FeedPosted Sep 30th 2009 8:20AM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, International markets, Earnings reports, Deals, Good news, Press releases, Time Warner (TWX), Pfizer (PFE), Market matters, Walgreen Co (WAG), Whole Foods Market (WFMI), Xerox Corp (XRX), Staples Inc (SPLS), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

All three of the major indexes finished Tuesday in the red, but there were several big names that moved up to new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE:
WAG): The drugstore giant had a really good day on Wall Street after posting
better than expected earnings in the morning before the market opened. The company posted earnings of 44 cents per share versus analyst estimates of 39 cents. The stock set a new 52-week high of $38.44 and closed the day up 9.2% at $37.35.
Continue reading Some big names set new 52-week highs Tuesday: WAG, ACS, WYE ...
Posted Aug 29th 2009 10:10AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Dell (DELL), Diageo plc (DEO), Staples Inc (SPLS), Toll Brothers (TOL), Burger King Hldgs (BKC), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Burger King, Dell, Dollar Tree, J. Crew, Staples, Toll Bros. ...
Posted Aug 26th 2009 9:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Wal-Mart (WMT), Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples Inc (SPLS)
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), a seller of office supplies and a competitor of chains such as Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), reported Q2 earnings on Tuesday. Although they weren't that great, I can't say I felt they were a total disaster, either. I think the quarter was lackluster and indicative of the immense work ahead for management in terms of getting people into their stores and increasing sales per transaction.
According to the press release, total sales increased 9% and adjusted earnings per share declined 24% to 16 cents. That's a steep drop, but they did match analyst expectations. Staples used the increase it saw in free cash flow in a smart way: debt reduction. I approve of that move, to be sure.
Continue reading Staples' earnings drop, but meet expectations
Posted May 30th 2009 12:10PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Dell (DELL), AutoZone Inc (AZO), Tiffany and Co (TIF), Costco Wholesale (COST), Staples Inc (SPLS), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: AutoZone, Costco, Dell, Heinz, Staples, Tiffany, Tivo and more
Posted May 28th 2009 8:40AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples Inc (SPLS)
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) issued its Q1 report on Wednesday. Call me unimpressed. It beat earnings estimates by a penny, coming in at 22 cents on an adjusted basis. Sure, that's what investors want to see. They want the bottom line to go beyond expectations.
But there isn't a lot of excitement to be had with the Staples story. According to the press release, that 22-cent figure represented a decline of 27% in per-share profit. Furthermore, there's weakness in terms of same-store sales. In the North American market, comps dipped 8%. On the international front, comps went down by 14% in Europe.
Continue reading Staples beats analysts in Q1, but tough economy causes decline in comps
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 3:50PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newsletters, Staples Inc (SPLS), Stocks to Buy
"I've always liked Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS); the company has traditionally put up good numbers, and the stock price has been rewarding for investors over the years," says Chuck Carlson, noting, "Staples is the world's largest office products company. With $27 billion in sales, Staples serves customers in 27 countries."
The editor of the blue chip advisory, The DRIP Investor, adds, "The stock has gotten hammered by a variety of issues." Here's his review. It is down 40% from its 52-week high
"Yes, the environment for retailers is lousy. Yes, it's tough to see any near-term improvement. And, yes, debt is evil right now. But the stock is already discounting to a large degree those negatives. The stock's current price level is attractive enough to warrant some nibbling.
Continue reading Staples: Rewards for patient investors
Posted Mar 14th 2009 12:40PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, McDonald's (MCD), Citigroup Inc. (C), Kroger Co (KR), Staples Inc (SPLS), Smithfield Foods (SFD), Texas Instruments (TXN), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Citigroup, Kroger, Staples, J. Crew, National Semiconductor and more
Posted Mar 11th 2009 5:00PM by Jamie Dlugosch (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Staples Inc (SPLS)
Shares of office products retailer, Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), recovered today after opening much lower following the company's announcement of a 14% fall in quarterly profit, which missed analysts estimates by 6 cents per share.
For the quarter ending Jan. 31, 2009, Staples said it earned 36 cents per share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $6.17 billion. This compared to analyst estimates of earnings of 42 cents per share, before one-time items, on revenue of $6.79 billion.
Continue reading Has Staples hit a bottom?
Posted Mar 10th 2009 2:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples Inc (SPLS)
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), whose colleagues include Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), is set to report earnings for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, March 11. The famous seller of office supplies has seen its stock go from a 52-week high of $26.57 all the way down to a 52-week low of $13.57.
Actually, that's one of the better ranges I've seen! Goes to show how bad things are out there. Staples saw its shares close at $14.63 on Monday, so a beat on the bottom line could really help things out.
Will management be able to beat? I don't have much confidence that it will, but that doesn't necessarily have to do with Staples per se, it's just that the economy's got me down on so many of these earnings prospects. Analysts are hoping for Staples to do about 42 cents per share in Q4, which would represent a 10% drop in the bottom line.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Staples have a good day at the office this week?
Posted Mar 9th 2009 4:20PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Newsletters, Staples Inc (SPLS), Stocks to Buy
Concerning the current debate over executive bonuses, value investor Charles Mizrahi contents, "As a shareholder, I have the choice of becoming partners with more than 7,000 businesses on the American stock exchanges."
In his Hidden Values Alert he states, "I've found two companies with managers who are aligned with shareholders. Their compensation packages put them in the same boat as shareholders, and as an owner that is exactly where you want them to be."
Here, the advisor looks at insurance firm Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) and business supplies retailer Staples (NYSE: SPLS).
Continue reading Shareholder-focused managements: Markel (MKL) & Staples (SPLS)
Posted Jan 26th 2009 11:11AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Market matters, New York Times'A' (NYT), American Express (AXP), Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY), Best Buy (BBY), Sara Lee Corp (SLE), Newell Rubbermaid (NWL), Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples Inc (SPLS), Tyson Foods'A' (TSN), Johnson Controls (JCI), Barclays plc ADS (BCS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Liz Claiborne (LIZ), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says companies saddled with high debt loads can be found in every sector in every business. Overleveraged. Too much debt. Need to pay down debt. How many times have you read that story?
You read it so much because it plays out every day and plays havoc with stock picking almost every time you see a savory stock down on its luck.
This weekend, as I went through the charts, I was amazed at how low some stocks have gone, stocks that I would normally say to just take a flyer on, but turn out to have so much debt, short- and long-term, that they are just too dangerous.
Consider these perhaps poisonous morsels:
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Too much debt makes stocks dangerous
Posted Jan 11th 2009 6:30PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Staples Inc (SPLS), United Parcel'B' (UPS), Small business
All in all, it was a particularly tough year for small businesses. And, in light of some of the recent economic reports, it looks like 2009 will be tough too.
So, to begin the year on the right foot, I've put together some ideas for New Year's resolutions for your business.
Here's a look:
Get an advisor: It's critical that you get an outside perspective -- especially from someone who has experienced tough economic periods. To this end, you can go to a local SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) office. The organization consists of thousands of former executives -- and, importantly, the resource is free.
Become a cash-flow fanatic: When looking at revenues, be conservative. Also, find ways to minimize costs. In other words, scrutinize all line items. Even small costs can add up.
Another idea is to track revenues and costs on a daily basis. An excellent book on the topic is The Plan-as-You-Go Business Plan.
Be vigilant with collections: It's never easy to ask for money from late customers. But, if you want to survive, this is a must-have item.
Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Resolutions for 2009
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