Stocks Depressed
Already down before General Electric's (GE) earnings update that generally met expectations, stocks are poised to open lower following a worse-than-expected jobless claims report and a bigger-than-expected 1.1% jump in import prices. Bond prices are higher following the economic data, but world markets are mixed.
General Electric said reported 1Q profits of $0.35 per share, matching First Call's consensus estimate. The conglomerate posted revenue of $30.52 billion, slightly ahead of the year-ago's 30.49 billion. Going forward, GE said it expects 2002 EPS of $1.65-1.67 per share, in line with the Street's $1.66 per share mean estimate.
Wal-mart Stores (WMT) led generally strong same-store sales results among discount and apparel retailers, reporting that same-store sales grew 9.5% in March, at the higher end of its internal 8-10% forecast. Net sales in the five weeks through April 5th rose 14.5% from the year-ago period.
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) posted 1Q earnings excluding charges of $0.02 per share, matching the Street's consensus estimate. The Internet communications and media company also raised targets for 2002, increasing full-year revenue projections to $870-$910 million from a previous range of $750-$800 million, and EBITDA to $105-$130 million from $70-$100 million, but the upbeat targets reflect its recent acquisition of HotJobs, and YHOO said its core advertising business remains weak.
Network security provider Network Associates, Inc. (NET) reported a 1Q pro forma profit of $0.09 per share, beating the Street's consensus EPS forecast by $0.02 on strong demand for its products. The results exclude web-security provider McAfee.com, in which NET has 75% ownership. NET raised FY02 guidance, saying that it now expects pro forma earnings of $0.50-0.55 per share and revenues of $875-900 million, excluding McAfee.
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