U.S. Movers: Foot Locker, General Motors, Las Vegas Sands, NetApp, Petco, Phillips 66

Scott Peters
29 Nov, 2023
New York City

General Motors jumped 8.5% to $31.35 after the vehicle maker announced a $10 billion stock buyback, raised its dividend, and reinstated its annual outlook.

The company estimated net income attributable to stockholders between $9.1 billion and $9.7 billion, compared to the previous outlook of $9.3 billion and $10.7 billion.

Diluted earnings per share in the $6.52 to $7.02 range, including the estimated impact of the accelerated stock repurchase, compared to the previous outlook of $6.54 to $7.54

The vehicle maker said it plans to increase its dividend by 33%, or 3 cents per quarter, to 12 cents, beginning with the declaration in January 2024.

GM had about 1.37 billion outstanding shares prior to the announcement of the accelerated stock repurchase program.

Foot Locker jumped 8.5% to $25.85 after the specialty athletic retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending in October declined 8.6% to $1.99 billion from $2.17 billion, and comparable store sales fell 8.0%.

The company attributed the decline in sales to "ongoing consumer softness," and the closure of Champ stores negatively impacted same-store sales by 3 percentage points.

Net income in the quarter decreased to $28 million from $96 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to 30 cents from $1.01 a year ago.

The retailer tightened its full-year revenue growth estimate to between 8.0% and 8.5% from the previous guidance between 8.0% and 9.0%, and comparable sales growth to range between 8.0% and 8.5% from 8.0% to 9.0%.

The company entered into a long-term licensing agreement with two retailers in India and will commence sales operations in 2024.

During the third quarter, the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share for a total of $38 million and did not repurchase any shares.

Petco Health and Wellness Company plunged 16.7% to $3.20 after the specialty retailer reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending in October declined 0.5% to $1.49 billion from $1.50 billion, and same-store sales were flat from a year ago but rose 4.1% from two years ago.

The company swung to a net loss of $1.2 billion from a profit of $19 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to a loss of $4.63 from a profit of 7 cents a year ago.

During the quarter, Petco recorded a $1.2 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge associated with goodwill originally recorded in fiscal 2015, due to the decline in the company's stock price.

The company reiterated its 2023 revenue guidance to between $6.15 billion and $6.275 billion, adjusted earnings per share to 8 cents from the previous estimate between 24 cents and 30 cents, and confirmed its capital expenditure between $215 million and $225 million.

NetApp soared 10.3% to $86.11 after the intelligent data infrastructure company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending in October decreased 6% to $1.56 billion from $1.66 billion, and billings declined 9% to $1.45 billion from $1.60 billion a year ago.

Net income plunged to $233 million from $750 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to $1.10 from $3.41 a year ago.

During the quarter, the company returned $403 million to stockholders through stock repurchases and cash dividends.

For the fiscal year 2024 third quarter, the company estimated revenue in the range of $1.51 billion and $1.67 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.17 billion and $1.27 billion.

For the full year 2024, the cloud infrastructure company estimated revenue to decline 2% from a year ago, gross margin of 70%, and earnings per share between $4.15 and $4.35 a share.

The company also declared a dividend of 50 cents per share to be paid on January 24, 2024, to shareholders on record on January 5, 2024.

Phillips 66 jumped 3.7% to $122.33 after the activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed a stake of $1 billion in the energy company in the hopes of a potential gain of 75%. 

Elliott is seeking two board seat and plans to improve oil refiner and retailer's performance, according to the letter sent by the activist investor to the company's board.  

Elliott is targeting  operating earnings of $14 billion by 2025 by focusing on improving company's refining operations.  

Las Vegas Sands Corp declined $1.07 to $45.32 after Miriam Adelson said in a filing with the financial regulator that it plans to sell $2 billion of stocks  in the company. 

Adelson plans to use proceeds to buy a majority stake in professional basketball franchise Maverick owned by Mark Cuban.