Morning News: May 9, 2018
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 9th, 2018 at 7:04 am

European Companies Rushed to Invest in Iran. What Now?

The Senate May Begin Restoring Net Neutrality Today—Or Kill It for Good

Vodafone’s $22 Billion Liberty Deal to Reshape European Telecom

SoftBank CEO Accidentally Announces That Walmart Has Beaten Amazon in the Battle to Buy Flipkart

Jobs Platform Glassdoor to Be Acquired by Japan’s Recruit Holdings for $1.2 Billion

Dish Network Quarterly Revenue Misses Estimates on Pay-TV Losses

Parks, ‘Black Panther’ Propel Disney Earnings Past TV Decline

Disney CEO Is Upbeat About Deal With Fox

MoviePass Owner’s Cash Runs Low With $9.95 Monthly Deal Taking Toll

What Is Blockchain? New Facebook Unit To Explore Tech Behind Bitcoin

Toyota’s Upbeat Profit Forecast, Stock Buyback Lift Shares

Tesla Urged to ‘Raise Its Game’

Nick Maggiulli: Why Winners Keep Winning

Ben Carlson: Lawmakers Don’t Understand How Buybacks Work

Michael Batnick: Should I Time the Market?

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Oil Breaks $70
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 8th, 2018 at 10:43 am

For the first time since 2014, oil is above $70 per barrel. Two years ago, oil got as low as $26. We’re obviously waiting on the president’s decision about the Iran deal.

Interestingly, oil prices and the share prices of energy stocks had diverged. Here’s a chart showing oil (in red) and the Energy Sector divided by the S&P 500 (in black). Only recently have energy stocks seen a bounce in relative terms.

It’s almost as if the stock market doubted the oil rally would last. Then they finally threw in the towel.

Morning News: May 8, 2018
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 8th, 2018 at 7:09 am

Australia Plots Early Return to Surplus By Defying Global Forces

Should the Fed Create `FedCoin’ to to Rival Bitcoin? A Former Top Official Says `Maybe’

Comcast Is Still Trying to Bust Up the Fox-Disney Marriage. Here’s How They Could Do It

Shire (SHPG) Agrees to Be Acquired by Takeda for $62 Billion

The 13 Best Warren Buffett Quotes from the Berkshire Hathaway Meeting

T-Mobile, Sprint Come Up Short in Making Their Case For A Wireless Merger

Alibaba Buys Rocket Internet’s Daraz to Expand its E-commerce Empire into South Asia

Dimon Lays Out 100-Year China Vision With Trade Spat on Horizon

Goldman, Wells Fargo Look to Credit Cards for Bigger Returns

Icahn, Deason Want Bid Of At Least $40 Per Share For Xerox

Amazon’s Prime Video Service Has A Weird Problem — People Are Paying For It But Aren’t Watching It

Elon Musk Wants to Fill Warren Buffett’s `Moat’ With Candy, But It Still Holds Water

Michael Batnick: The Compound

Roger Nusbaum: Has The Bear Arrived?

Howard Lindzon: Momentum Monday …The Only Thing Not Working is Complaining

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Cerner Bounces Back
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 7th, 2018 at 10:04 pm

After last Wednesday’s close, Cerner (CERN) released a disappointing earnings report. At one point early in trading on Thursday, Cerner was down over 10%.

The stock rallied during much of Thursday. It then closed higher on Friday and again today. In fact, shares of CERN are actually slightly higher now than they were before the earnings announcement.

Sometimes this game makes no sense.

Wabtec to Reaffirm Guidance
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 7th, 2018 at 12:05 pm

Here’s a press release from Wabtec (WAB):

Wabtec Corporation (WAB) today plans to affirm the following at its Investor Day:

In 2018, revenues are expected to be about $4.1 billion, earnings per diluted share are expected to be about $3.80 excluding estimated restructuring and integration charges, operating margin is expected to be about 13.5 percent, and the company expects cash flow from operations to exceed net income for the year.

The company’s long-term vision is to average double-digit growth in revenues and earnings per diluted share through the business cycle, with its operating margin expected to improve about 100 basis points annually, and cash from operations expected to exceed net income annually.

Here’s the investor presentation.

FactSet Raised Dividend by 14%
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 7th, 2018 at 9:59 am

This morning, FactSet (FDS) announced that it raised its dividend by 14%. The payout will rise from 56 to 64 cents per share. This is the 13th year in a row that FDS has raised its dividend.

The dividend will be paid on June 19 to holders of record at the close of business on May 31.

Cognizant Earns $1.06 per Share
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 7th, 2018 at 7:43 am

This morning, Cognizant Technology (CTSH) reported fiscal Q1 earnings of $1.06 per share. They had been expecting at least $1.04 per share. Q1 was up from 84 cents per share one year ago. Quarterly revenue rose 18.4% to $3.91 billion. Their operating margin was just over 20%, which is nice to see.

“We achieved solid financial results in the first quarter and progressed our shift to digital services and solutions,” said Francisco D’Souza, Chief Executive Officer. “Cognizant has built the capabilities and scale to help clients digitize their offerings, create personalized customer experiences, instrument their operations, and modernize their IT infrastructure. This digital-at-scale value proposition is winning with clients and positioning us well to deliver a strong 2018.”

Now for guidance. Cognizant expects Q2 earnings of at least $1.09 per share and revenues between $4 and $4.04 billion. Wall Street had been expecting $1.12 per share. Cognizant is lowering its full-year forecast. Originally it was for earnings of at least $4.53 per share. Now they expect at least $4.47 per share.

“First quarter results demonstrate solid execution of our plan to drive sustainable revenue growth while increasing margins,” said Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer. “Our full year 2018 non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance reflects a higher than originally anticipated effective income tax rate due to the updated interpretation of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Our strong balance sheet and cash flows continue to support both our capital return program and our investments in the business to drive future growth and continue our shift to digital services and solutions.”

Morning News: May 7, 2018
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 7th, 2018 at 7:12 am

China’s ZTE Applies to Suspend Ban on Buying US Technology

What Europe’s Tough New Data Law Means for You, and the Internet

U.S. Oil Cracks $70, Dollar Heads Towards 2018 High

Nestle Pays $7.2 Billion to Sell Starbucks Coffee

Air France-KLM Shares Plunge After CEO Quits Amid Ongoing Labor Battle

Obama’s Calorie Rule Kicks in Thanks to Trump

YouTube Nerd Taunts Wall Street After Wild Tesla Call

The World’s Fifth Largest Economy Is About to Require Solar Panels for All New Homes

New MIT A.I. Could Send Self-Driving Cars Down Roads Less Traveled

Berkshire’s Annual Meeting: Buffett Approves of Apple’s Buyback Program

Blackstone to Buy Gramercy Property in $7.6 Billion Deal

VW CEO Given Rare U.S. Safe-Passage Deal

Ben Carlson: Bad Advice Can Be Expensive

Jeff Carter: Should The SEC and CFTC Regulate Cryptocurrency?

Jeff Miller: Why Are Stocks Stuck in Neutral?

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Q1 2018 Earnings Calendar
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 6th, 2018 at 2:30 pm

Here’s a list of reporting dates, Wall Street’s consensus estimates and actual reported results.

The Flash Crash Eight Years On
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on May 6th, 2018 at 10:01 am

Watch as the stock market completely unraveled eight years ago today.