Stocks to Watch Tuesday: Qwest, Goldman Sachs, Oracle, Solectron
Updated from 7:09 p.m. ET Monday
Qwest Communications
(Q)
still expects to meet its 2001 revenue and earnings targets thanks to strong demand for the company's services. Qwest, which is based in Denver, expects second-quarter revenue to increase 12% to 13% over the year-ago period. For the full year, the broadband network builder projected revenue of $21.3 billion to $21.7 billion, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $8.5 billion to $8.7 billion.
Yesterday,
Level 3 Communications
(LVLT)
, another network builder, forecast a loss in 2001 of about $7.50 a share, wider than the previous estimate of $7.25. Analysts had expected Level 3 to lose $7.27 a share for the year. Still, the company said it expects a recovery late in 2001.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
After Monday's Close
Honeywell International
(HON) - Get Report
said Monday that it remains committed to the completion of its $42 billion merger with
General Electric
(GE) - Get Report
. In a prepared statement, Honeywell officials said "
General Electric will do everything possible to secure regulatory approval for the transaction." The comments came on the heels of a Honeywell board meeting at which the company's directors discussed concessions offered to the
European Commission
in a bid to receive clearance for the merger. European regulators have said the U.S. companies need to offer more concessions before they will approve the deal. The European Commission has until July 12 to reach a decision.
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Earnings/revenue reports and previews
American Greetings
(AM) - Get Report
will report first-quarter earnings later today. Analysts expect the company to earn of 25 cents when it reports on Tuesday. That figure is well short of the 60 cents the company made in the same period a year ago.
Electronics retailer
Best Buy
(BBY) - Get Report
said it earned $55 million, or 26 cents a share, in the first fiscal quarter, beating Wall Street's estimate of 23 cents a share. The company earned $72 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total sales for the first quarter increased 25% to $3.68 billion from $2.96 billion a year ago.
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
posted second-quarter earnings of $1.13 a share, excluding items. The company earned $1.06 after items. Analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.06, down from $1.48 a year ago.
Italian luxury goods maker
Gucci
(GCU)
warned of a revenue shortfall, saying the top line in 2001 would be $2.45 billion, below the $2.6 billion the company previously forecast. The company forecast earnings of $3 a share in 2001, down from the prior projection of $3.40. Additionally, the company said its
Yves Saint-Laurent
division should be profitable between the third and fourth quarters of 2003.
Jabil Circuit
(JBL) - Get Report
, a provider of electronic manufacturing services, is slated to report third-quarter earnings after the close. Analysts expect the company to earn 16 cents a share. Jabil earned 21 cents in the year-ago period.
Investment banking concern
Lehman Brothers
(LEH)
earned $1.38 a share in the second quarter, beating analysts' estimates of $1.14. The company earned $1.39 in the same period last year.
Pier 1 Imports
(PIR) - Get Report
said its first-quarter earnings fell 27% because of an increase in promotional sales and higher advertising expenses. The Fort Worth, Texas, home furnishings retailer said it met Wall Street's lowered estimates, posting earnings of $12.3 million, or 13 cents a share. The company earned $16.9 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The company also said sales rose to $325.4 million from $299.5 million in the same period last year.
After Monday's Close
Metromedia Fiber
(MFNX)
, a maker of fiber-optic communications equipment, cut its revenue estimate for 2001 to a range of $400 million to $420 million from $478 million.
Software maker
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
posted fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share, beating analysts estimates by a penny and matching the year-ago number. Revenue totaled $3.26 billion for the quarter, short of the $3.36 billion analysts were projecting and the top line of $3.37 billion in the year-earlier period.
Oracle also told
TheStreet.com
that it now thinks the
worst may be in the past."We think we've hit the bottom in Q4," Jeff Henley, the company's chief financial officer said. "It feels like things are picking up a little bit." Henley said the company should meet analysts' earnings expectations of 8 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter and that fiscal 2002 estimates of 50 cents a share are "reasonable."
Electronics manufacturing services provider
Solectron
(SLR)
missed analysts' expectations for the third quarter. Excluding items, the company earned 12 cents a share, while Wall Street was looking for income of 13 cents. Sales rose to $4 billion, up 9.3% from $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. But the top line dropped 26.5% sequentially from $5.4 billion in the latest second quarter.
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Offerings and stock actions
PC maker
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
said it plans to buy back some of its own stock at $47 a share after an employee-compensation plan misfired,
The Wall Street Journal
reported this morning. The stock closed yesterday at $23.92. The 52-week high is $54.67.
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Miscellany
Officials at telecommunications giant
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
denied that the company plans to cut jobs. A person close to the company told
TheStreet.com
that AT&T
could cut between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs in the consumer and business services divisions. The source, who is familiar with staffing decisions, said June is generally when AT&T assesses its size and plans adjustments.
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