Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Yahoo 3Q profit soars despite 12 pct revenue drop

Yahoo 3Q profit soars despite 12 pct revenue drop

Yahoo Inc. may finally be pulling out of a three-year slump that cast aside two CEOs and spurred a cost-costing spree that laid off about 2,000 workers.

The purge is the main reason Yahoo's third-quarter profit more than tripled from last year to soar past analysts' relatively low expectations for the troubled Internet company.

But the results released Tuesday also showed Yahoo's revenue fell by at least 12 percent for the third consecutive quarter. The revenue rut means Yahoo still has a long way to go on its comeback trail.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Mattel earnings fall; economy takes toll

Mattel earnings fall; economy takes toll

Mattel Inc., the largest U.S. toymaker, said Friday its fiscal third-quarter profit declined 3 percent as the tough economy dampened demand for key brands like Barbie and Fisher-Price.

Chief Executive Robert A. Eckert said Friday that revenue "continues to be challenging this year" because of the economy, stronger dollar and a lack of toys tied to hot movies and other entertainment.

A year ago, results were boosted by toys tied to movies including "Kung Fu Panda," "Speed Racer" and "The Dark Knight."

The company said it has continued to cut costs to maintain profit margins. In response to weak sales and cautious ordering by retailers, toy makers have been reducing spending and slashing inventory in an effort to preserve profit.

Mattel, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., is in the midst of a cost-cutting plan designed to save $180 million to $200 million over two years.

Profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 declined to $229.8 million, or 63 cents per share, matching analyst expectations. A year ago the company earned $238.1 million, or 65 cents per share.

Revenue declined 8 percent to $1.79 billion, partly because of the stronger dollar. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predicted revenue of $1.78 billion. When the dollar rises in value, companies' overseas revenue translates back into fewer dollars.

Sony Ericsson's loss widens in Q3, announces new financing

Sony Ericsson's loss widens in Q3, announces new financing

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said Friday its losses widened to euro164 million ($245 million) on sagging sales in the third quarter, and announced new financing from external investors.

The LM Ericsson and Sony Corp. joint venture said losses in the same period a year ago came to euro25 million.

Sales in the quarter fell more than 40 percent to euro1.6 billion, compared with euro2.8 billion in the same period in 2008. Units shipped in the July-September period amounted to 14.1 million, up 2 percent on the quarter, but down 45 percent on the year.

Sony Ericsson said it had strengthened its balance sheet by securing euro455 million ($676 million) in external financing facilities, primarily from parent companies Sony and Ericsson.

In April, Sony Ericsson announced it would slash 2,000 jobs, on top of 2,000 jobs cut last year, to lower costs. In total, it aims to cut operating costs by euro880 million, with full effect of the measures expected in the second half of next year.

GE Q3 Revenue Disappoints

GE Q3 Revenue Disappoints

General Electric (NYSE: GE) opened at $16.35. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $16.19 and a high of $16.41. GE is now trading at $16.35, down $0.45 (-2.68%). Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $5.73 to a high of $21.04. GE reported earnings this morning, posting a third-quarter profit of $2.41 billion, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $37.80 billion. Analysts had forecast a profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $40.03 billion.

Halliburton profits slump but signs of recovery

Halliburton profits slump but signs of recovery

Halliburton's third-quarter results Friday gave the first concrete evidence that the oil industry may have bottomed out as profits plunged but drilling activity in the critical region of North America grew.

"This is not going to be as hard a downturn as we thought a quarter or so ago," Dave Lesar, Halliburton's chairman, president and CEO, said in a conference call with investors.

Those comments sent company shares jumping to a 52-week high of $31.27.

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BofA swings to $1 billion loss

BofA swings to $1 billion loss


Bank of America Corp posted a $1 billion third-quarter loss as consumer credit woes eclipsed investment banking earnings, underlining why the bank remains on a government respirator and sending its shares down 4.2 percent.

The nation's largest bank received two taxpayer bailouts totaling $45 billion after acquiring Merrill Lynch & Co and mortgage lender Countrywide at the height of the financial crisis last year. The bank says it want to start repaying the money but has not yet done so.

Credit losses on its consumer loans are eating into the bank's results as it tries to raise capital. Bank of America suffered $9.6 billion in credit losses in the third quarter, up from $4.4 billion a year earlier.

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Bank of America (BAC) is trading 4% lower at 17.35

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Google’s Profit, Sales Top Estimates as Ads Recover

Google’s Profit, Sales Top Estimates as Ads Recover

Google Inc. reported a 27 percent increase in third-quarter profit, beating analysts’ estimates, after the recovering economy boosted demand for online ads and e-commerce. The shares gained in late trading.

Net income rose to $1.64 billion, or $5.13 a share, from $1.29 billion, or $4.06, a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. Excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, sales were $4.38 billion, compared with an estimate of $4.25 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

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Google stock was up 3% in after hours trading today at 547$.

Goldman Sachs’s Earnings Surge Falls Short of All-Time High

Goldman Sachs’s Earnings Surge Falls Short of All-Time High

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported a surge in third-quarter profit driven by trading and investments with the firm’s own money. The shares declined as earnings fell short of the bank’s record.

Third-quarter net income more than tripled to $3.19 billion, or $5.25 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 25, from $845 million, or $1.81 a share, in last year’s third quarter, the New York-based company said today in a statement. Some investors were expecting per-share earnings of as much as $6, the so-called whisper number.

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Goldman stock trended in red all day, down 2% at 188$

Citigroup Posts Profit as Bank Adds Less to Reserves

Citigroup Posts Profit as Bank Adds Less to Reserves

Citigroup the lender 34 percent owned by the U.S. government, posted a $101 million profit, defying expectations for a loss as the company added the smallest amount to loan-loss reserves in two years.

The third-quarter profit compared with a loss of $2.82 billion a year earlier, the New York-based bank said today in a statement. On a per-share basis, the company had a loss of 27 cents because of a charge related to the exchange of government- and privately held preferred shares into common stock. Eighteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News estimated a 29-cent loss.

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Citi stock was down 5% today at 4.73$ even though it posted profit. No trade yet, just watching.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Retail Sales Fall Less Than Forecast

U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Fall Less Than Forecast

Sales at U.S. retailers fell less than forecast in September after the Obama administration’s cash-for-clunkers program expired, signaling consumers are gaining confidence in the outlook for an economic recovery.

The 1.5 percent decrease followed a 2.2 percent gain the prior month, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Sales excluding automobiles climbed 0.5 percent, more than projected. Gains in prices of goods imported into the U.S. slowed last month, a separate report showed.

Stocks climbed and Treasuries fell as the report eased concern that household purchases, which make up about 70 percent of the economy, would sag without government support. While gains in spending from food to furniture suggest consumers will help pull the nation out of recession, Federal Reserve policy makers say demand is likely to be curbed by further job losses.

U.S. Stocks Rally as Dow Hits 10,000 for First Time in Year

U.S. Stocks Rally as Dow Hits 10,000 for First Time in Year

U.S. stocks rallied, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 10,000 for the first time in a year, on better-than-estimated earnings at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. Oil climbed, while the Dollar Index slid to the lowest level since August 2008 and Treasuries fell.

JPMorgan added 3.3 percent as a surge in fixed-income revenue helped the bank increase profit almost sevenfold. Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, rose 1.7 percent after its sales forecast topped estimates by as much as $1 billion. Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. gained on a government report that showed retail sales fell less than economists forecast last month.

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