Comments »It might be par for the course with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), but investors certainly still enjoy seeing the maker of iPhones and iPads crush Wall Street estimates come earnings time. And that’s exactly what Apple did after the bell Tuesday when it posted a fiscal first-quarter EPS of $13.87 on sales of $46.3 billion. Analysts were expecting $10.08 a share on revenue of $38.85 billion.
Better yet, Apple said it sold 37 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs during the quarter. Before the earnings report, analysts were saying numbers above 31 million iPhones and 13.5 million iPads sold would please investors. Full Story
Apple Executives are “actively discussing” what to do with nearly $100B cash hoard
Comments »Apple’s stockpile of cash and reserves grew another $16 billion in the holiday quarter, reaching $97.6 billion, as executives hinted they are considering big plans with their money, even though they aren’t in a hurry to spend it. Full Article.
Norfolk Southern Beats on The Bottom Line and Misses on Revenues
CA Technologies Pops in A.H. on Better Than Expected Earnings
WOW: Apple Reports $46.55 Billion vs Consensus of $38.9 Billion…Profits Per Share of $13.87 vs Consensus of $10.10
FLASH: APPLE CRUSHES EARNINGS
Apple prelim $13.87 vs $10.08 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs $46.33 bln vs $39.04 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
Apple sees Q2 EPS of ~$8.50 vs $8.00 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees revs ~$32.5 bln vs $31.94 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (420.41 -7.00)
Comments »Yahoo Comes in Line and Misses Slightly on Revenues
Some strong earnings defy weak economy
Read here:
Comments »In some ways it seems fitting – even telling – that the hottest stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past year comes down with a cold during January earnings season. It would be hard to say that McDonald’s (MCD) did anything wrong given the $27.2 billion record high revenues raked in last year, as well as record net income of $5.5 billion.
And despite beating bottom line estimates by 3-cents and matching sales, McDonald’s shares are shedding more than 2% on the news.
It should be pointed out that the fast-food giant’s decline is from a record high that was attained, as Macke says in the attached clip, through “perennial out-performance that warms my cockles of heart.”
From my standpoint, it is for that very same reason that this super-sized $100 billion business looks increasingly ripe to disappoint. It may be years away, or as soon as next quarter, but the burger baron is on a roll and its trajectory over the past year looks unsustainably steep, making its premium P/E ratio of 19 times 2012 estimates more difficult to justify because the fry oil is heating up.
Verizon (VZ) also reported record revenue growth today that matched expectations, but its muddled path to an ex-items bottom line miss by a penny is cause for concern in some circles.
“Ex-items are not all created equally, and VZ’s ex-items make sense,” Macke says.
What he is referring to is a net loss that came as the result of pension obligations, a legacy problem from the dark days that masks the sizzle of smartphones – which Verizon sold a lot of, and spent a lot doing so. Officially, 56% of 7.7 million smartphones it sold were iPhones (which means 44% weren’t), which drove 13% and 19% growth in its wireless and data businesses.
The other silver lining in this Macke-branded “consumer/utility/IT play” is every dip drives its dividend higher, which at last check was yielding 5.3%, which happens to be about 2.5-times the take on a 10-year Treasury.
And finally, we tear apart Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the global healthcare conglomerate who’s defensive appeal outweighs its 4% sales growth. J&J comfortably beat on the bottom line with EPS of $1.13 versus $1.09 estimates. While its aforementioned low-single-digit revenue growth met analysts targets, a 10% jump in foreign sales was able to mask a 3.4% slide on the domestic side.
J&J is also one of the few to give full year guidance today. They guided cautiously on 2012, looking for $5.00 – $5.15 per share versus consensus at $5.21.
While Verizon and AT&T pay larger dividends, the fact that J&J is one of only four U.S. companies t0 carry a AAA-rating makes its 3.5% yield even more appealing. As does the fact that if and when they increase it again in April, it will mark the 50th consecutive year they have raised their dividend.
EMC Beats the Street Calming Fears of a Slowdown
McDonald’s Reports a 11% Increase in Q4 Profits
Harley Davidson Posts a Profit vs a Loss This Time Last Year
Pricey Handbags Help Coach Out With a 15% Bump in Profits
DuPont Posts Record Profits With a Slight Revenue Miss
Verizon Misses by a Penny on Pension Charges
Texas Instruments Beats on Both Top and Bottom Line
Haliburton’s Profits Rise on Fracking
Samsung Earnings May Benefit From Apple’s Slow iPhone Shipments
Apple had missed some shipments of the i Phone 4s and their store front was pelted with eggs for it in Beijing. Perhaps Samsung will benefit from this in their next q.
Comments »GE Misses
GE earns 38 cents vs. 39 cent est. Revenue of $38b vs $40b. Cites slowing environment in Europe and tough U.S. appliance mkt.
Comments »Schlumberger net up 35%, revenue up 21%
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Schlumberger Ltd., SLB -0.08% the Houston energy-services firm, reported fourth-quarter net income rose 35% on 21% higher revenue. Earnings reached $1.41 billion, or $1.05 a share, from $1.04 billion, or 76 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Full report
Comments »