Restaurant stocks are turning tables and headlines.    

Restaurant stocks are turning tables and headlines.

So my wife didn’t think we had enough Christmas lights outside and surprised me with another string when I got home. I hooked the new ones up - and lo and behold somehow another string went dead. Guess who’s going be out there again tonight - and in the rain no less? Honey electricity and water don’t mix too well do they? One husband served extra crispy - coming right up. Asian markets rose as we slept. The Hang Seng and the Nikkei were both up under 1%. And Europe was showing me some green this morning as well. ...

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Stocks In Focus For Wednesday

US stock futures retreated on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of release of auto sales data for the month of December.[More...]

Filed under: Earnings reports, Nokia Corp. (NOK), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), H and R Block (HRB), Kroger Co (KR), Costco Wholesale (COST), FedEx Corp (FDX), Procter and Gamble (PG), Eastman Kodak (EK), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Dow Chemical (DOW), Texas Instruments (TXN), CKE Restaurants (CKR)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Analogic Corp. (NASDAQ: ALOG) Q1 earnings plunged well below expectations due to costs.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) solid Q3 earnings were in line with analysts expectations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) beat Q1 expectations and same-stores sales increased.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) lowered its guidance and announced layoffs and factory closings.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) withdrew its guidance due in part to weak consumer spending.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) lowered its outlook due to weaker-than-expected holiday sales.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) offered a full-year profit forecast that missed analysts' expectations.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) lowered its earnings guidance and announced price increases.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) reported a deeper-than-expected loss but topped sales estimates.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) Q2 net loss was in line with expectations but revenue fell short.
• Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) raised its full-year forecast, doubling the share price.
• Hooker Furniture Corp. (NASDAQ: HOFT) shares sold off following disappointing Q3 results and outlook.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) reported a deeper-than-expected Q3 loss on increased costs.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Costco, Kroger, Krispy Kreme, Lululemon, FedEx, P&G and others

Earnings highlights: Costco, Kroger, Krispy Kreme, Lululemon, FedEx, P&G and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Earnings reports, McDonald's (MCD), Yum Brands (YUM), Burger King Hldgs (BKC), CKE Restaurants (CKR)

CKE Restaurants (NYSE: CKR), owner of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's brands, reported earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday. The top line fell a little over 4%, coming in at $336.6 million. On a diluted basis, the bottom line cooked up $0.10 per share. That was a penny less than what was earned last year, but the company did manage to meet Wall Street's expectations.

Moving away from total sales and net income, let's look at the all-important same-store sales results. For the third quarter, comps for both CKE brands on a blended basis rose 0.9% according to the earnings release. An earlier press release focusing on same-store sales in November, had comps increasing by 0.3% on a blended basis. Year-to-date, blended comps moved 1.9% higher. When you compare these changes to their respective year-ago periods, you'll see that CKE isn't really doing gangbuster business.

I find neither the earnings numbers nor the sales figures particularly compelling. Management seems to think that the dreadful economic crisis we're facing is mostly responsible. Hey, it certainly isn't helping, and I sympathize with CKE's challenges during the credit crisis. Yet, I'd have to respectfully suggest that management get out there and get some hardcore marketing efforts going. When sales are down, you need to up the ante when it comes to branding and convincing patrons to come through your door. These comps are pretty weak and unattractive. They can be pushed higher with some innovative, creative campaigns.

Continue reading CKE Restaurants' Q3 and comps not as juicy as the burgers

CKE Restaurants' Q3 and comps not as juicy as the burgers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Late on Wednesday, fast food chain operator, CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR), announced that its third-quarter net profit fell 13% to $5.4 million, or 10 cents a share, from $6.2 million, or 11 cents a share in the corresponding quarter in 2007.[More...]

Monday:
Economic NA
Earnings H & R Block (HRB), Nat Semi (NSM), Pep Boys (PBY)

Tuesday:
Economic Pending Home Sales (-2.3%)
Earnings Analogic (ALOG), AutoZone (AZO), Kroger (KR), Toro (TTC), ADC Telecom (ADCT), Cooper (COO), Oxford (OXM), Pall (PLL), SAIC (SAI)

Wednesday:
Economic Weekly Crude, Treasury Budget (-$193B)
Earnings Korn/Ferry (KFY), CKE Restaurants (CKR), Greif (GEF), NCI Bldg (NCS)

Thursday:
Economic Weekly Claims, Import / Export, Trade Balance (-$54B)
Earnings Ciena (CIEN), Costco (COST), Luluemon (LULU), Esterline (ESL), Martek (MATK), Teekay (TK)

Friday:
Economic PPI & Core (-1.8%, 0.2%), Retail Sales (-1.4%, -1.7%), Biz’ Invs (-0.1%), Michigan (58) Earnings NA