10-21-04 report

[BettorsChat]

Google's First Earnings Report!
By Brice Wightman


Stocks were mixed Thursday, with technology leading, boosted by a good report from eBay.

After the close, Microsoft (MSFT) reported $0.32 vs. a $0.30 estimate. Revenue was $9.19 billion vs $8.99 estimate. In its first report as a public company, Google (GOOG) reported 0.70, ex-items, vs. a 0.56 estimate. The stock traded up to $158 at press time. Amazon (AMZN) reported 0.17 pro-forma revenues, missing by a penny, with revenue of $1.46 billion, in-line. The stock traded down after hours. Coca-Cola (KO) reported 0.50, better-than-expected; revenues were $5.66 billion.

eBay (EBAY) beat by a penny. Q3 net rose 77% as listings rose and PayPal expanded to Europe. EBAY gained 9% at 99.59.

Initial claims for the week of 10/16 fell by 25,000 to 329,000; the 4-week moving average is 348,250 .Continuing claims fell to 2.7 million from 2.8 million. Leading economic indicators fell -0.1%, less than expected. It was the fourth straight month of declines. The Philly Fed index rose to 28.5 in October, more than expected.

With 1/3 of the S&P 500 companies reporting so far, earnings have risen 11% on average year over year. Of the companies reporting, 138 have beat vs. 175 a year ago. Thirty-eight met estimates, a year ago only three met. Forty seven missed, versus 45 a year ago.

Sears (S) reported a loss of (0.29); the estimate was 0.01. The company saw the largest sales decline in 8 years, posting a Q3 loss of $61 million.

AIG (AIG) missed by a penny. Revenue rose 25%. The company said they've seen no slowdown in business since the Spitzer investigation was launched last week.

Caterpillar's (CAT) earnings more than doubled. Mining equipment sales were strong.

Eli Lilly (LLY) reported 0.69 and said it will cut 1,000 jobs and will take a restructuring charge of 0.19 -0.24 in Q4.

Merck )MRK>MRK) reported 0.60 vs. 0.83 a year ago. The company said Vioxx will affect earnings by 0.50 -0.55 this year, and also said over 300 Vioxx lawsuits have been filed and expect more.

The 10-year note made its lowest yields in over 6 months.

Dow -25.52 9861
S&P 500 +2.81 1106.47
Nasdaq +20.46 1953.43

Strong sectors were: Airlines (XAL.X) +4.21%, Internet (GIN.X) +3.15%, Semis (SOX.X) +3.98%.

Weak sectors were: Healthcare Providers (HMO.X) -2.03%, Biotech (BTK.X) -1.46%, Health Care ($HCX.X), -0.95%.

10-year notes were: -020 at 113 180

The dollar was -0.31 at 86.04

Gold was -0.20 at 424

Crude Oil was +0.08 at 54.49

Volume was 1.67 billion on the NYSE and 1.97 billion on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was positive.

NYSE Issues
Advancing 2196 Up Vol 986
Declining 1087 Down Vol 504
Ratio 2.02 1.95
Nasdaq
Advancing 1838 Up Vol 1313
Declining 1159 Down Vol 531
Ratio 1.58 2.47

Stocks in the News

Amgen (AMGN) beat by 0.02 and raised 2004 earnings and revenue guidance.

AT&T (T} posted a $7.1 loss due to a write-down.

Xerox (XRX) reported 0.11 vs. 0.17 a year ago.

Altera (ALTR) beat by 0.04.

Chiron (CHIR) reported non-GAAP of 0.26.

DeVry (DV) missed by 0.08 and was light on revenues.

STMicroelectronics (STM) beat by 0.03 and cut guidance.

Primeris Airlines will buy 20 Boeing (BA) 7E7s and 20 737s.

Colgate (CL) goes to a buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Symantec (SYMC) reported 0.41 vs. a 0.39 estimate and announced a 2:1 stock split.

SBC (SBC) was 0.38, in-line.

[wallstreet]

Good stuff BC!

:D

[BettorsChat]

Funny thing is look at S and how its been coming down then the big news hits. Just goes to show you who really has the inside track out there.

[wallstreet]

S has been a dog for quite some time, but you are correct..likely some insiders were dumping and telling, then people who watch that indicator saw and started doing the same.

Market is ticking time doing little until the election.

[wallstreet]

BC.

If you want some S..

Pull up a 2 yr chart and buy on that nasty dip in April 03, around 20 bucks. I imagine it will try and find support around 27 or so, but I wouldnt buy until it became extremely cheap.

[BettorsChat]

What am I missing?

Vornado buys 4.3 percent stake in Sears
Fri Nov 5, 2004 10:10 AM ET
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Vornado Realty Trust (VNO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it bought a 4.3 percent stake in the retailer Sears, Roebuck & Co. (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) .
Shares of Sears rose more than 20 percent, or $7.57, to $44.75 on the New York Stock Exchange in morning trading. Vornado's shares, which also trade on the New York Stock Exchange. fell 63 cents to $68.62.

[BettorsChat]

Largets sale decline now this? Makes no sense which way is it??

Sears Sales Rise on Appliance Strength
Thursday November 4, 2:10 pm ET


ATLANTA (Reuters) - Sears, Roebuck & Co. (NYSE:S - News) on Thursday said sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.9 percent in October, breaking a string of six straight monthly declines, helped by growth in appliances.

The company's shares rose $1.80, or 5 percent, to $37.20 on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-afternoon trading.

Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to drop 0.2 percent, according to a Reuters survey.

The Hoffman Estates, Illinois, department store operator said total domestic store revenue edged up 0.1 percent to $1.90 billion in the four weeks ended Oct. 30.

Home appliance sales rose in the high single-digit range as consumers bought premium products such as the Kenmore HE4t front-load washer, a water saver that includes a sanitary cycle, and a refrigerator equipped with PUR water filters. Sales also grew in consumer electronics and tools and paint, the company said.

Sears is locked in an intense appliance market share battle with home improvement retailers Home Depot (NYSE:HD - News) and Lowe's Cos. (NYSE:LOW - News), and has taken a number of steps to defend its No. 1 position.

"They're introducing more new products, often before they are available anywhere else in the marketplace," said Alan Wolf, a senior editor at TWICE, an appliance and electronics industry publication.

Over the past year and a half, Sears has redesigned its appliance showrooms and now offers a wider assortment of products that consumers can take home the day of purchase.

The retailer has also expanded locations where consumers can buy appliances outside of its 872 **** stores. It now sells appliances at 790 Sears Dealer stores, 88 Sears Hardware stores and more than 60 Great Indoors and Sears outlet stores.

The changes have helped stem market share losses. According to an industry source, Sears' share of core major appliances stood at 37.2 percent as of the third quarter, an improvement from the year earlier.

On Thursday, Sears unveiled plans to sell appliances at more locations with the acquisition of Westar Contract Kitchen & Bath, a supplier of high-end kitchen appliances to builders and remodelers in the U.S. Southwest. Westar's showrooms in Arizona and Nevada sell premium brands such as Sub-Zero, Viking and GE Monogram.

Meanwhile, Sears' apparel sales fell slightly from last October. Specialty retail revenue was up in the mid-single-digit range, with sales gains at the dealer stores, Great Indoors and Orchard Supply Hardware, the company said.

Sears shares were up $1.73 to $37.13 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading.

[BettorsChat]

Associated Press
Sears October Same-Store Sales Beat View
Thursday November 4, 9:47 am ET
Sears October Same-Store Sales Climb 1.9 Percent to Meet Expectations for Improved Performance


HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) -- Products and services retailer Sears, Roebuck & Co. on Thursday said October same-store sales, which rose 1.9 percent, met its expectations for improved performance.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had anticipated a decline of 0.5 percent.

Total October sales rose 0.1 percent to $1.9 billion as the company's home appliance business grew due to customer response to new products. Home electronics sales increased following a reset of the department. Apparel sales were below the year-ago, as expected.

Specialty retail revenues were up in the mid-single digit range, with sales gains achieved at Sears dealer stores, The Great Indoors and Orchard Supply Hardware.

Year-to-date same-store sales fell 2.1 percent, while total sales dropped 3.4 percent to $18.66 billion.

Shares of Sears were unchanged at $35.40 in early activity on the New York Stock Exchange.

[wallstreet]

BC,

IF I had S, I would take some off the table today. Stock hit 46, backing off to 43 already. It is a good opp for locking profits in..

But then it could go higher!

:D