Stocks To Watch: CVS Drugstore Sales Rise

CVS(CVS Quote) said same-store sales at its drugstores rose 6.8% in September and rose 7.6% in the third quarter. Total sales for the third quarter grew to $5.41 billion, up from $4.92 billion in the equivalent period last year.

Earnings, Warnings & Reports

Cincinnati Financial(CINF Quote) said it expects claims and other losses associated with the September terrorist attacks to reduce its third-quarter earnings by 39 cents a share. Analysts were predicting earnings of 37 cents a share for the period.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea(GAP Quote), operator of A&P, Food Emporium, and Waldbaum's, said it lost $3.23 million, or 8 cents a share including certain charges, in the fiscal second quarter. The company posted a loss of $5.37 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts expected a loss of 17 cents in the latest quarter. Excluding certain items, the company would have posted a profit of 25 cents a share.

NRG Energy(NRG Quote), said its bottom line for the third quarter was $141.5 million, or 71 cents a share. Analysts, on average, were calling for 67 cents a share. The company earned $88.6 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. The company said it expected to post earnings of $1.35 a share in 2001 and $1.65 to $1.70 per share in 2002, roughly in line with estimates.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Ventures

Comdisco(CDO Quote), a computer leasing company, said it will sell its technology services unit to financial services software company SunGard Data Systems(SDS Quote) for $825 million. SunGard's offer topped an earlier bid by Hewlett-Packard(HWP Quote).

Microsoft(MSFT Quote) extended its alliance with Sega Corp. Microsoft, which is set to launch its new game console, Xbox, next month, said the developer will provide the system with a new game in its popular Shenmue series among other popular titles.

Miscellaneous News

DuPont Photomasks(DPMI Quote) named Satish Rishi chief financial officer. Rishi, 42, was a Dell executive. He will replace Gerd Stoecker, who resigned, effective the end of October.

After Thursday's Close

Computer Associates(CA Quote) said it plans to cut about 900 jobs, or 5% of its workforce. The cuts are effective immediately and will be in all areas of the company.

Cree(CREE Quote) said it earned 11 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter, excluding amortization, beating the consensus estimate by a penny. The company earned 17 cents a share a year ago.

Electronics for Imaging(EFII Quote) said it earned $14 million, or 25 cents a share, in the third quarter. The figures exclude amortization costs. On that basis, the company met analysts' expectations. The company also projected fourth-quarter revenue of $108 million to $113 million with earnings of 15 cents to 17 cents a share.

Juniper Networks(JNPR Quote) said it earned $32.5 million, or 10 cents a share, excluding items in the third quarter. According to Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts were looking for quarterly earnings of 7 cents a share. Multex.com listed the consensus estimate at 9 cents. Juniper earned $60.3 million, or 17 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Additionally, the company's board approved a $200 million stock buyback spanning the next two years.

Network Associates(NETA Quote), saying it was "back" from earlier financial troubles, forecast sales of $217 million to $232 million with earnings of 7 cents to 10 cents a share in the fourth quarter. In 2002, the company expects sales of $880 million to $920 million and earnings of 35 cents to 40 cents.

Sonus Networks(SONS Quote) reported a loss of $11.4 million, or 6 cents a share, in the third quarter, matching Wall Street's projections. The company lost 4 cents in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped to $40.3 million from $15.6 million a year ago.