Posted Jul 1st 2009 9:30AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Products and services
Sealy (NYSE: ZZ) is another one of those cheap stocks that's up big from lows achieved earlier in the year. When I say cheap, I don't mean value. I'm talking about a low-priced equity. The kind of equity that is priced below $5 per share. In the case of Sealy, its shares could be had, as of the close of trading on Tuesday, for $1.96.
But wait, you could have gotten it even cheaper in the after-hours session, because shares of the bedding manufacturer traded down to $1.82 on its Q2 report. I have to agree with the market. Although there were some positive elements contained in the release, overall, I wasn't impressed enough by the numbers to become a buyer.
Continue reading Sealy's Q2 was not exciting enough for me
Posted Jun 30th 2009 5:00PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, General Mills (GIS)
Minneapolis-based General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), the largest maker of breakfast cereal in the U.S., is scheduled to discuss its fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 8:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.
For the quarter in which General Mills sold part of its frozen bread dough business and introduced additional gluten-free cereals, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the food maker to report earnings of $0.80 per share, which is 8.8% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 6.4% higher to $3.7 billion. The company, whose brands also include Pillsbury, Green Giant, and Haagen-Dazs, topped earnings estimates in four of the five past quarters, but fell short by 8 cents per share in the third quarter.
Continue reading Earnings preview: General Mills expected to profit from stay-at-home diners
Posted Jun 30th 2009 9:40AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Earnings reports
Education firm Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) announced third-quarter earnings after the closing bell sounded yesterday, with earnings coming in better than a year ago thanks to higher enrollment. The company raked in $201.1 million, or $1.26 per share in the latest quarter, far better than $139.1 million, 85 cents per share a year ago. Not only did the company top last year's performance, but it also bested the Street's estimate for earnings of $1.12 per share on revenue of $1.04 billion.
Enrollment at the online college grew 22% on a year-over-year basis to 420,700 in the third quarter. The company's co-CEO Chas Edelstein noted, "We are please to report a record third quarter, driven largely by continuing increases in enrollments and improved student retention at University of Phoenix." The company's selling and promotional expenses increased during the quarter, but they declined as far as a percentage of net revenue.
Continue reading Apollo Group beats the Q3 estimates -- is it poised for a breakout?
Posted Jun 28th 2009 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, H and R Block (HRB), General Mills (GIS), Economic data, Federal Reserve
Things will be pretty quiet again on the earnings front during this holiday-shortened week, so not much chance of fireworks there.
The one report analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters seem to have the highest hopes for is that from Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), as people look to education to better position themselves to survive the economic slump. For its fiscal third quarter, during which a new co-CEO was named, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based educational services provider is expected to report a profit of $1.12 per share, which is 24.1% higher than a year ago. Revenue is expected to be 24.3% higher to $1.0 billion. The full-year forecast is currently for $3.97 per share (+28.5%) on sales of $3.9 billion (+24.4%). Earnings have topped expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as 13 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15.9%, which is double the industry average, and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. The First Call consensus recommendation remains to buy APOL; InvestorPlace calls it a stock you can trust. At $68.50, shares are down 10.6% since the beginning of the year, but they peeked above the 100-day moving average at the end of this week for the first time since March.
Continue reading The week in preview: A few chances for pre-holiday fireworks
Posted Jun 27th 2009 9:40AM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Walgreen Co (WAG), Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY), Kroger Co (KR), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Darden Restaurants (DRI), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Red Hat Inc (RHT), CKE Restaurants (CKR), Rite Aid Corp (RAD), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Nike, Oracle, Kroger, Walgreen, Monsanto, KB Home ...
Posted Jun 26th 2009 2:30PM by James Cullen
Filed under: Earnings reports, KB HOME (KBH)

Shares in homebuilder
KB Home (NYSE:
KBH) dropped more than 8% as of mid-day Friday following the company's earnings release. Earnings per share for the quarter ending May 31 were a loss of $1.03, or $78.4 million, on $384.5 million in revenue, compared to the $0.64 average loss expected from analysts. The expected earnings range was between a $0.03 and a $1.40 loss, reflecting uncertainty about the writedowns needed on home inventories, land, and joint ventures.
When the housing market was at its peak in 2006, KB Home's sales topped $3 billion in one quarter. The company has struggled since, as the worst housing market in generations has led to a decline in housing starts of more than 75% from the peak to the present.
Continue reading KB Home drops amid more losses
Posted Jun 26th 2009 10:00AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Earnings reports, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE)
Following up on my Nike (NYSE: NKE) post from last week, you just knew I would have to comment on Nike's earnings report, right? Bottom line, it was a rough report and the short-term outlook is bleak as far as future orders go -- but all is not lost for Nike.
Here are the reasons to be optimistic. First, this is Nike, ladies and gentlemen. This is the company that has the biggest of the big names in its stable of athletes: Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, to name just a few. This ensures that Nike will continue to be in the discussion as long as these athletes are at the top of their game.
Continue reading JockStocks: Can Nike rebound from its disappointing earnings report?
Posted Jun 25th 2009 6:10PM by James Cullen
Filed under: Earnings reports, Stocks to Buy
Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN), a global consulting firm that also offers outsourcing and technology services, reported earnings after the close today. Earnings per share for the quarter ending May 31 were $0.68 on $5.15 billion in revenue, compared to the $0.64 average and $0.67 high expected from analysts. The consensus revenue target was $5.2 billion, and results were hurt by currency translation effects, which reduced U.S. dollar results by 12%. Year-over-year, EPS was down 8% from the $0.74 earned in the same quarter last year, with the difference again attributable to currency exchange.
Shares, which were up fractionally today, jumped almost 5% in after-hours trading following the earnings results.
Continue reading Accenture shares rise on earnings beat
Posted Jun 25th 2009 5:50PM by Beth Gaston Moon
Filed under: Earnings reports, Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY)

Leading domestics retailer
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:
BBBY) closed more than 9% higher today after the one-two punch of a well-received earnings report and a brokerage upgrade. The company announced first-quarter results of 34 cents per share, a whopping nine cents better than analysts were expecting. Revenue edged 2.8% higher year over year. The one gray lining was same-store sales numbers, which drifted 1.6% lower during the reporting period.
Reacting to this after-the-close earnings report, Cowen & Co. upgraded the shares this morning to "neutral" from "underperform." The brokerage noted that BBBY has been able to cut advertising expenses now that its chief competitor, LInens n' Things, has filed for bankruptcy. Cowen also notes that BBBY has reduced its payroll expenses.
Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond on the move after earnings
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