Kors Surges 14%, Groupon Plunges 23%

Nichole Harper
14 Aug, 2012
New York City

The daily-deals site operator Groupon Inc plunged 23% after it issued a cautious earnings outlook. The designer apparel maker Michael Kors soared 14% after it reported a sharp upswing in earnings. Home Depot gained after the retailer reported better than expected earnings. TJX was flat.

[R]10:30 AM New York – The daily-deals site operator Groupon Inc plunged 23% after it issued a cautious earnings outlook. The designer apparel maker Michael Kors soared 14% after it reported a sharp upswing in earnings. Home Depot gained after the retailer reported better than expected earnings. TJX was flat after earnings report.[/R]

Flowers Foods, Inc. ((FLO)) declined 21 cents to $20.67 and the bakery products producer said second quarter sales rose 6.1% to $681.56 million compared with the second quarter of 2011. Net income improved to $28.4 million, from $28.21 million last year, while quarterly earnings per diluted share remained unchanged at 21 cents.

Groupon Inc ((GRPN)) dropped 23% to $5.81 after the daily-deals site missed sales expectations and guided lower annual earnings outlook on the weak conditions in Europe.

For the second quarter to June, revenues increased 45% to $568.33 million from $392.58 million a year ago and swung to net income of $46.48 million from a loss of $101 million in the quarter a year ago. Earnings per share increased to 4 cents from a loss of 35 cents in the previous year quarter.

Gross billings in the quarter gained 38% to $1.29 billion from $929.2 million a year ago.

The daily-deals site guided third quarter revenues between $580 million and $620 million, an increase between 35% and 44%, and income from operations between $15 million and $35 million.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. ((KORS)) soared 14% or $6 to $48.99 and the designer apparel and accessories maker reported first quarter total revenue increased 71% to $414.9 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Net income soared to $68.6 million or 34 cents per diluted share compared to $18.92 million or 13 cents per share last year.

Net income was $68.6 million, or 34 cents a share, based on 199.4 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $24.1 million, or 13 cents a share based on 179.2 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. ((NSM)) increased 4% to $26.32 and the residential mortgage loan servicer reported second quarter total revenues rose 24% to $200.05 million from last year. Net income in the quarter surged to $36.3 million or 41 cents per diluted share compared to $1.7 million or 2 cents per share in the second quarter of 2011.

The Home Depot, Inc. ((HD)) gained $1.54 to $54.36 and the home improvement retailer said second quarter sales increased 1.7% to $20.6 billion on comparable store sales rise of 2.1%. Net earnings for the quarter rose to $1.5 billion or $1.01 per diluted share compared with net earnings of $1.4 billion or 86 cents per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2011.

Towers Watson & Co. ((TW)) plunged 11% to $52.02 and the professional services company said fourth quarter revenues dropped 3% to $826 million from the comparable quarter a year ago. Net income attributable to controlling interests for the quarter rose to $65 million or 91 cents per diluted share from $44 million or 59 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier.

For the full year, revenues were $3.42 billion, an increase of 5% from $3.26 billion in fiscal 2011. Net income attributable to controlling interests was $260 million for the full year.

The TJX Companies, Inc ((TJX)) decreased 2 cents to $44.22 after the discount retailer reported net sales in the second quarter ending on July 28 increased 9% to $5.9 billion and net income rose to $421 million from $348 million a year ago. Earnings per share increased to 56 cents from 45 cents a year ago.

Consolidated comparable store sales at U.S. locations increased 7% in the quarter, increased 5% in Canada and soared 10% in Europe.

In the second quarter the retailer spent $300 million to repurchase and retire its own 7 million shares and in the first half the company has spent $550 million and retired 13.6 million shares and the company plans to spend a total of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion of stock in the current fiscal year.