mat

Hasbro's top line contracted 2%, and earnings per share, even with some dilution from a joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) and investments in Hasbro's virtual-studio initiative, increased 11% to 99 cents. Expectations were beat by six pennies. Gee, that was better than Mattel's performance. The maker of Barbie actually saw a per-share earnings decline and came in line with forecasts.

• American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital, as the firm sees limited near-term downside in the stock. The firm raised its target price on the shares to $37 from $25.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Target to $44 from $34. UBS upgraded Nestle on expectations the company will begin returning cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
  
• Piper Jaffray raised Dicks Sporting (NYSE:DKS) to Neutral from Underweight following positive channel checks and raised its target on the shares to $28 from $18.
  
• Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Pali Capital.
  
• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold by Natixis.
  
• Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.
• China Automotive (NASDAQ:CAAS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) higher Q3 earnings topped expectations but revenue was in line.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, but shares sold off.
• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was downgraded on concerns about its Q4 guidance.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) shares fell after it posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) fell victim to profit taking despite reporting better-than-expected earnings.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) better-than-expected Q3 earnings sent shares higher, despite a decline in revenue.

First, here's the data. Sales decreased 8%. They were affected, in part, by currency translation. Earnings per share came in at 63 cents. This was two pennies below last year's income figure. According to Bloomberg, that profit performance misses expectations by a penny, but I've read other sources which report that Mattel met expectations. I think I'll call this one in line with projections.

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) is in rough shape. Sure, the toy industry can be tough. Just ask Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT). Even with great brands stocking a powerhouse portfolio, getting, and then keeping, the attention of kids is a difficult task. Well, JAKKS Pacific not only has that challenge to contend with, it has others as well.

Let's start with the awful earnings report management released to the market after the bell on Tuesday. For the second quarter, the company lost 3 cents per share on an adjusted basis. This compares to a profit of 17 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues were flat and unexciting.

Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is all about fun and games, but it doesn't play around when it competes against Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK). In fact, the stock is up over 7% today as of this writing on the toy manufacturer's earnings news. According to Reuters, Mattel made 6 cents per share during the second quarter, beating estimates by a whopping five pennies.

Pretty good news for Mattel, considering it's been having trouble lately with its Barbie line. Mattel has also had problems with its top-line sales. They dropped 19% in Q2. Fluctuations in the value of the dollar helped to hinder the sales picture, but make no mistake -- Mattel has to step things up a couple notches to keep the top line healthy. Toys are a difficult category to sell during a recession. And when toys do sell, even during the Christmas retail period, they might not command top dollar. Hot toys do, of course, but an entire portfolio cannot necessarily be saved by a single fad item.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) Q1 profit edged past expectations despite lower sales of Humira.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) posted a smaller-than-expected Q1 loss, sending shares sharply higher.
• Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, sending share higher.
• BP (NYSE: BP) and other oil companies were downgraded due to higher environmental costs.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) said Q1 earnings would be lower due to a weaker dollar and lower oil prices.

Today was a very light event day outside of two DJIA components reporting earnings. We saw another instance where stocks held on to gains and did not sell the news too bad. It looks like the indexes actually have made it six straight weeks up now. Here are today's closing bell levels:

DJIA: 8,131.33
S&P500: 869.57
NASDAQ: 1,673.07

I was looking at The Hollywood Reporter the other day and came across an item about Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and an innocent little DVD deal it made that involved some animated product, including old episodes of the cartoon version of Transformers. That reminded me that the Transformers sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is due out at the end of June. That further reminded me that it might be time to take a look at the stock of Mattel's (NYSE: MAT) archrival.

Hasbro had a rough time last Christmas. When I covered the toy maker's earnings in February, I noted that they experienced a significant drop and that they missed analyst expectations. But I also noted something else: the company's shares rallied on the bad earnings release. That gave me pause. Could this be an interesting indication about Hasbro's future? Was the stock a buy?

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), a toy maker which competes with Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT), did not have a merry Christmas. In that regard, it's no different than the competition. Times are tough, and since toys are not a necessity, it's no wonder that earnings for JAKKS Pacific missed Q4 estimates by a rather significant amount. Net sales dipped by over 5%, and net income dropped 47% to $0.55 per share according to the earnings release. The call was for $1.02 per share. Did I say estimates missed by a rather significant amount? I didn't realize that I was in the mood for understatement.

Companies like Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) have apparently decided that selling toys in a recession means offering products that the consumer can buy even in the face of a poor economy. That means toys that sell for less. And that means lower revenue -- perhaps losses.

According to Reuters, "Mattel is selling Elmo gloves for $30 this year, while its $60 Elmo Live doll was in the spotlight a year earlier. Hasbro is promoting its $28 Lil' Patter Pup, whereas last year's focus was on the $180 toy puppy called Biscuit."

Over the past year, shares in Hasbro and Mattel have behaved very differently: Mattel is off more than 40% while Hasbro is down about 10%.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a huge Q4 loss on a charge and the economic slowdown.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) fell short of Q4 expectations but announced a dividend increase.
• Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL) Q4 numbers resulted in an analyst's upgrade.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) warned that its earnings would fall well below expectations.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) posted a bigger-than-expected loss and outlined cost cutting plans.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) shares took a hit ahead of its earnings report due to rival Mattel's Q4 results.