Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) posted sharp increase in fiscal third quarter profit, driven by strong revenue growth both in the U.S. and international networks. Shares gained as the company backed its full-year outlook. For the latest period, the Company earned 80 cents a share, on adjusted basis. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 72 cents a share. Total revenue for the period climbed 28% to $1.375 billion from $1.076 billion, aided 59% growth at its international networks and 10% growth in U.S. Networks. Analysts’ consensus estimate was for revenue of $1.39 billion.
Month: October 2013
Facebook Shares Remain Flat Despite Strong Q3 Results
Facebook Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FB) decision to not increase the frequency of ads it shows to its users in the near future hasn’t been welcomed by investors. Shares were mainly flat on Thursday despite a better-than-expected fiscal third quarter results, which were by the social networking giant on Wednesday after the market close. For the latest quarter, Facebook reported earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $2.02 billion, beating Wall Street’s expectation for earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of $1.91 billion. The company’s revenue from mobile advertising continued to grow in the latest quarter.
Buffalo Wild Wings Shares Rally on Q3 Results
Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) rallied on Wednesday. The restaurant chain, after the market close on Tuesday handed stronger-than-expected fiscal third quarter results. Lower prices of chicken wings and strong sales growth both at company owned location and franchises owed restaurants bolstered the results. For the latest period, Buffalo Wild Wings posted earnings of 95 cents a share on revenue of $316 million, topping analysts’ expectation for earnings of 85 cents a share in revenue of $311 million. Same-store-sales at company owned locations rose 4.8% while at franchises owned location it increased 3.9%.
LinkedIn Shares Plunge on Weak Q4 Revenue Outlook
The online professional networking company, LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) comfortably beat fiscal third quarter results; however, shares have been under pressure due to a weak outlook for the current quarter. LinkedIn, after the market close on Tuesday said that it earned 39 cents a share on revenue of $393 million, beating analysts’ consensus forecast for earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $385 million. For the current, the Company expects revenue to be in the range of $415 million to $420 million while analysts had expected $438 million.
Occidental Petroleum Beats Q3 Expectations
Oil and gas company, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) on Tuesday said that fiscal third quarter profit climbed 14%, driven by higher oil prices along with an increase in domestic production. Shares gained as both non-GAAP earnings and revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations. For the latest period, Occidental’s domestic production stood at 476,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE), which was an increase of 7,000 BOE from the same period of last year. In the same period, Occidental’s daily oil and gas production volume averaged 767,000 BOE compared to 766,000 BOE in the same quarter of last year.
Waste Management Shares Gain on Q3 Results
The United States’ largest waste disposal and recycling company, Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) said on Tuesday that fiscal third quarter net income rose 36%, aided by the recent acquisition which bolstered the revenue. Nevertheless, the company’s recycling business continued to face headwinds. For the latest quarter, Waste Management reported net income of $291 million or 62 cents a share compared to a profit of $214 million or 46 cents a share, in the year ago period. Excluding onetime items, the adjusted earnings came in at 65 cents a share up from 61 cents. Revenue edged up 4.6% to $3.62 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 62 cents a share on revenue of $3.59 billion.
JC Penney Reiterates Sales Trends Improving
Department store chain, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) reconfirmed for the third time in just over four weeks that sales-trends were showing an improvement. J C Penney also backed its guidance for a positive same-store-sales percentage growth for the fiscal third quarter. Shares gained sharply following the announcement. Last month, JCP came under tremendous pressure after the company said that it will make a secondary offering to raise funds for general corporate purposes. Speaking to investors on Monday morning, J C Penney’s Chief Executive, Myron Ullman, “I told lenders it would be one thing if we had two things wrong and they couldn’t be fixed. We have 30 things wrong and they can all be fixed.”
Mosaic to Buy CF Industries’ Phosphate Business
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire CF Industries Inc.’s (NYSE: CF) phosphate business in an all cash deal of $1.2 billion. The deal will allow both companies to focus more on their core businesses. While Illinois based CF will be able to concentrate more on nitrogen fertilizer business, its main revenue generator, Mosaic’s phosphate production capacity has received a major boost from the deal. Shares of CF, which is the United States’ biggest nitrogen producer, rose about 3.5%, while shares of Mosaic were mainly flat.
UPS Bullish on Holiday Season Quarter
United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS) reported 3.4% revenue growth for the fiscal third quarter, aided by higher number of international and domestic shipments. For the latest period, UPS posted net income of $1.1 billion or $1.16 a share compared to a profit of $469 million or 48 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Stripping out onetime items, the adjusted earnings came in at $1.06 a share, a penny above analysts’ consensus estimate, according to a poll conducted by Thomson Reuters. Revenue stood at $13.52 billion, missing analysts’ estimate of $13.6 billion. The package courier company said that it expects to handle more than 34 million packages globally on Dec 16, which is the most busy day during the holiday season quarter.
Sherwin-Williams Trims Full-Year Guidance, Beats Q3 Forecast
Sherwin-Williams (SHW) fiscal third quarter earnings rose 12% as sales improved across all of its groups. For the latest period, the Company posted a profit of $263 million or $2.55 a share compared to $235 million or $2.24 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales climbed 9.4% to $2.85 billion. In July, the Company projected earnings to be in the range of $2.55 to $2.65 a share on revenue growth of 6% to 9%. However, Sherwin-Williams trimmed its full-year earnings guidance to $7 to $7.30 a share from its previous forecast of $7.45 to $7.55 a share. Revenue is expected to show a mid-single digit percentage growth.