Ford Estimates Pension Charges to Trim Earnings; GE Net Tumbles

Mukesh Buch
20 Jan, 2017
New York City

American Express net fell 8%. Ford said it may book $3 billion under pre-tax re-measurement loss in fiscal 2016. GE net tumbled 45%. IBM net rose 1%. P&G profit surged and lifted fiscal outlook. Rockwell net jumped 7%. Schlumberger net loss narrowed. SunTrust net slid 4%.

[R]12:00 PM New York – American Express net fell 8%. Ford said it may book $3 billion under pre-tax re-measurement loss in fiscal 2016. GE net tumbled 45%. IBM net rose 1%. P&G profit surged and lifted fiscal outlook. Rockwell net jumped 7%. Schlumberger net loss narrowed. SunTrust net slid 4%.[/R]

Tollbooth Index rose 12.27 to 11,353.18.

Earnings Review

American Express Company ((AXP)) slipped 1.1% or 84 cents to $75.79 after the credit cards services provider said total revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in December dropped 4% from a year ago to $8.02 billion.

Net income in the quarter declined 8% to $825 million or 88 cents per diluted share compared to the $899 million or 89 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

""Card Member spending (adjusted for Costco and the impact of foreign exchange rates) grew 7 percent in the fourth quarter,"" chairman and chief executive officer Kenneth Chenault said but the fourth-quarter result ""reflect substantial progress.""

The credit card provider forecasted earnings per share in fiscal 2017 between $5.60 and $5.80.

Ford Motor Co ((F)) slid 3 cents to $12.40 after the automaker said in a regulatory filing that it may book pre-tax re-measurement loss in the year ending in December related to pension plans and post-retirement employee benefits of about $3 billion.

General Electric Company ((GE)) slumped 1.9% or 61 cents to $30.59 after the industrial conglomerate reported total revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in December fell 2% from a year ago to $33.1 billion.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 45% to $3.5 billion or 39 cents per diluted share compared to the $6.3 billion or 64 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

International Business Machines Corp ((IBM)) gained 1.8% or $2.94 to $169.75 after the hardware and software services provider reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in December fell 1.3% from a year ago to $21.8 billion.

Net income in the quarter rose 0.9% to $4.50 billion or $4.72 per diluted share compared to the $4.46 million or $1.08 per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue from ""strategic imperatives"" in the quarter soared 11% to $9.5 billion leads 41% to total revenue in 2016 while revenues in cloud computing services surged 33%.

In fiscal 2017, IBM estimated diluted earnings per share of about $11.95 and free cash flow realization rate in excess of 90% of GAAP net income.

Procter & Gamble Co ((PG)) jumped 3.2% or $2.72 to $87.40 after the consumer packaged goods maker reported revenues in the second-quarter ending in December slid 0.3% from a year ago to $16.86 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged 146% to $7.9 billion or $2.88 per diluted share compared to the $3.2 billion or $1.12 per share in the same quarter last year.

P&G lifted sales growth estimate to a range of 2% to 3% from the earlier guidance of 2% and earnings per share are expected to increase 48% to 50% compared to the reported EPS of $3.69 in fiscal 2016.

Rockwell Collins, Inc ((COL)) increased 1.6% or $1.41 to $90.62 after the aerospace and defense products maker said total revenues in the first-quarter ending in December advanced 2.1% from a year ago to $1.2 billion.

Net income in the quarter jumped 7.4% to $145 million or $1.10 per diluted share compared to the $135 million or $1.02 per share in the same quarter last year.

“Solid growth in the government and information-management-services segments,” chairman and chief executive officer Robert Kelly Ortberg said.

Rockwell reaffirmed revenues in the full-year in the range of $5.3 billion to $5.4 billion and free cash flow between $600 million to $700 million.

Schlumberger Limited ((SLB)) fell 67 cents to $86.56 after the oil and gas exploration services provider said revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in December plunged 8% from a year ago to $7.1 billion.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $204 million or 15 cents per diluted share compared to the $1.02 billion or 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“We had generated $7.5 billion in free cash flow and returned $8 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share buy-backs,” chairman and chief executive officer Paal Kibsgaard said.

SunTrust Banks, Inc ((STI)) advanced 2.5% or $1.34 to $55.18 after the bank and financial services provider reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in December soared 7% from a year ago to $2.2 billion.

Net income in the quarter dropped 4.1% to $448 million or 90 cents per diluted share compared to the $467 million or 91 cents per share in the same quarter last year.