Earning Plays

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Thursday, Oct. 30
Scientific Games swings to profit (4:57 pm ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Scientific Games (SGMS: news, chart, profile) swung to a third-quarter profit, fueled by improved results at its Lottery Systems Group. After the close of trading Thursday, the company said it earned $25.4 million, or 27 cents a share. In the third quarter of 2007, it posted a loss of $2.9 million, or 3 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation, the company's profit would have been $31.3 million, or 33 cents a share, in the latest three months. Revenue came in at $291.9 million, an increase of 9%. The average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for the company to earn 31 cents a share on revenue of $307 million.
Chesapeake Energy profit jumps on one-time gains (4:30 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK: news, chart, profile) reported late Thursday third-quarter net income rose to $3.28 billion, or $5.61 a share, from $346 million, or 72 cents, a year ago. The results benefitted from a $2.85 billion unrealized non-cash after-tax mark-to-market gain on energy and interest hedges. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Oklahoma City, Okla.-based natural gas company said revenue rose to $7.49 billion from $2.03 billion. Excluding one-time items, the company had earnings of $486 million, or 85 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research, who typically exclude one-time items, had predicted the company would report earnings of 88 cents a share on $3.79 billion in revenue. Chesapeake shares rose 6.9% ahead of the report to close at $22.07.
Morningstar third-quarter profit rises to 45 cents a share(4:27 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Morningstar Inc. (MORN: news, chart, profile) late Thursday reported its third-quarter net income rose to $22.2 million, or 45 cents a share, from $19.9 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Operating income increased 8.7% to $34.2 million while consolidated revenue rose to $125.5 million from $111.9 million a year earlier, said the mutual fund rating specialist. The company's operating margin was 27.2% in the third quarter, compared with 28.1% in the same period in 2007. "Operating margin declined slightly in the third quarter because of increased operating expense in most categories and higher office lease expense, which was partially offset by lower bonus expense," said Morningstar in a statement.
BMC Software posts profit slip, raises guidance(4:21 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- BMC Software Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter net income fell to $70 million, or 36 cents a share, from $77 million, or 38 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the period ended in September rose 11% to $467 million. Excluding special items, BMC (BMC: news, chart, profile) said earnings for the quarter rose 19% to 56 cents a share. Analysts on average estimated BMC would post earnings excluding special items of 51 cents a share, and $467 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters. BMC said it's raising its guidance for the full year. The company said it now expects earnings excluding special items to be between $2.15 to $2.25 a share for the period.
Macau boosts Wynn Resorts as Vegas slumps(4:19 pm ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch)-- Wynn Resorts said that growth in Macau offset a slump in Las Vegas, pushing third-quarter profit higher. The casino operator earned $51.1 million, or 49 cents a share, on the period, up from $44.7 million, or 41 cents a share. Adjusted to exclude various items, Wynn would have earned 62 cents a share. Revenue came in at $769.2 million, up form $653.4 million. The take at its operations in Macau rose 36.6%, overcoming declines in both gambling and non-gambling revenue in Las Vegas. The average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for the company to earn 58 cents a share on revenue of $754 million.
Express Scripts earnings jump 41% on higher sales(4:19 pm ET)
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX: news, chart, profile) reported third-quarter net income of $201.9 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with $142.9 million, or 56 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Reporting after the close, the St. Louis-based provider of pharmacy benefit services said sales were $5.45 billion vs. last year's $5.36 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected the company to earn 78 cents a share. The company said it expects full-year earnings to hit $3.07 to $3.10 a share, and $3.63 to $3.73 a share for 2009. The FactSet estimates are $3.07 and $3.62, respectively. Shares soared amid a broader rally, jumping 12.7% to $57.57.
Unum quarterly net falls 42%(4:17 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Unum Group (UNM: news, chart, profile) said late Thursday that third-quarter net income came in at $108 million, or 32 cents a share, down 42% from a year earlier when the disability insurer made $187 million, or 52 cents a share. Excluding net realized investment gains and losses, the company said it made $216.9 million, or 64 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2008. Unum was expected to make 62 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 13 analysts in a FactSet survey. The benefit ratio of Unum's U.S. group disability business was 89.3% in the latest quarter, an improvement from the 92.1% recorded in the third quarter of 2007.
Sun Micro swings to $1.68 billion loss(4:15 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a first-quarter loss of $1.68 billion, or $2.24 a share, on revenue of $2.99 billion. During the same period a year ago, Sun earned $89 million, or 10 cents a share, on sales of $3.22 billion. Excluding one-time items, the computer server and software company would have lost $65 million, or 9 cents a share. The loss was greater than what the company forecast when it gave preliminary results on Oct. 20. Sun said that its results were affected by a $1.45 billion charge for goodwill impairment and $63 million in restructuring charges.
McAfee profit slips as sales rise 27%(4:14 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Security software maker McAfee Inc. said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter net income fell to $48.8 million, or 31 cents a share, from $63.4 million, or 39 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the period ended Sep. 30 rose 27% to $409.7 million. Excluding special items, McAfee (MFE: news, chart, profile) said earnings rose to 53 cents a share. Analysts on average had estimated McAfee would post earnings excluding special items of 49 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Electronic Arts sees net loss grow in second quarter(4:10 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Electronic Arts saw net losses grow for its second fiscal quarter despite a strong jump in video game sales. The game publisher (ERTS: news, chart, profile) reported a net loss of $310 million, or 97 cents a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared to a net loss of $195 million, or 62 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Revenue jumped 40% to $894 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, the company said it would have lost $20 million, or 6 cents a share, on revenue of $1.13 billion. Analysts were expecting a net loss of 7 cents a share on revenue of $1.08 billion for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research.
Hartford Financial slumps 47% on capital concern(1:07 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hartford Financial Services (HIG: news, chart, profile) shares slumped 47% during afternoon trading Thursday on concern the insurer may need to raise more capital. The company reported a big third-quarter loss late Wednesday and said that it couldn't gauge the amount of extra capital it has because of market volatility. The results left "lingering capital questions," Andrew Kligerman, an analyst at UBS, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. Hartford shares were 47% lower at $10.49 during recent afternoon action.
Exxon Mobil reiterates capital spending plans(12:20 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exxon Mobil (XOM: news, chart, profile) stuck to its capital spending forecast of $25 billion to $35 billion a year for the next five years, even as smaller companies have issued cutbacks. Production fell during the quarter by about 2%, as expected, after adjustments for maintenance, hurricane outages, depletion of existing wells and other factors. Exxon Mobil expects higher production from the North Sea in the fourth quarter, and progress on updates in Nigeria. Looking ahead to production in 2009, the oil giant expects a boost from a new liquid natural gas project in Qatar.
NRG net nearly triples; mulls Exelon merger offer(11:16 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- NRG Energy (NRG: news, chart, profile) shares rose 4.4% to $22.96 after the power firm said net income more than doubled to $784 million, or $2.83 per share, compared to $268 million, or 93 cents a share in the year-ago period. The latest period included a pre-tax unrealized net mark-to-market gain of $826 million. Operating income for the third quarter rose 13% to $623 million on "strong" performance in Texas. The Princeton, N.J. firm OK'd a $300 million stock buyback. It also continues to study the Oct. 19 unsolicited merger proposal from Exelon Corp. (EXC: news, chart, profile) . NRG said it would "determine the appropriate response in due course" to the merger offer.
Hartford shares fall 30% after cuts full-year view(10:06 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG: news, chart, profile) were down more than 30% in early trading Thursday after the insurance company reported a $2.6 billion loss. "The risk of a rating agency downgrade and the inability of management to provide comfort on the level of their capital cushion make it very difficult to assess the downside or to argue that there is significant upside in the near term," said Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Gary Ransom, who downgraded Hartford shares to in-line from outperform. Hartford after Wednesday's closing bell also cut its full-year profit outlook.
Visteon loss widens as automaker customers cut production(9:56 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Visteon Corp. (VC: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a third-quarter loss of $188 million, or $1.45 a share, compared with a loss of $109 million, or 84 cents a share, a year ago. Sales fell to $2.11 billion from $2.55 billion due to lower demand for parts from automaker customers as well as plant closures and divestitures, the auto-parts maker said. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a loss, on average, of $1.03 a share with sales of $2.23 billion. CEO Donald Stebbins said the company will no longer provide financial forecasts for 2009 and further "significant" restructuring is to be expected. Visteon shares added 1 cent to 73 cents in recent trading.
Natural gas shares lead gains in energy sector(9:37 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Natural gas shares led gains in the energy sector as sector leader Exxon Mobil (XOM: news, chart, profile) beat Wall Street expectations with its third-quarter profit update. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) rose 3.5% to 414. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) rose 1.8% to 922. Exxon Mobil (XOM: news, chart, profile) rose 4 cents to $74.69. Marathon Oil (MRO: news, chart, profile) rose 4.5% to $26.77. Apache Corp. (APA: news, chart, profile) rose 4.4% to $78.09.
Expedia earnings inch higher in quarter(9:20 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Expedia Inc. (EXPE: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that third-quarter earnings were $95 million, or 33 cents a share, compared to $100 million, or 32 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue was $833 million compared to $760 million. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 39 cents and sales of $830 million. "Yes, it's a difficult environment, but that's everyone's news, and for travel any predictions about its depth or duration would be foolish," said Expedia Chairman Barry Diller.
CBS CEO: Network ad market 'not booming'(9:15 am ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- CBS Corp. (CBS: news, chart, profile) Chief Executive Les Moonves said Thursday that ad sales during the current television season, known as the "scatter" market, are "obviously not booming as in years past." Speaking to analysts on a conference call, Moonves added that the current ratings strength of the CBS Television Network, which is the ratings leader in all key demographics over the first five weeks of the season, will allow it to be a "beneficiary" of ad spending in the coming weeks.
Marathon Oil net income doubles to $2 billion(9:03 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Marathon Oil (MRO: news, chart, profile) on Thursday said third-quarter net income rose to $2.06 billion, or $2.90 a share, from $1.02 billion, or $1.49 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted net income rose to $2.76 a share from $1.48 a share. Analysts expected the Houston energy firm to post earnings of $2.23 a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research.
Apache Corp. net income up 94%(9:00 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Apache Corp. (APA: news, chart, profile) said Thursday third-quarter net income rose 94% to $1.2 billion or $3.52 a share, from $612 million or $1.83 a share in the year-ago period. Analysts expected earnings of $3.68 a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research. Third-quarter production declined 9%. "We faced several challenges on the production side during the third quarter; we also had strong earnings, continued progress on our pipeline of development projects, and drilling success in several areas," said G. Steven Farris, Apache's president and chief executive officer.
Redstone reiterates: No intention of selling Viacom or CBS(8:43 am ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Viacom Inc. (VIA.B: news, chart, profile) and CBS Corp. (CBS: news, chart, profile) Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone reiterated Thursday that he has no intention of selling either Viacom or CBS in the wake of his sale of stock in the two companies to comply with certain debt covenants. Speaking during a conference call related to CBS' third-quarter results, Redstone said he is "confident" that the National Amusements holding company will soon reach a "fair" deal that will satisfy its creditors.
Ball Corp. Q3 net grows by 67%(8:41 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ball Corp. (BLL: news, chart, profile) on Thursday said third-quarter earnings rose 67% to $101.9 million, or $1.05 a share, from $60.9 million, or 59 cents a share in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $2 billion from $1.9 billion. Results in the latest period include a charge of 8 cents a share for plant closures in Commerce, Calif.; Brampton, Ontario; and Kent, Wash. Analysts expected earnings of $1.09 a share and revenue of $2 billion, according to a survey by FastSet Research.
Cigna profit down 53%(8:35 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Health benefits group Cigna Corp. (CI: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that its third-quarter net profit fell 53% to $171 million, or 62 cents a share, from $365 million, or $1.28 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the period rose 10% to $4.85 billion. Adjusted earnings fell to 89 cents a share from $1.13. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of $1.06 a share. Cigna said its bottom line included a $61 million loss related to unfavorable equity markets and interest rate movements. For 2008, Cigna said it is expecting earnings of $3.40 to $3.50 a share, including an expected fourth quarter loss of 45 cents a share related to variable annuioty death benefits. Later Thursday, the company said it projects 2009 adjusted income from operations to be in the range of $1.09 billion to $1.18 billion, or $4.00 to $4.30 a share. It said it expects its medical membership in 2009 to decline by approximately 2%.
Konica Minolta first-half net income down 22%; cuts forecast(8:34 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. (JP:4902: news, chart, profile) said Thursday net income for the fist half ended Sept. 30 fell 22% because of softer corporate orders for copiers amid the global slowdown, a stronger yen, falling product prices and higher commodity prices. The Tokyo-based maker of copiers, cameras and electronic components said net income fell to 29.28 billion yen ($297.46 million) from 37.64 billion yen a year earlier. Sales were up 1.5% to 532.97 billion yen. Konica Minolta cut its net profit outlook by 40% to 42 billion yen from its May forecast of 70 billion yen. Sales for the fiscal year are expected at 1.04 trillion yen, compared to its earlier forecast of 1.11 trillion yen.
RiskMetrics reports higher net income(8:13 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- RiskMetrics Group Inc. (RMG: news, chart, profile) before Thursday's opening bell said third-quarter net income rose to $6.3 million, or 9 cents a share, from $0.5 million, or a penny a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Total revenue climbed 22% to $75.6 million, the company said. Wall Street analysts had forecast net income of 8 cents a share, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters.
Exxon Mobil earnings rise 58%, setting record (8:11 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: news, chart, profile) said Thursday third-quarter net income rose 58% to a record of $14.8 billion, or $2.86 a share from $9.4 billion, or $1.70 a share in the year-ago period. Excluding items, earnings at the Irving, Texas oil producing and refining giant rose 42% to $13.38 billion, or $2.59 a share, from $9.4 billion, or $1.70 a share. Exxon Mobil reiterated its target for 2008 capital and exploration spending of $25 billion. Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $2.38 a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research.
Colgate-Palmolive earnings per share up 22% in quarter(8:11 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL: news, chart, profile) said third-quarter earnings were $500 million, or 94 cents a share, compared to $420 million, or 77 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings in the period were 99 cents a share. Sales rose 13% to $3.99 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 97 cents on sales of $3.99 billion. "Given our strong momentum and excellent savings initiatives, we are comfortable with external profit expectations for the fourth quarter and full year 2008," said Chief Executive Officer Ian Cook.
IntercontinentalExchange's net rises 12%(8:02 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE: news, chart, profile) on Thursday said its third-quarter net income rose to $75 million, or $1.04 a share, from $66.7 million, or 93 cents a share, in the same period the previous year. Total revenue rose to $201.4 million from $151.7 million, the derivatives exchange said. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had been looking for earnings of $1.04 a share on revenue of $201.7 million.
Alliant profit rises 27%, lifts earnings outlook(7:58 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Aerospace and defense group Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a 27% rise in fiscal second-quarter net profit, helped by strengthening margins, as it also raised its earnings outlook for the year. The group said profit rose to $65 million, or $1.87 a share, from $51.2 million, or $1.44 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter grew 6% to $1.09 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of $1.79 a share. Based on the improved earnings as well as benefits related to a lower share count and the extension of a tax credit, Alliant raised its earnings guidance for the fiscal year by 15 cents to a range of $7.40 to $7.50 a share. The group said sales growth was driven by its armaments division, reflecting significant increases in commercial products, particularly law enforcement and international ammunition sales.
CORRECT: Kodak earnings triple on items, lowers revenue view(7:49 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Eastman Kodak (EK: news, chart, profile) said third-quarter net income tripled to $101 million, or 35 cents a share, from $32 million, or 11 cents a share in the year-ago period. After items, the company posted an adjusted gain of 22 cents a share, compared to 46 cents a share in the year-ago period. Changes to the company's post-employment boosted earnings in the lastest quarter by 31 cents a share, offset by restructuring costs of 16 cents a share. Revenue fell 5% to $2.41 billion from $2.53 billion. Analysts expected the company to earn 23 cents a share on revenue of $2.55 billion, according to a survey by FactSet. The Rochester, N.Y. digital imaging and film company said it now expects its 2008 revenue to decline by 3% to 5%, compared to its earlier forecast for growth of 0% to 2%.