3RD-QUARTER EARNINGS REPORTS DON'T DISAPPOINT.Byline: Loren Fox Dow Jones Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202] See : Finance News Service More companies are meeting or beating analysts' projections for third-quarter earnings. With reports in from more than a quarter of the 4,000 corporations tracked by the research firm First Call Inc., 75 percent have met or exceeded analysts' estimates. In addition, upside Upside The potential dollar amount by which the market or a stock could rise. Notes: This is basically an educated guess on how high a stock could go in the near future. See also: Bull, Downside surprises where earnings surpassed the mean estimate by more than 5 percent have outnumbered Outnumbered is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One in 2007.[1] It stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as a mother and father who are outnumbered by their three children. negative surprises nearly 2-to-1. Since the start of 1994, 68 percent of all quarterly reports have met or beaten projections, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. First Call. The stock market continues to charge ahead, propelled by such performances. A perfect example is Chrysler Corp. A week ago, the automaker reported third-quarter earnings of 93 cents a share, above Wall Street's mean estimate of 71 cents, and the stock rose 3 percent. But Chrysler's stock was also lifted by optimism regarding its potential to grow. Thus the company demonstrated two trends running through this earnings period: Investors are rewarding companies that report upside surprises, but they reserve their greatest cheers for those that also hold the promise for sustained profit growth. Stan Shipley, a senior economist at Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH), founded in 1850, is a diversified, global financial services firm. It is a participant in investment banking, equity and fixed income sales, research and trading, investment management, private equity, and private banking. , said he estimates operating earnings Operating Earnings Profits after subtracting expenses such as marketing, cost of goods sold, administration and general operating costs from revenue. Notes: Tax and interest expenses are not subtracted - operating earnings are synonymous with EBIT (earnings before for the quarter will come in 10 percent higher than last year's third quarter, which would be 2.5 percent higher than Wall Street expected. Earnings are typically more positive than negative because of the constant revisions of estimates. ``Analysts keep bringing estimates down as we get closer to the reporting period, and many overshoot o·ver·shoot n. A change from steady state in response to a sudden change in some factor, as in electric potential or polarity when a cell or tissue is stimulated. on the down side,'' said Chuck Hill, director of research at First Call. As a result, the market has visibly applauded upside surprises in key companies. Shares of Sears Roebuck & Co., for example, added 4 percent, and Merck & Co.'s stock gained 1 percent, after their quarters beat forecasts. But with upside earnings surprises becoming more common, investors have become more savvy about them. In many cases, companies' stocks will rise in the days before an upside earnings surprise is expected, then drop on the news. As a result, Compaq Computer Corp.'s stock fell 1.5 percent Wednesday after the computer maker reported profits of $1.25 a diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share, beating analysts' estimate of $1.07. ``In that situation, it's buy on the rumor and sell on the fact,'' said Peter Cardillo, chief investment strategist strat·e·gist n. One who is skilled in strategy. Noun 1. strategist - an expert in strategy (especially in warfare) strategian market strategist - someone skilled in planning marketing campaigns at Westfalia Investments. Observers said that with market valuations running on the high side, companies have to show evidence of current growth and what will support future growth. That's why Chrysler, with the rosiest growth expectations of the Big Three automakers, saw its stock rise on its third-quarter earnings surprise. On the other hand, rival Ford Motor Co. reported operating earnings of 53 cents a share on Wednesday, a penny above estimates, but its stock fell 2.6 percent because its report didn't point the way for future automotive growth. In becoming more savvy about earnings surprises, the market has gotten better at digesting both good and bad news. In the second quarter, Motorola Inc.'s earnings fell short of projections and the stock plummeted 13 percent, creating jitters jitters 'Butterflies' Psychology An episode of nervousness or anxiety that often precedes a public event; jitters is a type of performance anxiety which may affect actors in a stage production–stage fright or soloist musicians; it may respond to anxiolytics about earnings throughout the market. For the third quarter, investors braced themselves for disappointment. Motorola earlier this month reported a 58 percent drop in profits to 34 cents a share, below Wall Street's estimate of 35 cents, and the next day, the stock fell just 2 percent. A big difference from the previous quarter has been the reaction to disappointments. In the second quarter, early disappointments from Motorola and warnings from other big names set a negative tone for the earnings period and sent the entire market down. Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , it took a few weeks for even positive surprises to lift stock prices. But that hasn't happened in the third quarter. The market merely blinked at early disappointments, chalking them up to problems at individual companies, said Lehman's Shipley. ``I think the market is getting better at handling preannouncements,'' he said. Shipley and other analysts believe the plethora plethora /pleth·o·ra/ (pleth´ah-rah) 1. an excess of blood. 2. by extension, a red florid complexion.pletho´ric pleth·o·ra n. 1. of upside surprises in recent quarters may have finally overcome investors' caution about how much profit growth the economy can sustain, and they are more willing to accept good news. ``I think we're in a new environment,'' Shipley said. ``I think we're at a stage where there's no top of how high the market can go.'' |
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