BloggingStocks

Before the bell: FNM, FRE, AMLN, BMY, AAPL, AMR ...

Melly Alazraki — 2008-08-27T08:18:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Deals, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Pfizer (PFE), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Mattel, Inc (MAT), AMR Corp (AMR), Lilly (Eli) (LLY), Analyst initiations, Economic data, Oil, Housing

U.S. stock futures were lower this morning on fear Tropical Storm Gustav's path may pose a threat to refinery activity along the Gulf of Mexico coastline and some would have to shut down. Indeed, oil prices rose to above $117 a barrel Wednesday. Also in focus today is the upcoming durable goods order to be reported before the opening bell. Meanwhile, the FDIC is considering borrowing funds from the Treasury, amid an expected wave of bank failures. Nine banks have failed so far this year, and the number of troubled U.S. banks rose 30% to 117 in the second quarter.
[Update: Futures turned positive after durable goods unexpectedly gained.]

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), which stocks jumped big Tuesday, both had several ratings cut by Standard & Poor's. Still, both stocks seem to continue their climb in premarket with Fannie shares up 7.5% and Freddie's up 10%. At least two analysts, from Citigroup and Goldman said Tuesday the situation isn't as bad as it may seem.

From financials to toys: A federal jury awarded Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) $100 million in damages on Tuesday in a federal copyright lawsuit against MGA Entertainment Inc., the maker of the saucy Bratz dolls.

Moving to pharmaceuticals, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) and Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) shares are down 10% and 1% respectively in premarket trading after four more patients taking their Byetta diabetes medication have died. Baird downgraded Amylin from Buy to Neutral and cut its price target from $37 to $27. Soleil downgraded AMLN from Hold to Sell.

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said that early results from a Phase III study show the companies' blood-clot-drug candidate apixaban did not meet its primary goals.

In Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) news, The Guardian reports that "A TV ad for Apple's iPhone has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for misleading consumers after it over-hyped the internet capabilities of the smart phone." Since the iPhone does not support Flash or Java, claims that "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone" are deemed misleading.
And if you missed it Tuesday, iPhone 3Gs now outnumber first generation iPhones.

A recent comScore data release show Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was the top display advertiser in June 2008, which was due in large part to its promotional campaign for Windows Live Search and other such promotions.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) plans to sell the rest of its company-owned gasoline stations to closely held PetroSun West LLC for $800 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. As profit margins have thinned of late, oil companies have been exiting the retail gasoline business and focusing on exploring for crude oil.

Analyst calls:

Citi downgraded AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) from Hold to Sell. Price target increased from $6.70 to $9. Shares are down 4.5% in premarket.
Lehman Brothers initiated coverage of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with Overweight.

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Mattel to get up to $100 million in Bratz case

Zac Bissonnette — 2008-08-27T05:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Law, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Mattel (NYSE: MAT) scored a big victory when it sued MGA Entertainment over the origin of the wildly popular Bratz dolls, and won. But it looks like the victory won't be as big as the parent company of Barbie would like.

Mattel was seeking $1.8 billion in damages but, on Tuesday, a jury awarded Mattel just $100 million in damages, but The Wall Street Journal explains that that award "could be further reduced by U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson because it contains duplicate damages for the same offense, according to Thomas Nolan, an attorney for MGA." Still to be determined is who will have the right to continue marketing the Bratz brand.

This is a big loss for Mattel. The company spent millions pursuing the litigation -- the amount was large enough that Mattel said it materially affected earnings, and Mattel is a $30 billion company.

This has definitely been one of the more entertaining lawsuits in business news of late and it looks like there will be a few more rounds to go, with MGA Entertainment planning to file an appeal.

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4Kids Entertainment's Q2 loss is not fun at all

Steven Mallas — 2008-08-11T15:36:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

4Kids Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: KDE), a licensing operation meant to target kids with various toys and potential fads, suffered through a terrible second quarter. The top line increased 37% to $16.5 million. Sounds pretty good so far, right? Yeah, then we get to the bottom line. The net loss was $0.42 per share. This compares to a net loss of $0.17 per share in the previous year's Q2. And what did Wall Street think the company was going to lose? About $0.23 per share, according to Earnings.com. I'd call that a rather bad shortfall.

The press release promoted the fact that the Chaotic trading-card asset is performing up to expectations. 4Kids is very hopeful that it can create momentum behind the cards and eventually turn them into another Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Maybe management can, maybe it can't. That's the problem with 4Kids. It's difficult to retain a desire to allocate investment funds into this stock since you can never really tell what product line is eventually going to win out for the company. It's a constant exercise in speculation. For instance, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was weak this quarter compared to the year-ago period. Who knows if the property will be hot again two quarters from now. Going with a Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), a Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT), or a JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) would probably make for safer sledding.

4Kids' stock is up slightly as I write, and it isn't far from its 52-week low. It isn't cheap, and it isn't a buy. This is the kind of stock you would definitely need to see some momentum strength in before buying. Otherwise, you'd be risking too much. Granted, the stock has been strong the last month or so, but considering today's earnings report, I'd need to see it get well over $10 per share before I'd take another look.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Why I am still avoiding LeapFrog

Steven Mallas — 2008-08-05T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF) reported a decent quarter, but I won't be buying the stock. I just think there are better ideas out there in this sector. First, let's play around with the numbers.

For Q2, LeapFrog saw its top line increase by 22% to a little over $68 million. The net loss was 32 cents per share versus a net loss of 44 cents a year earlier. According to Earnings.com, analysts were expecting the loss to be about 44 cents per share. There was, however, a little help from a tax benefit in the quarter; last year, the company recorded a tax expense. LeapFrog not only scored on the bottom line, but it also expanded its gross margin. So, the quarter seemed all right. But, I then look at the cash flow statement and see that LeapFrog has been using cash for operations the last six months. In the similar time period a year ago, LeapFrog reported positive operational cash flow.

LeapFrog's stock was up over 5% in after-hours trading on Monday after the earnings release. The stock has been strong in a bad market according to the AOL Finance snapshot, and the pop in the after-hours session placed it close to a 52-week high. Again, though, I think there are better ideas out there. Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a toy company I'd much rather align my portfolio with. I could even look at Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK).

I know that the stock may be signaling better times ahead, and toy companies certainly make their profits in the latter part of the year, but I still am cautious on this business. When I wrote about the company's fiscal year, I also noted bad cash-flow characteristics, as well losses on the bottom line. So, in the end, I just don't want my portfolio to play around with this low-priced equity.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

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How to profit from the Dark Knight Industrial Complex

Peter Cohan — 2008-07-21T18:09:00+00:00

Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Dark Knight, the Batman movie starring Heath Ledger, did boffo box office: $158.3 million, according to Defamer. But this blockbuster will not just benefit Warner Brothers and DC Comics, which share parent Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) with BloggingStocks. There are at least six companies that will benefit from Dark Knight's success. According to Seeking Alpha, these companies include:

Time Warner -- through its Warner Brothers and DC Comics subsidiaries are profiting most directly.
Comcast Corporation (NYSE: CMCSA) partnered with Warner Bros. to offer "behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, and mini movies on demand"
Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) collaborated in creating the Nokia6205 The Dark Knight Edition. Seeking Alpha reports that "This batphone targets superfans, with bat wallpaper, voice tones, screensavers, and the film's trailer pre-loaded."

Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) has the license to sell toys related to The Dark Knight, and it turns out that both kids and adult collectors buy Batman toys.
Imax Corporation (NYSE: IMAX): the film is being shown in 94 Imax venues and CNBC reports it had a record $6.2 million weekend.

Is Dark Knight big enough to move the needle in favor of buying stock in these companies? I think it may be too early to tell. I have not seen the movie yet. If you saw it, please comment below on whether you think it will boost the fortunes of these companies. But with stocks in each of these six falling today, I am not sure whether investors were disappointed with the outcome or simply taking profits that they had been anticipating for months.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

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Hasbro beats expectations, but the stock sells off -- what gives?

Steven Mallas — 2008-07-21T16:37:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), big rival of Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), reported Q2 earnings on Monday, and as Melly Alazraki stated in her Before the Bell article, the toy company had some fun business results. Revenues rose over 13% to $784.3 million, and net income increased over eight times to $0.25 per share. This number beat analyst expectations by three pennies.

Yet, the stock is down today, as of this writing, by over 2%. What the heck? Well, one thing that should be noted on the earnings growth is that it really isn't as huge as it appears on the surface. Last year at this time, the company took back some warrants issued to George Lucas' media empire that caused the GAAP earnings to come in at quite a low number. If you take the effect of them out of the equation, then, unfortunately, earnings only grew this quarter by a measly penny.

Of course, it's also a tepid market day, so that could also be working against the stock. However, inflation is an issue as well. According to this article from Reuters, the specter of rising input costs is being felt. But does this mean I should no longer be bullish on the company? While I feel that inflation is something to watch with Hasbro, I remain bullish on the shares, although I would wait for a pullback so a higher yield can be received for one's investment dollars. It's difficult, I suppose, to be bullish on a toy company when I am personally bearish on both the economy and the equities markets, but I do like the recent strength of Hasbro's stock and I like the prospects for its brands (e.g., Star Wars, Transformers) ahead of the holiday season. Hasbro's portfolio is keeping me going...hopefully it will keep the stock going, too.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Earnings highlights: Google, Intel, JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, Nokia and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-07-19T14:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC), Nokia Corp. (NOK), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Yum Brands (YUM), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Eaton Corp (ETN), Wells Fargo (WFC)

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

Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) beat Q2 estimates, offered guidance, and announced a quarterly dividend.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) profit tumbled as consumers stopped paying off credit cards.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) mixed Q2 results were boosted by international operations.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) reported strong Q2 numbers but shares still fell afterward.
Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) did not meet analysts' estimates but lifted its full-year outlook (see transcript).
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) posted strong results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) better-than-expected Q2 results lifted other tech stocks as well (see transcript).
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) posted better-than-expected Q2 results (see transcript).
Lawson Software Inc. (NASDAQ: LWSN) net income fell due to an auction-rate securities related charge.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) Q2 results topped expectations despite lower profits on weak demand for Barbie.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) posted better-than-estimated Q2 earnings on strong sales growth.
Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) fell nearly 30% after reporting earnings for the second quarter.
Rockwell Collins Inc. (NYSE: COL) posted strong Q3 results due to long-term government contracts.
Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) preliminary Q1 results sparked an after-market rally.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat low earnings expectations and also raised its quarterly dividend.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) beat Q2 expectations due in part to strength overseas, but shares fell.

For more highlights from this week, see: Citigroup, eBay, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and others

The earnings crunch continues next week. Among companies scheduled to report are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Texas Intruments (NYSE: TXN), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Mattel (MAT) scores win in Bratz case

Brent Archer — 2008-07-18T14:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Major movement, Earnings reports, Good news, Law, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Options, Technical Analysis

Mattel (NYSE: MAT) shares are trading higher today after the company posted a second-quarter profit of $11.8 million, or 3 cents per share, beating analysts' estimates of 2 cents per share. Also, last night Mattel won a copyright case against rival MGA Entertainment over the origins of MGA's Bratz dolls. Next week a jury will decide on any damages owed to MAT by MGA. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on MAT.

After hitting a one-year high of $26.12 last July, the stock hit a one-year low of $16.42 in January. MAT opened this morning at $20.42. So far today the stock has hit a low of $19.96 and a high of $21.18. As of 1:05, MAT is trading at $20.48, up $2.20 (12.0%). The chart for MAT looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 Stars (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $15 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 13.6% return in just six months as long as MAT is above $15 at January expiration. Mattel would have to fall by more than 26% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

MAT hasn't been below $16.40 at all in the past year and has shown support around $17 recently. This trade could be risky if the damages turn out to be negligible, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find around $16.50, where it has bottomed out twice in the past seven months.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MAT.

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Bank secrets, save thousands on medical bills & states help battle foreclosure - Today in Money 7/18

Allan Halprin — 2008-07-18T09:23:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Time Warner (TWX), Starbucks (SBUX), International Business Machines (IBM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Money and Finance Today, Merrill Lynch (MER), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Wachovia Corp (WB), Teva Pharm Indus ADR (TEVA)

In the News:

· Citigroup Posts $2.5 Billion Quarterly Loss, But Not As Bad As Expected

· Is Google Ordinary After All? Earnings Miss Expectations, Stock Sinks

· Merrill Lynch Earnings Worst-Than-Expected With $4.9 Billion Loss

· Microsoft's $4.3 Billion Profit Falls Short

· IBM Profits Surge Past Estimates

· Teva to buy Barr Pharma for More Than $7 Billion

· Starbucks Finally Releases List of 600 Stores It Will Close

· Embattled AMD CEO Steps Down

· Wachovia Raided Over Frozen Accounts

· Mortgage Rates Tumble This Week

· Will the Dark Knight Bring Light to Time Warner?

· Barbie & Bratz Are Sisters, Court Rules

· Holiday Travel Will Get Costlier This Year

Which States Are Helping Homeowners Battling Foreclosure?
Frustrated by the slow pace of federal relief, states around the country are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into their own programs to stem the rising tide of home foreclosures. See if your state is stepping up to the plate.
States battle mortgage foreclosure threat; see chart - USATODAY.com

10 Things Your Bank Won't Tell You
With the recent bank failures the industry has been front page news recently. For all that fine print they don't disclose very much. All those branches aren't just about convenience; they're a bank's primary sales floor. Brochures for services as varied as retirement accounts and home loans are on display, and everyone from the teller on up is trained to make a sale. Regardless of what your credit card agreement says, you can never be sure how much interest banks will charge you.
Shhh! Secrets Your Bank Keeps - SmartMoney.com

Save Thousands on Your Medical Bills
Don't let a big IOU ruin you financially. You have more ways to cut the price than you think. Here are practical ways you can trim your health costs.
Save Thousands on Your Medical Bills - Kiplinger.com
Plus: How to Negotiate to Reduce Your Medical Costs

Crack Down on Credit Cards on College Campuses
Been turned down for a credit card lately? Probably not if you're a teenager with no job and no credit history. Unprepared students have been increasingly targeted by card issuers, and some lawmakers are taking notice.
Credit card issuers target college students - CNNmoney

Facebook Creeps Me Out
It's become the most hyped workplace obsession since the BlackBerry. But something about the social-networking site makes executives squirm.
Facebooks Impact on CEOs - Portfolio.com

Cocktails Guys Can Order and Not Feel Like Wusses
Filled with less-than-masculine mixtures ordering a cocktail for a man won't win you any style points. So put down that fruit garnish, take the umbrella out of your straw, and sip in style with these drinks that guys shouldn't be afraid to order.
Drinks Guys Can Order and Not Feel Like Wusses | MainStreet

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Mattel (MAT) soars following its second quarter earnings release

Michael Fowlkes — 2008-07-18T09:06:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Major movement, International markets, Earnings reports, Good news, From the boards, Products and services, Competitive strategy, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Shares of toy maker Mattel (NYSE: MAT) are soaring in premarket trading today, after the company announced better-than-expected numbers for its second quarter.

At first glance, the numbers don't look too hot for Mattel. The company announced that profit was off by a pretty hefty 48% in the quarter, down to 3 cents per share on $11.8 million. This is down from $22.8 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same period last year. The company blamed most of the decline in weak demand for its Barbie dolls, and higher costs that it had to endure in the quarter.

From the above paragraph, you may be expecting to see the company being punished in the premarket, but in fact, shares of the stock are trading up a blazing 13.5% as I write this, and were up over 18% as of about 5 minutes ago. Why? Simple, in Wall Street it is all about expectations, and the company was able to outperform analysts estimates for the quarter, which were looking to see only a 2 cent per share report.

The company outperformed in terms of revenues as well. Analysts had been looking to see the company show revenues during the quarter of $1.04 billion, but the actual figures were higher, at $1.11 billion.

Barbie is a huge component of the Mattel lineup, and sales of the dolls dropped by 6% in the quarter. This drop was offset partially by solid growth from a couple of other components to the Mattel lineup, with Hot Wheels seeing a sales increase of 5%, while sales for its doll collection American Girl jumping 10%.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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Before the bell: MAT, FRE, AMD, TEVA, HON, SLB, SIRI

Melly Alazraki — 2008-07-18T08:14:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Honeywell Intl (HON), Teva Pharm Indus ADR (TEVA)

Before the bell: Citi earnings push futures higher despite MER, GOOG, MSFT disappointments

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) stock is down 6.6% in premarket trading after the company posted its seventh consecutive quarterly loss of $1.19 billion, or $1.96 per share, missing Wall Street estimates. The operating loss would have been 60 cents a share, heftier than the loss of 52 cents a share from analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Following the report, AMD also announced that CEO Hector Ruiz would be replaced by COO Dirk Meyer. Ruiz will stay on as executive chairman.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) is considering raising capital by selling as much as $10 billion in new shares to investors. FRE stock is down again this morning after the recent wild swings in share price. This morning FRE shares are trading over 5.7% lower in premarket action.

Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) shares rose nearly 4% in after-hours trading following second-quarter financial results. The toy maker's profit fell by nearly half, but results still beat Wall Street expectations. Global Barbie sales dropped off 6%.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) ADS are declining over 4.3% in premarket trading after the generic drug maker said it will buy rival generic drug company Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) for more than $7 billion. The total purchase price is $66.50 per share, a 16% premium to Barr's $57.17 closing price Thursday. BRL shares are up over 6.6% in premarket trading.

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) shares are rising nearly 5.2% in premarket trading after its second quarter earnings rose 18% to $723 million, or 96 cents per share, beating estimates of 94 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Meanwhile, Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) shares are also rising nearly 2.4% in premarket trading after it said its second-quarter profit increased nearly 13% to $1.42 billion, or $1.16 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial on average expected earnings per share of $1.12 cents.

Late Thursday, the AP reported that according to their sources, the deciding voice in the the Federal Communications Commission told the news service he vote in favor of the $3.1 billion merger between satellite radio companies XM (NASDAQ: XMSR) and Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) if the companies agree to tougher conditions.

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The week in preview: Expectations as the earnings crunch begins

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-07-13T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), eBay (EBAY), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC), International Business Machines (IBM), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Baxter Intl (BAX), Safeway Inc (SWY), Gannett Co (GCI), Yum Brands (YUM), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Nucor Corp (NUE), Contl Airlines'B' (CAL), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Economic data, Honeywell Intl (HON), United Technologies (UTX), Eaton Corp (ETN), Delta Air Lines (DAL)

As the second quarter earnings crunch begins in earnest this week, the bear market has investors jittery and prognosticators spinning out dire warnings. In the wake of mixed results from Alcoa (NYSE: AA) and General Electric (NYSE: GE) kicking things off last week, here's a look at what Wall Street is expecting from many of the companies scheduled to report this coming week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting the following companies to report a rise in earnings when compared to the same period of the previous year.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE): $1.80 EPS (36.6%) on sales of $6.4 billion (+53.0%)
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG): $4.74 EPS (24.9%) on sales of $3.9 billion (+41.6%)
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK): 56 cents EPS (23.2%) on sales of $19.9 billion (+17.8%)
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX): 90 cents EPS (21.1%) on sales of $2.9 billion (+12.8%)
Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR): 27 cents EPS (18.5%) on sales of $346.7 million (+8.4%)
IBM (NYSE: IBM): $1.82 EPS (+17.6%) on sales of $25.9 billion (+9.0%)
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY): 41 cents EPS (17.1%) on sales of $2.2 billion (+18.0%)
W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW): $1.46 EPS (17.1%) on sales of $1.7 billion (+8.0%)
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): 47 cents EPS (17.0%) on sales of $15.7 billion (+17.0%)
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON): 94 cents EPS (17.0%) on sales of $9.2 billion (+7.9%)

Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN): $1.95 EPS (12.8%) on sales of $4.1 billion (+27.5%)
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): 25 cents EPS (12.0%) on sales of $9.3 billion (+7.4%)
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT): 79 cents EPS (12.7%) on sales of $7.2 billion (+13.2%)
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX): 82 cents EPS (12.2%) on sales of $3.1 billion (+7.7%)
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO): 96 cents EPS (11.5%) on sales of $8.9 billion (+15.6%)
Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR): $1.06 EPS (11.3%) on sales of $3.2 billion (+18.4%)
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX): $1.30 EPS (10.8%) on sales of $15.3 billion (+9.9%)
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB): $1.12 cents EPS (8.9%) on sales of $6.5 billion (+14.8%)
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW): 97 cents EPS (7.2%) on sales of $4.6 billion (+9.9%)
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM): 42 cents EPS (7.1%) on sales of $2.6 billion (+7.6%)
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ): $1.12 EPS (6.3%) on sales of $16.0 billion (+5.7%)
Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY): 52 cents EPS (5.8%) on sales of $10.2 billion (+3.9%)
Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC): 79 cents EPS (3.8%) on sales of $2.9 billion (+2.8%)

Analysts are looking for a number of the big financials reporting next week to post declines in earnings, but I've focused on those companies in a separate post (see Financials expected to post earnings declines, losses this week). The companies below are also expected to post declines in profit.

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS): 4 cents EPS (-91.1%) on sales of $251.5 million (-39.6%)
Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL): 11 cents (-84.3%) on sales of $5.4 billion (+8.3%)
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT): 3 cents EPS (-50.0%) on sales of $1.0 billion (+3.9%)
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): 76 cents EPS (-33.3%) on sales of $1.4 billion (-12.4%)
Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI): $1.02 EPS (-17.7%) on sales of $1.7 billion (-10.0%)
Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW): $1.39 EPS (-8.6%) on sales of $2.2 billion (-0.3%)

Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL) is expected to swing to a loss of 52 cents (from $2.10 EPS last year) on $4.1 billion (+9.3%). And Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) is expected to narrow its loss to 52 cents per share (from 95 cents per share last year) on sales of $1.5 billion (+5.2%).

With expectations listed out this way Wall Street seems pretty optimistic about earnings (other than for financial companies; see Financials expected to post earnings declines, losses this week). But we'll see this week whether the companies above can live up to these expectations. Do you think they will?

Other economic data coming out next week include:

Producer price index (June 2008), Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. ET
Business inventories (May 2008), Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. ET
Consumer price index (June 2008), Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. ET
NAHB housing market index (July 2008), Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Housing starts (June 2008), Thursday, 8:30 a.m. ET

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Mattel receives an upgrade, but I'm not ready to buy

Steven Mallas — 2008-07-11T13:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Mattel (NYSE: MAT), a toy company that competes with Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), got some good news earlier this week. Its stock was upgraded by analyst Gerrick Johnson of BMO Capital Markets, according to the AP, although it wasn't necessarily an overwhelming vote of confidence. The analyst is switching the rating from "underperform" to "market perform," and if you check out the AP piece, you'll see that he basically is saying that while he doesn't see a big reason to sell the stock, he doesn't see a big reason to buy it either. This was a call based on simple valuation.

I was glad when I read this clarification because, when I first spied this headline, I was a bit flummoxed. I honestly didn't expect Mattel to receive some huge upgrade at this point, even though I agree that the stock is certainly cheap. My main reason for this hinges on the best-of-breed character of Mattel's colleague Hasbro. I just wrote about this company and the strength of its stock at the beginning of the week, and if I were to buy any toy business right now, it probably would be the maker of Monopoly and Mr. Potato Head. Hasbro's got the brand strength as well as the stock strength, it seems, and even though Mattel packs a dividend-yield punch at over 4%, this market might be too tough to go with companies that are nowhere near a bullish trend.

Long-term, the maker of Barbie will rebound. Short-term, it may languish. So you'll have to consider your timeframe when taking a look at Mattel and Hasbro. Mattel does have a nice yield, but Hasbro and its product portfolio could be better positioned come the holiday season. It's going to be an interesting battle between these two rivals once the weather turns cold...

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

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Will Hasbro's stock continue to perform?

Steven Mallas — 2008-07-07T14:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Stocks to Buy

CNNMoney over the weekend reviewed the first half of the year for the markets. Among its lists of winners and losers, one stock got my attention.

Believe it or not, Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), a competitor of Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK), was up quite nicely through the end of June. How nice? The stock increased in value by almost 40%. That's impressive, but is it persuasive? What I mean is, should one believe that the company's first-half strength is an undeniable indication that the trend will continue for the rest of the year?

I have been bullish on Hasbro and I think it's a great company that should benefit from the upcoming holiday season, but should doesn't necessarily imply would. We are in what I would call an all-bets-are-off market. The bears, and their claws, are slashing their way through the hallowed halls of Wall Street, and if the negative-wealth effect really gets going, thus further damaging consumer confidence, then one would have to wonder how Hasbro will fare in the second half of the year.

Without a doubt, though, put Hasbro on your watch list and perform some due diligence on the company. It's got some great brands in its portfolio like Monopoly and Transformers, and keep in mind that its Star Wars line is due to receive a nice catalytic jolt from the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated project. Hasbro's stock dropped almost 7% in the last month. This followed a lot of up months. If the stock experiences a further pullback, and the dividend yield rises, it may become attractive.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

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Will Americans have to slim down to fit into their cars?

Jonathan Berr — 2008-07-03T18:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Products and services, General Motors (GM), Mattel, Inc (MAT)

When my wife and I were in Europe a few years ago, we saw the "Smart Cars," vehicles so small that they look like they could have come off an assembly line at a toy plant. The reason we were told that they were so popular in Europe was that gas was expensive and people there did not need to drive huge distances over crowded highways. Well, I thought these sort of vehicles would never sell in the U.S. where we like our cars as wide and free as freeway at the crack of dawn.

Thanks to $4 gas, my theory has been proven wrong.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) may start producing the Chevrolet Beat in the U.S., a vehicle which according to Bloomberg News is more than a foot shorter than any other vehicle and whose 40-mile-per-hour fuel efficiency is only topped by hybrids. The new service points out that the the automaker has little choice because its current market value is SMALLER than Matchbox car maker Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) and a 10th of what it was in 2000. It only took GM billions of dollars in losses but hey better late than never, right?

Don't get be wrong. I have nothing against the Chevrolet Beat. Judging from the pictures I have seen online. it looks okay, not my cup of tea, but then again that's why we have chocolate and vanilla. Thanks to Al Gore, I understand about global warming and feel guilty that I own the small SUV that I drive. Nonetheless, the Chevrolet Beat and other cars like it scare me.

What's going to happen to passengers in the Chevrolet Bolt and other micro cars who are unfortunate enough to be in an accident with one of my fellow SUV drivers? Are these vehicles hearty enough to stand up to the rigors of America's highways and byways? Will Bolt drivers be as smug as hybrid owners if that's even possible.

First as anyone who has seen my picture will learn, I am not what they call a svelte American. My people -- we hate to use the "F" word -- have grown accustomed to having enough room for our ample frames in the non-sedan vehicle of our choice. Considering that car dealers are avoiding taking SUVs in trade-ins like the plague, we have got plenty of time to go on a diet.

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Hasbro sends the Ouija board to the silver screen

Steven Mallas — 2008-05-31T16:10:00+00:00

Filed under: General Electric (GE), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Film

Remember that movie deal that Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) signed not long ago with General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal Pictures for the express purpose of bringing some of its board game brands to the big screen? Well, I'm happy to report that the first one appears to be in development. And it's the one I was rooting for!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Ouija board is getting the big-screen treatment. Sure, Ouija boards have been featured in films before; heck, my friends and I used a Ouija board in a short film we made years ago. But, this time, Hasbro is hooking up with Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company to give the concept a proper cinematic adaptation, one specifically geared, I have no doubt, to increase the value of Hasbro's brand equity and to, like this needs to be even stated, sell more Ouija boards!

Michael Bay is a pretty competent producer/director. He was responsible for Transformers, as I'm sure you'll recall, and he's been hard at work the last few years on remakes of famous horror films. He's already been involved with remakes of The Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and he is working on new takes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the Thirteenth. He'd better get the latter right, since it's one of my favorite films!

I would imagine that he won't be doing anything too gory with the Ouija board concept, since I'd have to assume Hasbro wants to target this to all ages. But let's hope it's scary and edgy. Mattel (NYSE: MAT), of course, wants it to be lame. Well, Mattel better watch out; with a toy line such as Transformers spawning an enormous hit at the multiplex, Hasbro's management is certainly filled with confidence when it comes to translating its brands to celluloid. And now that Bay is on board with the Ouija, there's no telling how popular the Hasbro game will become (the Ouija is just a game, right?).

Disclosure: I own shares of General Electric; positions can change at any time.

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Earnings highlights: Bank of America, Merck, Mattel, Phillip Morris, AFLAC and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-04-26T09:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Brinker Intl (EAT), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Bank of America (BAC), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Gannett Co (GCI), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Merck and Co (MRK), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Western Union (WU)

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

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ: LUFK) beat analysts' expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) beat Q1 earnings expectations on strength in Europe.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) swung to a loss in Q1 on gross margin pressures.
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) Q1 profit nearly doubled on a one-time payment from a partner.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) posted solid results on new products and the weak dollar.
Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP) Q1 profit plunged but still beat analysts' expectations.
UnitedHealth Inc. (NYSE: UNH) lowered its 2008 outlook after missing Q1 earnings estimates.
Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) posted strong results on exchange rates and strength overseas.

Also, Jim Cramer discusses "crummy lenders" and Joseph Lazzaro considers Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) as a barometer of the economy. One analyst thinks financials may have hit bottom and it may be time to buy, and Jon Ogg looks at what short sellers are making of tech stocks. Ted Allrich discusses what to sell/what to buy.

Upcoming results to watch for include Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).

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