

What tipped me off is Wall Street analysts usually leave big tech names alone during the first quarter and maybe do a quiet, back-of-the -envelope mid-quarter update. Apple just had too much momentum exiting the December 2006 quarter and the outlook was just getting too big. So four firms put out "real" updates and began to hint of better-than-expected first quarter numbers. I have been recommending Apple to my web site Insider Insights Club Members since last September at $66, when the site opened. But I have been on this story for three years plus and recommending the shares to my old institutional clients since $12.

Continue reading Apple Q1 earnings: Just beginning and getting better

Apple Q1 earnings: Just beginning and getting better originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:24:00 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.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), one of the world's top producers of aluminum and related products, is set to release its first quarter 2007 results on Tuesday.

The question is, of course, can Alcoa build on its strong fourth quarter 2006 results? Alcoa has offered upside surprises in three of its previous four quarters, and 2006 was the best year in the company's history. So what does 2007 hold?

Among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, the consensus on AA is Hold, with 10 of 21 rating it Hold, while another 8 rate it a Buy. The estimates for Q1 2007 are revenue of $8.54 billion, or earnings per share of 77 cents, compared to 74 cents last quarter. Individual EPS estimates range from 64 to 87 cents.

Alcoa's PE ratio is 13.61, which is in line with the industry. Analysts' mean price target is $35.53. The 52-week low was $26.39 in October; the 52-week high $36.96 last May. While AA opened Thursday at $34.50, by mid-day it was flirting with $35.

Alcoa's strength has fueled recent speculation that it may be a possible buyout target, and Jim Cramer has stated that he doesn't think Alcoa will be public by next year. Although it was an analyst's upgrade that pushed AA's share price upward Thursday, Alcoa has also been downgraded recently by Prudential and Credit Suisse.

Alcoa Q1 2007 earnings preview: Too good to stay public? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:45:00 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.

Analysts expected Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) to earn 26 cents a share for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2006. Starbucks earned? 26 cents a share. Right on the money.

Not only did we see exactly-met earnings, we also saw a same-store sales growth of a comfortable 6% -- nothing like the 4% that had everyone running scared this fall. Other bullet points on the report included net revenues of $2.4 billion, net earnings of $205 million, an increase of 18% over the year-earlier quarter, and "record quarterly Starbucks Card activations of $287 million" up 30%.

Disappointment hidden on page 2: evidently the bottled Frappuccino coffee drinks and DoubleShot espresso drinks, and the Starbucks ice cream, aren't doing so well; although it had a very small impact on the bottom line it's an interesting sideline to track.

Starbucks investors seemed quite happy, though, sending the stock up sharply in afterhours trading. SBUX closed out the trading day at $34.94, up 38 cents or 1.10%, and was falling a bit before the results; then bounced back up to $35.72, up 2.23% from yesterday's close.

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

Starbucks Q1 2007 results: right on the money originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:37:00 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.