Earning Plays

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Thursday, Oct. 2
Global Payments quarterly profit rises to 71 cents a share(4:13 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Global Payments Inc. (GPN: news, chart, profile) late Thursday reported its fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $57.5 million, or 71 cents a share, from $43.6 million, or 53 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2007. Revenue increased to $405.8 million from $311 million in the same period a year ago, said the Atlanta-based electronic transaction processing services provider. Analysts polled by FactSet Research, on average, had forecast the company to report earnings of 60 cents a share on revenue of $394.2 million. The company also said it is raising its 2009 earnings outlook to $2.37 to $2.45 a share and hiked its revenue target to a range of $1.64 billion to $1.68 billion based on strong performance in the first quarter. Wall Street is projecting the company to report earnings of $2.27 a share on revenue of $1.67 billion in 2009.
Energy stocks lag broad market(9:39 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks weighed on the broad market on Thursday as crude oil futures weakened. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) fell 2.3% to 1,114. Component Repsol (REP: news, chart, profile) fell 5.3% to $28.17. ConocoPhillips (COP: news, chart, profile) dropped 2.5% to $68.92. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) subtracted 2.2% to 486. Curde futures slid $2.22 to $96.31.
RPM cuts 2009 profit forecast(9:09 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- RPM International Inc. (RPM: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that it lowered its 2009 earnings forecast to a range of $1.75 to $1.85 a share, compared to its previous guidance of about $1.85 a share. On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of $1.88 a share for the period. The company, which makes specialty coatings, sealants and industrial products, cited the weak economy and domestic-market conditions, financial-market volatility and raw-material cost pressure. Shares of RPM closed Wednesday at $19.37.
Westar Energy cuts earnings forecast(7:18 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Westar Energy Inc. (WR: news, chart, profile) said Thursday it's cutting its third-quarter earnings forecast to a range of $1.35 to $1.45 a share from a range of $1.50 to $1.65 a share due to abnormally cool weather. The forecast excludes a one-time tax benefit recorded in the first quarter of the year. The company said cooling degree days for the third quarter were 14 percent below normal which it estimated will reduce earnings by about 10 cents per share.
Marriott profit drops 28%, warns 2009 profit to fall(6:41 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Marriott International (MAR: news, chart, profile) said third-quarter to Sept. 5 net income dropped 28% to $94 million, or 27 cents a share, and said next year's profit will fall. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations rose 10% to 34 cents a share, and revenue rose 1% to $2.96 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $2.95 billion. Revenue per available room, a key metric in the hotels industry, rose 3.4%. For the fourth quarter, it expects systemwide RevPAR to fall 1% to 3% and for earnings between 44 cents and 50 cents a share, and for 2009, it expects earnings between $1.48 and $1.60 a share against projected 2008 earnings between $1.62 and $1.68. Analysts had expected 2008 earnings of $1.79 and 2009 earnings of $1.86.
Hartmarx swings to 3rd-period loss; reduces staff(3:58 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - Hartmarx Corp., (HMX: news, chart, profile) the Chicago apparel maker, swung to a third-quarter net loss on 8.3% lower revenue. For the quarter ended Aug. 31, the loss was $2.4 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with net income of $542,000, or 1 cent, in the year-earlier period. Average shares outstanding fell 4.3% to 35.1 million. Revenue fell to $124 million from $135.2 million. "Low consumer confidence; declines in discretionary apparel purchases, particularly by professional men; volatility in the financial-services sector, large retailers' requests to defer advance order shipments, and the deteriorating creditworthiness of small specialty-store retailers all contributed to a very difficult quarter," Chairman And Chief Executive Officer Homi B. Patel said in a statement. Hartmarx said it's cutting costs and paring administrative staff, and the fourth quarter will reflect the closing of a sewing facility in Missouri, affecting about 150 employees.
CORRECT: Marks & Spencer comparable sales, margin decline(3:13 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. department store and food retailer Marks & Spencer (UK:MKS: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that group sales in the 13 weeks to Sept. 27 rose 0.4%, while U.K. sales declined 1.6%. The group said comparable sales in the U.K. were down 6.1%, due to declines in both general merchandise and food sales. Online and international sales both grew strongly. Marks & Spencer added it expects its U.K. gross margin to fall around 1 percentage point for the year, due to a greater reliance on promotions. "Consumers are increasingly cautious about their budgets. We have responded by offering our customers better values and more promotions across the business," the group said. (Corrects to show group sales rose 0.4%.)
SEC extends selective ban on short sales to Oct. 17(2:22 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday extended its selective ban on short-selling -- betting that a stock's price will drop -- until just before midnight Eastern Time Oct. 17, media reports said. Last month, the agency had banned short sales on nearly 1,000 financial-related and other stocks in an effort to prevent big stock-price declines. The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC also required hedge-fund managers to disclose their short positions until Oct. 17 and that it would make this rule permanent. The paper also reported that the ban failed to prevent stock-price declines, increased the volatility in the stock market, and made trading more expensive for investors. The SEC extended the ban just before the Senate approved a revamped financial-rescue plan and sent it to the House for a vote on Friday, the Journal reported.
LaBranche sees net loss; adjusted net to exceed estimate(1:44 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- LaBranche & Co., (LAB: news, chart, profile) the New York specialist for exchange-listed securities, expects to report a third-quarter net loss of $4 million to $6.5 million, and adjusted net income of $12.5 million to $15 million. The net loss, LaBranche said late on Wednesday, reflects a $19.2 million loss from the decline in the estimated fair value of NYSE Group (NYX: news, chart, profile) shares that LaBranche holds. The net loss equals 7 cents to 11 cents a share. The adjusted net, which equals 20 cents to 24 cents a share, reflects in particular higher principal trading revenue at LAB's specialist and market-making division. Three analysts surveyed by FactSet Research produced a consensus estimate of adjusted profit of 5 cents a share. The company said it reported the estimates in light of the amount by which its adjusted profit exceeds consensus analysts' estimates and "in light of the adverse market conditions and expectations in the financial-services industry."