Cato, L Brands, Macy's December Sales Fall; Walgreens Net Declines

Mukesh Buch
05 Jan, 2017
New York City

Boeing wins orders of 80 737 long range aircrafts worth $8.8 billion. Constellation Brands net surged 50%. Cato December same-store sales declined 12%. Gartner agreed to buy CEB for $3.3 billion. L Brands comparable sales slid. Macy''s comparable sales fell 2.1%. Walgreens net dropped.

[R]11:45 AM New York – Boeing wins orders of 80 737 long range aircrafts worth $8.8 billion. Constellation Brands net surged 50%. Cato December same-store sales declined 12%. Gartner agreed to buy CEB for $3.3 billion. L Brands comparable sales slid. Macy''s comparable sales fell 2.1%. Walgreens net dropped.[/R]

Tollbooth Index slipped 21.82 or 0.2% to 11,214.56.

Earnings Review

Apple Inc ((AAPL)) rose 69 cents to $116.71 after the mobile and computing devices maker confirmed investment of $1 billion in Japan-based SoftBank''s $100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund.

In December, chief executive officer Masayoshi Son talked to President-elect Donald Trump that SoftBank will invest about half, or $50 billion in the U.S. companies.

“We’ve worked closely with SoftBank for many years and their new fund will speed the development of technologies which may be strategically important to Apple,” spokeswoman of Apple Kristin Huguet said.

Boeing Co ((BA)) gained 69 cents to $159.29 after the aircraft and aerospace products maker wins orders for 75 737 MAX 8 aircraft and 5 737 MAX 8 from Travel Service, the largest airline in the Czech Republic with combined valued at list prices of about $8.8 billion.

Constellation Brands Inc ((STZ)) declined 5.8% or $9.11 to $149.02 after the beer and wine maker reported revenues in the first-quarter ending on November 26 jumped 10.4% from a year ago to $1.8 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged 50% to $405.9 million or $1.98 per diluted share compared to the $270.5 million or $1.33 per share in the same quarter last year.

Cato Corporation ((CATO)) plunged 9.4% or $2.93 to $28.24 after the fashion specialty retailer reported sales in the five-weeks ending in December declined 12% from a year ago to $104.4 million.

Same-store sales in the month slumped 12%.

Cato lifted diluted loss per share estimate in the fourth-quarter between 50 cents and 54 cents compared to the earlier estimated loss of 7 cents to 11 cents.

In the year, the fashion specialty retailer lowered diluted earnings per share forecast between $1.66 and $1.70 compared to the previous guidance of $2.08 to $2.12 and $2.39 last year.

Gartner Inc ((IT)) plummeted 6.2% or $6.29 to $95.53 after the information technology research and consulting group agreed to acquire privately held and rival CEB Inc for total enterprise value of approximately $3.3 billion in a cash-and-stock deal.

The transaction is expected to close in the first-half of 2017.

L Brands ((LB)) slumped 7.7% or $5.18 to $62.16 after the specialty retailer said net sales in the five-weeks ending in December increased 1% from a year ago to $2.44 billion.

Comparable sales in the month decreased 1%.

In the fourth-quarter, L Brands forecasted diluted earnings per share may lower end of its previous guidance of $1.85 to $2 per share.

Macy''s Inc ((M)) tumbled 14.1% or $5.04 to $30.80 after the home furnishings and consumer goods retailer said comparable sales in the months of November and December dropped 2.1%.

The apparel and accessories retailer plans to close 68 stores and lowered earnings per share forecast between $2.95 and $3.10 from previously estimated range of $3.15 to $3.40.

Monsanto Company ((MON)) increased 66 cents to $105.71 after the agricultural products provider reported sales in the first-quarter ending on November 26 soared 22.7% from a year ago to $2.7 billion.

Net in the quarter swung to profit $29 million or 7 cents per diluted share compared to the loss of $253 million or 56 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

RPM International Inc ((RPM)) dropped 4.5% or $2.45 to $52.40 after the paints, and coatings maker said revenues in the second-quarter ending in November rose 3% from a year ago to $1.2 billion.

Net in the quarter swung to a loss of $70.9 million or 54 cents per diluted share compared to the profit of $83.4 million or 62 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc ((SWK)) jumped 2.3% or $2.69 to $119.17 after the hand and power tools provider said it agreed to acquire Craftsman tool brand for $900 million in cash from Sears Holdings Corp.

The transaction is expected to close during the fiscal 2017.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ((WBA)) slipped 1.2% or 97 cents to $82.01 after the drug retailer reported sales in the first-quarter ending in November slumped 1.8% from a year ago to $28.5 billion.

Net income in the quarter dropped 5.4% to $1.05 billion or 97 cents per diluted share compared to the $1.11 billion or $1.01 per share in the same quarter last year.

Walgreens estimated adjusted diluted net earnings per share in the fiscal year 2017 in the range of $4.90 to $5.20.