Earning Plays

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Monday, Nov. 24
Donaldson quarterly net income rises to 60 cents a share(4:52 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Donaldson Co. (DCI: news, chart, profile) late Monday reported its fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $48 million, or 60 cents a share, from $43.3 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $573.3 million from $525.6 million, the air and liquid filtration systems company said. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had forecast earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $561.8 million. Donaldson estimated its revenue in fiscal 2009 is likely to decrease by about $133 million, or 6%, from 2008 in light of the recent strength in the U.S. currency.
Analog Devices fourth-quarter income rises (4:20 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Analog Devices Inc. (ADI: news, chart, profile) late Monday reported its fourth-quarter operating income rose to $161 million from $120 million a year ago. Excluding items, operating income from continuing operations totaled $164 million, compared with $145 million in the same quarter last year. On a per-share basis, the company earned 49 cents a share from continuing operations, up from 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 6% to $661 million in the quarter, the semiconductor company said.
Hewlett-Packard earnings slip as sales rise 19%(4:15 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said late Monday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net earnings fell to $2.1 billion, or 84 cents a share, from $2.16 billion, or 81 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the period ended in October rose to $33.6 billion, the technology giant (HPQ: news, chart, profile) said. Excluding special items, H-P said earnings for the quarter were $1.03 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated H-P would post earnings excluding special items of $1.08 a share, and $33.6 billion in revenue.
Citigroup cuts S&P 500 targets for 2008, 2009(2:59 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Citing declining earnings outlooks and "extraordinary risk aversion," Citigroup U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich on Monday cut his targets for the S&P 500 (.SPX: news, chart, profile) . He now sees the S&P 500 ending the year at 850, down from 1,200 previously and only 10 points higher than its current levels. By the end of 2009, the index of large capitalization companies should rebound modestly to 1,000 -- instead of the 1,300 previously targeted. "Stocks seem to be discounting a deep downturn but not yet a depression," he wrote. Plus, equity investors remain on the sidelines given attractive high-grade corporate debt alternatives, awful news in housing and widespread losses from previous investments.
Energy stocks move up with the broad market(9:36 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks rose with the broad market in early action on Monday. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) rose 2.5% to 877. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) rose 2.2% to 366. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK: news, chart, profile) rose 6% to $18.04.
Campbell Soup profit inches up to 71 cents a share(8:41 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Campbell Soup Co. (CPB: news, chart, profile) said Monday its first-quarter profit totaled $260 million, or 71 cents a share, from $270 million, or 70 cents a share, in the same quarter a year before. Analysts had expected earnings on average of 77 a share, according to a FactSet Research survey, matching Campbell's adjusted results for the period. Revenue for the quarter rose 3% to $2.25 billion. Campbell said that on a currency-neutral basis, it still expects 2009 earnings per share to rise by 5% to 7%, but that foreign exchange losses could reduce the result by approximately 5 percentage points.
Xerox sees 2009 profit at $1.00 to $1.25 a share(7:54 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Xerox Corp. (XRX: news, chart, profile) said Monday it expects its 2009 earnings to range between $1.00 and $1.25 a share, with operating profit between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research put the average Wall Street estimate for profit of $1.15 a share for the year. The company said that it doesn't expect to need to access the capital markets "in the foreseeable future," due to strong cash flow and existing credit facilities. "The restructuring actions we're taking this quarter are expected to deliver $200 million in savings next year," Chief Executive Anne Mulcahy said.
Friday, Nov. 21
Goldman sees jobless rate at 9%, GDP shrinking into 2009(9:45 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Unemployment will reach 9%, from 6.5% currently, by the end of 2009 and the economy will shrink in each quarter until mid-2009, said economists at Goldman Sachs on Friday. The firm's forecasts are lower than previous predictions due to "continuing signs of falling domestic and foreign demand, labor market deterioration, renewed tightening in financial conditions, and an apparent impasse in fiscal policy pending the transfer of power to the Obama administration in late January," analysts wrote in a note. If unemployment reaches that level, it would be "unequivocally the worst single downturn on record since World War II." Gross domestic product will shrink 5% this quarter, and 3% and 1% in the subsequent quarters, they said. The forecast leads to a 25% decline in after-tax corporate profits, which would be the worst since the Great Depression.
Energy stocks gain back a fraction of bruising losses(9:36 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Natural gas stocks gained back a fraction of their steep 16% loss in the previous session in early action on Friday. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) rose 2.7% to 325. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) rose 4.7% to 796. Crude prices rose 44 cents to $49.86.