Ticker-Tape Parade: FedEx Flies Past Estimates, Redback Warns

Look for these and the other stocks listed here to be on the move today.
By Eric Gillin ,

(Updated from 8:26 a.m. ET)

Redback Networks

(RBAK)

warned about profits and revenue, joining

Applied Micro Circuits

(AMCC)

Vitesse Semiconductor

(VTSS)

and

Xilinx

(XLNX) - Get Report

as this week's earnings warners. The company now expects second-quarter losses to come in between 27 cents and 33 cents a share, well short of the 11-cent loss expected by analysts. That's even lower than the 5-cent loss the company booked in the year-ago quarter.

The company cited an "unprecedented downturn" in the telecommunications space as a prime motivator behind the weak quarter, resulting in slowing order rates as companies stop building out their networks.

Earnings Reports & Warnings:

Coca-Cola

(KO) - Get Report

said that unit case volume growth, a key measure of health in the soda pop industry, will come in at 4% during the second quarter. That's pretty much where analysts thought it would come in. The beverage giant said volume trends were getting better in Japan and the U.S., but that currencies would sap more from the bottom line than expected.

ConAgra

(CAG) - Get Report

, the second-largest food company with brands like Butterball and Chef Boyardee, announced fourth-quarter earnings per share of 23 cents, coming in at the high end of the range established in a June 22 earnings warning. That trounces lowered expectations of 20 cents a share, but don't be too impressed. Seven days ago, analysts expected the company to make 35 cents a share.

FedEx

(FDX) - Get Report

announced fourth-quarter EPS of 64 cents, crushing drastically lowered guidance and the company's own forecast. Analysts expected the company to come in with 52 cents a share. FedEx management clearly had trouble figuring out where this quarter would come in, having warned three times. The last revision came on May 7, when the company said earnings would come in between 50 cents and 60 cents a share after issuing warnings in April and March.

Nike

(NKE) - Get Report

posted fourth-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share, better than last year's 46-cent profit and unlike the dreadful previous quarter, where the shoemaker said profits fell 33%. Analysts expected the company to rack up 59 cents a share in fourth-quarter earnings. On March 20, Nike reaffirmed guidance, saying it was on track to make between 60 cents and 65 cents a share.

On the Analyst Front:

Georgia-Pacific

(GP)

was downgraded to market perform from market outperform at

Goldman Sachs

, which said the paper giant's year-to-date performance left little upside for the stock. Additionally, Goldie said that the space is getting more competitive, with G-P still needing to clear up issues related to the merger with

Fort James

.

Miscellaneous News:

AT&T Wireless

(AWE)

will be welcomed into the

S&P 500 after the end of tomorrow's trading day, replacing forest products company

Potlatch

(PCH) - Get Report

. Keep an eye on AT&T Wireless during the next few sessions. It could be volatile as money managers who run funds based on the S&P 500 keep pace with the latest changes to the index.

Edison International

(EIX) - Get Report

, California's beleaguered power outfit, may be selling $800,000 worth of junk bonds to help stave off bankruptcy, sources told

Reuters

. The money couldn't come at a more pressing time because the company has a $618,000 bank loan due for payment on Saturday. Edison is caught in a funding Catch-22: California legislators won't lend it money, and investors don't want to buy its debt, for fear it will be bankrupt in a few short weeks. Then again, if no money comes, that's exactly what will happen.

John Deere

(DE) - Get Report

disclosed plans to cut 1,250 jobs, or 8% of its U.S. workforce, to help slash costs. In mid-May, the company reported second-quarter EPS that was 37% lower than the previous year, as spending from customers crumbled for certain big ticket items.

Nokia

(NOK) - Get Report

announced it will lay off 900 to 1,000 employees in its networking unit to improve efficiency and trim costs. When investors last heard from Nokia, the Finnish handset maker announced that second-quarter sales growth would be less than 10% -- lower than the 20% growth previously expected.

Doug Kass' Required Reading:

The New York Times

editorial "

The Fed Turns Less Aggressive." (Registration required.)

On the Economic Lookout:

At 2 p.m.

, the minutes of the last

Federal Open Market Committee meeting, held on May 15, will be released. Fed-watchers like to pick apart the Fed's inner workings to see how internal biases have changed and read the overall rationale behind the Fed's movement. It's a lagging bit of data that rarely moves markets, but certainly adds to the big picture.

At 7 p.m.

,

Federal Reserve chairman

Alan Greenspan will alight the dais at the

Economy Club of Chicago

, giving a speech about the impact of energy on the economy. People will pay close attention to what Greenspan says about the inflationary aspect of rising energy prices in hopes of getting a read on his current line of economic thought.

In Overnight Activity:

Redback Networks

(RBAK)

fell 18.7% as angry after-hours investors reacted to news the company would miss second-quarter expectations. As mentioned above, the company now expects losses to come in more than double what analysts expected on a per share basis. The company blamed the slowing telecommunications market for the missed quarter, something cited by Xilinx in its warning earlier in the week.

Altera

(ALTR) - Get Report

fell 6.7%, announcing it was cutting 152 jobs, or 7% of its workforce. The good news is that unlike many competitors, this chipmaker didn't lower second-quarter guidance -- it reiterated it. The bad news is that sales are still expected to fall 25% in the second quarter.

Honeywell

(HON) - Get Report

jumped 6.8% while

General Electric

(GE) - Get Report

fell 1.9% on news GE was making last-ditch efforts to get approval for its merger from the

European Union

, which has recommended the rejection of the merger on grounds it would be bad for competition. Both Honeywell and GE have large defense businesses. At issue is whether or not GE will divest its stake in an aircraft-leasing arm. As of two weeks ago, GE was unwilling to do so. Last night, that changed when GE said it was willing to divest part of the business.

For an extended take on late-night action, be sure to check out

The Night Watch.

Sources & Definitions:

All analyst EPS estimates are from Thomson Financial/First Call, unless otherwise noted. All economic forecasts are from

Reuters

, unless otherwise noted. All times are Eastern, always. After-hours quotes courtesy of Instinet, unless otherwise noted.

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