BloggingStocks

ConAgra and Lennar fall on earnings results

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-06-26T17:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, ConAgra Foods (CAG), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Housing

On Thursday, Omaha-based ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) reported profit growth in the fourth quarter due in part to contributions from its commodity trading unit, which the company just sold. Also, homebuilder Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) said its fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed, despite writedowns and a hefty drop in revenues.

ConAgra said earnings grew almost 5% from the year-ago period to $201 million, or 41 cents per share, including 23 cents per share from discontinued operations. The company also said revenue rose 15% to $3.08 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings for the quarter ended May 25 to be 34 cents per share on revenue of $3.4 billion.

ConAgra guided earnings to between 26 cents and 28 cents per share in the first quarter, and $1.56 and $1.59 per share for fiscal 2009. Analysts are predicting earnings per share of 33 cents per share in the first quarter, as well as $1.60 for the year.

ConAgra shares fell $1.23, or 5.6%, to $20.92 in trading Thursday. Shares have fallen 4.0% in the past three months.

As it continues to struggle through the housing market downturn, Miami-based Lennar posted a 61% drop in revenue to $1.1 billion. And for the three months ended May 31, Lennar reported a net loss of $120.9 million, or 76 cents per share, compared to its loss of $244.2 million, or $1.55 per share, in the same period of the previous a year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had predicted a loss of 55 cents per share on revenue of $1.09 billion.

Lennar, one of the largest builders of residential homes in the U.S., said it delivered 3,830 homes in the most recent quarter, down 60% from last year. New orders totaled 4,396 homes, a 45% drop. The company also warned of further deterioration in the housing market for the rest of the year.

Shares fell 8.4%, or $1.23, to $13.34 on Thursday. Shares have fallen 23.6% in the past three months.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Before the bell: Futures lower on financials, tech concerns

Melly Alazraki — 2008-06-26T07:48:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), Merrill Lynch (MER), Research in Motion (RIMM), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Economic data, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve

U.S. stock futures were lower early Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve announced rates will be kept steady. Investors this morning are mostly concerned about financials following Goldman Sachs downgrades of several banks. Wall Street is also worried about the outlook for tech stocks after both RIM and Oracle reported quarterly results Wednesday and gave a tepid outlook.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks managed to end the session with moderate gains as oil prices declined. The Federal Reserve held interest rates at 2%, saying inflation has become a higher risk to U.S. economy. The Dow industrials rose 4 points, or 0.04%, the S&P 500 added 7 points, or 0.58%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 33 points, or 1.39%.

In economic news, final first quarter GDP will be reported at 8:30 a.m. EDT, with economists expecting a slight revision upward. At the same time, weekly jobless claims is due out. Finally, at 10:00 a.m., May existing home sales figures will be released, and economists expect a small growth in sales.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose Thursday after a steep decline Wednesday following a report showing increase in U.S. inventories. Crude is back above $135 a barrel this morning as buyers came back to the market.

In corporate news, several main stories are capturing the headlines this morning:

A Goldman Sachs analyst downgraded U.S. brokers from Attractive to Neutral, saying Citigroup (NYSE: C) may write down an additional $9 billion and raise more capital and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) will likely incur $4.2 billion of write-downs in the second quarter. Citi stock is down 3.5% and MER 2.3% in premarket trading.

Homebuilder Lennar (NYSE: LEN) posted a narrower second-quarter loss and said the housing market conditions will continue to deteriorate even more this year.

Both Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) reported results Wednesday after the close. RIM's profit doubled during the quarter, but the results and guidance fell short of analysts' expectations. The stock is down nearly 9% in premarket trading. Oracle, on the other hand, posted very strong results, beating estimates. After investors cheered, pushing the stock price higher in after-hours trading, Oracle dampened investor sentiment later as it said the slowdown will increase in the traditionally sluggish summer months. Shares have been punished and are down 3.3% in premarket trading.

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Lennar, KB Home expected to narrow Q2 losses

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-06-25T09:52:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Housing

Anyone looking for good news in the housing sector will no doubt be keeping an eye on homebuilders Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) when they report second-quarter earnings this week. Both companies are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to narrow their losses.

Lennar is expected to report net loss of 45 cents per share, as compared to a loss of 56 cents per share in the previous quarter and a loss of $1.55 per share in the year ago period. While the company hasn't posted a quarterly profit since the first quarter of 2007, the loss per share in the most recent quarter was 51 cents smaller than analysts had expected.

Miami-based Lennar is one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., and it also provides financial services for home buyers. Even with the housing slump, the company had revenues in the past year of $10.2 billion, but its net loss totaled $1.9 billion. The company's long-term EPS growth forecast is 11.5%, which is less than the sector average and the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to hold Lennar.

Shares closed Tuesday at $14.72, up from the 52-week low of $11.98 in January. The share price is down 62.9% from a year ago.

KB Home is expected to report a net loss of 85 cents per share, as compared to a loss of $3.47 cents per share in the previous quarter and a loss of $2.26 per share in the year ago period. KB Home's losses have been larger than analysts expected in each of the past four quarters.

Los Angeles-based KB Home caters to home buyers in the South and West, and also has branding deals with Martha Stewart and the Walt Disney. In the past year, the company's revenues were $6.4 billion and its net loss was $976 million. The company's long-range EPS growth forecast is 12.3%, which is less than the sector average and the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to hold KB Home.

Shares closed Tuesday at $18.77, up from the 52-week low of $15.76 in January. The share price has fallen 54.6% from a year ago.

Lennar is scheduled to report earnings Thursday morning, KB Home on Friday morning.

For more news that could influence the results, see BloggingStocks' Lennar and KB Home coverage.

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Pre-market movers: LEH, MER, NOK, WM

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-06-09T07:54:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Nokia Corp. (NOK), Merrill Lynch (MER), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Washington Mutual (WM)

Lehman (NYSE: LEH) is off 8% on bad earnings.

Merril Lynch (NYSE: MER) is off almost 3% on concerns it may post large losses.

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) is up about 3% on what seems to be a dead-cat bounce from last week's lows.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is up over 2% probably on news that WiMax patent holders are creating a pool to accelerate adoption.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Cramer on BloggingStocks: Deep in the heart of defaults

Jim Cramer — 2008-05-30T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Market matters, Countrywide Financial (CFC), D.R.Horton (DHI), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), Housing, Recession, MBIA Inc (MBI)

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the mortgage problem is in the process of cresting, which is why the stocks have largely bottomed.

We are in the heart of default country, and we knew we would be. This is the toughest moment. You need to go back and look at the calendar to realize the astonishing acceleration in defaults. It's simple: This moment two years ago is when the underwriting standards were the lowest, and this is the moment when the defaults will be the highest because the loans are resetting at high levels and most of the lenders, lenders like Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) (Cramer's Take), are more interested in getting as much out of a borrower as possible before kicking him out than working out the loan.

Think about it.

In the second quarter of 2006, the housing industry was going strong. We were in the 7-million-homes-changing-hands mode, and the vast majority of those homes required little money down, with home equity loans being taken out immediately to pay whatever little interest was being charged. These were the moments of the ultimate no-doc-high-fee loans by New Century Financial, Ameriquest, Resmed (Ditech), American Home Mortgage, Novastar, and of course, Countrywide. This was when the homebuilders' mortgage arms lent the most terribly.

This was also the height of packaging, where the loans were shipped off quickly to who knows where. These were the homes that were being priced at 120% of value when you tacked on home equity loans, which a huge number of borrowers did.

In short, from now until the end of the year, almost everyone who bought in 2006 is underwater, and it is only the need to preserve credit and the American dream that is keeping people in these homes.

That's why I have been saying 17 months from now -- it was 18, we get closer! -- we will be through this problem. I am picking 17 months because these bad loans reached their height during this period and went on until the end of the year, and I figure those who are going to default will do so within this period.

After 2006, the underwriting standards tightened dramatically, although there were still some homes underwritten by that nasty gang of ne'er-do-wells, but that lasted about two months. That's another reason why the problem will go on through 2009 -- those deals need two years, too.

After that, here is what will happen. The remaining people will find a way to make ends meet and the homebuilders, the Tolls (NYSE: TOL) (Cramer's Take) and Lennars (NYSE: LEN) (Cramer's Take) and Hovnanians (NYSE: HOV) (Cramer's Take) and KB Homes (NYSE: KBH) (Cramer's Take), the Pultes (NYSE: PHM) (Cramer's Take) and DR Hortons (NYSE: DHI) (Cramer's Take), will have gone through their whole spec inventories and the new-home inventories will be smaller. The household formation numbers and the lower price of homes will force more buys to be made.

And we will be out of this jam. The important thing to remember is that there should be no surprises that this is occurring right now. That's the 2-and-20-plus HELOC talking, and anyone who didn't think it would happen this way is all wrong.

It is why I was ranting for the Fed to cut rates hard back then, so the two and 28 when they rolled over would not be the disaster that they turned out to be. You couldn't refinance at those higher short-term rates. It is why the FHA was a must to get involved, because otherwise it was all voluntary, and despite what you hear, the mortgage servicers would do better if they harass and harass and harass rather than work with the borrowers. The mortgage companies need to get something out of them. It is why the CDOs were doomed from the period. It is why outfits like Ambac (NYSE: ABK) (Cramer's Take) and MBIA (NYSE: MBI) (Cramer's Take) were walking dead men as they insured those CDOs and why PMI (NYSE: PMI) (Cramer's Take) and MGIC (NYSE: MTG) (Cramer's Take) will struggle to stay alive -- these companies insured the individual loans. It is why the regional bank holders of HELOC will most likely not make it.

It is why everything bad is happening now.

What people don't realize is that things are going to crest in five months, the peak of two years of madness, and we have to be thinking that things are going to get better, not worse. It is why the homebuilders stopped going down. They are discounting the scenario I just outlined.

If we get congressional relief and help from the FHA, then 17 months will be too long and the turn should be within a year, because the foreclosures would die down dramatically.

Already the mortgage servicer reports, just released for April, are showing some improvement. That's people digging in their heels from 2005 and the first part of 2006. It is why, as some would say, the pig is moving through the python.

Cause for optimism? No. Cause for realism and why the stocks have not taken out their lows.

Next week Toll and Hovnanian report. They will not be able to say we are over the hump yet.

But if they don't acknowledge the hope, they will be just as wrong as they were in the height of 2006, when they were all playing the game.

RELATED LINKS:

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

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SmartMoney sees homebuilders poised for a nice recovery

Eliza Popescu — 2008-05-29T15:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Forecasts, Management, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), Economic data, Housing

Despite the fact that the challenging housing conditions are still persisting, it looks like that some major housing companies are poised to see the light at the end of tunnel. SmartMoney underlines the fact that there has been some encouraging trend for homebuilders during the past few months.

Major names such as Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), Pulte Homes Inc. (NYSE: PHM), Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) and D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) showed a nice recovery attempt lately, but the National Association of Home Builders still warns investors to remain cautions regarding companies in the housing sector.

The National Association points out that, "the housing market has shown no evidence of improvement thus far," and the sentiment index is close to a historical low.

Looking at investing in housing stocks, one analyst at T. Rowe Price, Josh Spencer, makes a two-way analysis. From his point of view, housing stocks have a lot of risk if we are talking about their volatility, but they are not as risky when referring to a long-term time horizon due to their current cheap value.

One point of interest for some analysts is Toll Brothers, which came with earnings of $1.23 billion for its April quarter. The company's Chief Executive Robert Toll showed optimism related to its further recovery, while a Soleil Securities analyst lifted her price target on the stock to $28 from $24.

As the past moments have already proved, housing stocks have the potential to outperform difficult times. Just have some patience and be prepared for even more volatility, while staying close to the big builders that have cash. Thus, you can witness some really nice gains using these housing stocks.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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Earnings highlights: Adobe, ConAgra, Lennar, Oracle, Tiffany, Darden and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-03-29T15:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Walgreen Co (WAG), Penney (J.C.) (JCP), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Tiffany and Co (TIF), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Darden Restaurants (DRI), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), CKE Restaurants (CKR)

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

AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) posted record third-quarter earnings and revenue.
Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) posted better-than-estimated first-quarter results and raised its outlook.
CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) posted third-quarter results that missed estimates.
ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) third-quarter profit surged as strong sales offset commodity prices.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) beat third-quarter expectations and offered guidance.
FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) second-quarter results beat estimates and it raised its outlook.
Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) remained upbeat despite a fourth-quarter loss.
Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) record fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations.
Inter Parfums Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAR) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) beat second-quarter expectations but lowered its guidance.
JC Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) lowered its first-quarter outlook on weaker-than-expected sales.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) swung to a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on write-downs.
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) raised its second-quarter and full-year guidance.
Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) merely met earnings expectations, sending shares lower.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
Usana Health Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) posted lower-than-expected first-quarter results.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted solid second-quarter results, including same-store sales growth.

Also, auction-rate securities issues may hurt some tech company results. Analysts keep cutting earings estimates for the big banks, but some are eyeing Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) earnings prospects as it expands in China, as well as Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) on soaring demand for commodities.

Upcoming results to watch for include Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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KB Home (KBH) reports larger-than-expected quarterly loss

Eliza Popescu — 2008-03-28T12:07:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Bad news, Consumer experience, KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Housing

Shares of home builder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) have been tumbling in early trading after the company announced this morning it swung to a first quarter loss. The company's quarterly numbers were dragged down by higher write-downs related to lower home prices. Unlike its competitor Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), KB Home was not able to beat analysts' expectations, sending its shares down over 5% this morning.

Including a charge of $223.9 million in write-downs, the residential home builder posted a quarterly loss of $268.2 million, or $3.47 per share, hurt by lower new home deliveries and orders. The company's quarterly numbers were also hurt by higher impairment charges. Analysts expected KB Home to show a quarterly loss of "only" $1.17 per share.

The global crisis in the credit market put pressure on the home builder's revenue, which plunged 43% to $794.2 million. For this period, the slumping housing market and credit crisis came with a plunge of 75% for new home orders and with a drop of 57% for new home deliveries. Analysts, on average, predicted sales of $805.7 million in the quarter, according to Thomson Financial.

Looking ahead, KB Home didn't show too much optimism and said it expects a further weak home demand related to the challenging business conditions.The company believes that difficult market conditions will not improve any time soon, which will results in a further slowdown in consumer confidence and weak home sales.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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Lennar (LEN) beats earnings estimates

Eliza Popescu — 2008-03-27T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Consumer experience, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Economic data, Housing

With the financial crisis spreading quickly, housing stocks have been facing tough times over the past few months. But on the heels of these worries, shares of one of the nation's largest homebuilders, Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), have been climbing today despite posting a first quarter loss, as its earnings results were not as bad as analysts had forecast.

The company announced it swung to a quarterly loss of $88.2 million, or 56 cents per share, compared with a profit of $68.6 million, or 43 cents per share a year earlier, hurt by lower new home deliveries and orders. Included in the company's earnings figures was a charge of 38 cents per share related to valuation adjustments and write-offs. Excluding that, Lennar's loss would have come at 18 cents per share, exceeding analysts' forecasts for a quarterly loss of $1.07 per share.

The company's quarterly revenue saw a huge fall of 62% to $1.06 billion, down from $2.79 billion a year ago, on pressure from the average selling price which lost 8%. For this period, the slumping housing market came with a drop of 60% for new home deliveries, and with a decline of 57% for new home orders.

With persistent fears over a possible recession, Lennar had to face a pretty difficult 2007. The tumbling housing market and credit crunch brought a slowdown in consumer spending, and the company believes this is far from over. As supply of homes will continues to exceed the demand, the company still has to face weak volume of new home sales and depressed prices.

Lennar's positive earnings gave investors' some hope amid the challenging market conditions, but the lack of home demand is still a major concern. Uncertainties around consumer spending could bring more substantial declines in orders and this is not something we can ignore.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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Oversold stocks, how to pay zero taxes & new ways to save - Today in Money 3/27

Allan Halprin — 2008-03-27T09:02:00+00:00

Filed under: McDonald's (MCD), Money and Finance Today, Clear Channel Commun (CCU), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), AMR Corp (AMR), Delta Air Lines (DAL)

In the News:

· 4th Quarter GDP Rises Only 0.6%

· More Government Bailouts May Be on the Way

· Oracle Shares Plunge on Disappointing Earnings

· Lennar Posts Another Loss, Sees Worsening Housing Market

· ConAgra Profit Rises 60%

· Clear Channel Wins Ruling on Buyout

· Bus Tours Showcase Foreclosed Homes

· YouTube to Provide More Viewership Info

· More American & Delta Flights Canceled

· Egg McMuffin Inventor Dies at 89

Oversold Stocks Worth a Closer Look
These stocks have taken a pounding in the past few months. But they're looking ripe for smart buyers now. They include Nvidia, Game Stop and Seagate.
Timely Trio Of Oversold Stocks - Forbes.com

How to Pay Zero Taxes
Nearly 50 million Americans do it. But once you see how, you'll be glad you're not one of them. Here are top ways you can get your taxes to zero.
How to pay zero taxes - MONEY Magazine

Want to Slash Your Gas Prices? Slow Down
There is one driving tip that will probably save you more gas than all the others, especially if you spend a lot of time on the highway: Slow down. Speeding on the highway adds a surprising amount to your fuel costs. Drive 100 miles in a typical car and every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 59 cents a gallon.
Speeding wastes gas - CNNmoney

Fastest Growing Metro Areas in U.S.
Dallas-Ft. Worth tops population growth according to numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday. 8 of the top 10 growers are in the south. The include Atlanta, Phoenix, Houston, Riverside, CA, Charlotte and Austin.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas grows more than any other U.S. city - CNNmoney

New Ways to Save
The days of earning 4% or more in a savings account aren't over quite yet. A few big-name banks, such as Wachovia and Washington Mutual, are aiming to buck the downward trend of lower rates. They're offering new savings accounts that boast annual percentage yields of up to a very attractive 6.5%. Just watch out for all the restrictions.
New Savings Accounts Come With Perks and Restrictions - SmartMoney.com

How Safe Are Your Medical Records?
A host of big-name companies is launching initiatives aimed at helping people take control of their personal health-care information and making it more useful to them. But the elephant in the room is privacy.
As more of our health records move online, privacy concerns grow - MarketWatch

Most Overexposed Celebrities
We are so over these celebrities who can't seem to avoid the spotlight. Topping the list are five women that just won't go away -- Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Pam Anderson and Nicole Richie.
Most Overexposed Celebrities - Forbes.com

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Before the bell: Futures higher ahead of GDP; ORCL drops, CCU climbs, LEN beats

Melly Alazraki — 2008-03-27T07:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, Market matters, Clear Channel Commun (CCU), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Economic data, Housing, Federal Reserve

U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open at the start of trading Thursday with Oracle likely to drop after reporting disappointing earnings yesterday. Sentiment could change, however as economic growth reading will be reported an hour before the opening bell.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks dropped on renewed credit concerns after after news that the Clear Channel deal may be stalled due to financing issues. Declining durable goods orders didn't help sentiment and markets ended up declining with a day that exhibited patterns only too familiar as of late, a surge in commodity prices while the dollar weakened. The Dow industrials dropped 109 points, or 0.88%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 16 points, or 0.71%, and the S&P 500 fell 11 points, or 0.88%.

Today, several more economic readings will help shape the session, especially with the final reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product -- due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT -- which is expected to remain the same as previous reading and show a 0.6% economic growth, a near standstill, and the weakest pace in five years. The deepening housing slump has probably tipped the U.S. economy into a recession. The situation may not be much better in 2008 as consumer spending has slowed and business investment and the housing market has continued to decline. Despite actions taken by the Federal Reserve and the government, these measures' effect will be a while in stimulating the economy and may not do so soon enough to avoid recession.

Also at 8:30, the Labor Department will release its weekly initial claims report.

Overseas, Asian markets were mixed, but Europe has been higher by midday.

Oil futures rose this morning despite the dollar strengthening somewhat, although remaining near lows.

Companies in the news this morning:

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) shares are down nearly 7% in premarket trading after the software giant announced fiscal third-quarter earnings inline with expectations, but missed on the revenue side as well as on its sales forecast. Oracle's earnings rose 30% from a year ago, but the missed sales forecasts could indicate that businesses are spending less on technology due to the economy.

Meanwhile, after Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU) sued the banks from puling out of their agreement to finance the deal, a Texas judge ordered them to fund the proposed $19 billion buyout of Clear Channel by private equity firms. CCU shares are up over 8.6% in premarket trading as a result.

Finally, of companies reporting earnings today, Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) said it swung to a first-quarter loss of $88.2 million, or 56 cents a share, with revenue dropping 62% to $1.06 billion. This is its fourth loss in a row and from what the company said, market conditions continued to deteriorate. Still, the company came ahead of expectations.

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Home builders sucked into credit crisis

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-03-15T14:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Bad news, KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), Housing

As the financial crisis spreads quickly from Wall Street to other industries, two large home builder projects have received default notices. The problems involve developments in Las Vegas, where house prices have collapsed.

A project involving KB Homes (NYSE: KBH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) has failed to make interest payments on $765 million in debt.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the project is spear-headed by a private company, Focus Property Group.

It is not clear how many other large real estate developments involving public home builders are facing near-term margin calls, but with the falling price of real estate, the problem in Las Vegas is unlikely to be that last one. That means that already weakened firms could face a credit crisis of their own as home prices continue to drop and the potential value of homes under construction face going on the market for a fraction of what they may have brought just a year ago.

Some of the large home building company stocks have lost over two-thirds of their value over the past year, and that may only be the beginning.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Early analyst calls: SAP, KBH, LEN

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-02-27T07:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL)

Lehman Brothers has initiated the home-building industry with a "positive" rating and put price targets on Pulte (NYSE: PHM) of $15, Lennar (NYSE: LEN) at $20, KB Home (NYSE: KBH) at $24, and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) at $27, according to Briefing.com.

Several analysts have said that growth targets at SAP (NYSE: SAP) "could be overly ambitious," according to MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Cramer on BloggingStocks: Ignore the headlines, the Fed's magic worked

Jim Cramer — 2008-01-28T09:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Newspapers, Bank of America (BAC), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Wachovia Corp (WB), Toll Brothers (TOL), Wells Fargo (WFC), Federal Reserve, Cramer on BloggingStocks

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you should look at the moves in these stocks to see how the Fed's move took effect.

Didn't take long for people to start questioning why the market didn't do better after the cut, did it? The papers drone on about this concept and the papers are written by people who don't trade for a living.

If they did, they would know that we had explosive, once-in-a-lifetime moves in the Banks Index and the Housing Index last week that weren't repealed. Go hit up some of those stocks or the index, go hit up where a Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) (Cramer's Take) or Wachovia (NYSE: WB) (Cramer's Take) traded or a Lennar (NYSE: LEN) (Cramer's Take) or a Toll (NYSE: TOL) (Cramer's Take). Those stocks are so far off the bottom it's incredible.

How could anyone say the rate cut had no effect? In fact, the move is so astonishing in its strength that I am sure, if you trade, you said to yourself, "Oh my, that's the power right there of the Fed, the ability of a big-cap stock like Wells to trade from $24 to $30 or for Wachovia to trade from $28 to $36 or BofA (NYSE: BAC) (Cramer's Take) to trade from $33 to $40 where it was able to place billions of dollars in preferreds so it can live to play another gain."

Do these writers follow Toll, or maybe Ryland (NYSE: RYL) (Cramer's Take)? How about KB Home (NYSE: KBH) (Cramer's Take)? These are gigantic moves all because of the Fed.

At the same time, one look at a Wyeth or a Glaxo (NYSE: GSK) (Cramer's Take) or a Colgate (NYSE: CL) (Cramer's Take) or a Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) (Cramer's Take) shows you the direction of the steady growth players. They have been killed, crushed, more than any other stocks. That's because the market is making a bet tha there's a bottom in the economy.

If that isn't evidence enough, the retailers and the restaurants took an unimaginable run. Darden (NYSE: DRI) (Cramer's Take) went from $20 to $28! Brinker (NYSE: EAT) (Cramer's Take) went from $15 to $19 despite a terrible quarter.

Which brings me back to the beginning: How is this disinformation allowed to get through editors? Is it some sort of bias, bias to the negative? Is it some sort of lack of rigor that is astonishing after all this time?

I don't know. I just know that the people who read this site or watch my show or trade for a living are most grateful that the general media hasn't picked up the truth because the more wrong stories like these are, the more money that will be made.

Earnings highlights: Bank of America, eBay, Ford, Motorola, Pfizer, and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-01-26T15:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, eBay (EBAY), Pfizer (PFE), Ford Motor (F), Motorola (MOT), AT and T (T), Bank of America (BAC), Hershey Co (HSY), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Wachovia Corp (WB), UAL Corp (UAUA), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Honeywell Intl (HON), Delta Air Lines (DAL)

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) only met earnings expectations despite strong holiday iPhone sales.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) earnings plunged 95% due to mortgage-related write-downs.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) narrowed its fourth quarter loss and beat expectations.
eBay Inc. (NADSAQ: EBAY) beat low expectations, but the CEO is to step down in March.
EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) beat earnings expectations even thought profits fell 37%.
E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC), posted a bigger-than-estimated fourth quarter loss.
Fifth Third Bancorp. (NASDAQ: FITB) missed estimates on acquistion costs and a one-time charge.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) missed low expectations, prompting further domestic cost reductions.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) profit declined on weak domestic sales.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) profit sank due to rising costs, competition, and management shakeups.
Honeywell Internationl Inc. (NYSE: HON) only met estimates, despite growth in all business segments.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) profit slipped bet met expectations, due to increased paper costs.
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) reported a record quarterly loss due to the housing slump.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) profit plunged due to loss of market share, and it forcasts a first quarter loss.
National City Corp. (NYSE: NCC) posted a bigger-than-expected loss, but shares rose anyway.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) profit plunged, but beat estimates, due to increased competition for generics.
UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) narrowed its loss despite rising fuel prices and holiday cancellations.
Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) earnings plunged 98% due to home loan write-downs.
WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) met earnings expectations and reaffirmed its 2008 outlook.

See additional earnings highlights.

Also, Jim Cramer's advice for what earnings should mean in your buy or sell decision. Both Peter Cohan and Georges Yared look at the part earnings have played in this week's volatility. And Aaron Katsman is bullish on tech stocks.

Upcoming results to watch for include Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), American Express (NYSE: AXP), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Altria (NYSE: MO), Boeing (NYSE: BA), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Thursday earnings recap: Lennar, Kimberly-Clark, E*Trade

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-01-24T18:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

Among Thursday's quarterly reports were those of Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB), and E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC), all of which had disappointing news for investors.

One of the nation's largest homebuilders, Lennar, reported a $1.25 billion loss in the fourth quarter -- its largest ever -- as the housing slump drove prices lower and the builder took hefty charges. Lennar also reported a $1.9 billion loss for all of 2007. The Miami-based company said it was aggressively trying generate cash and lower inventory.

Quarterly losses rose to $7.92 per share, from $195.6 million, or $1.24 per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 49% percent to $2.18 billion from $4.27 billion in the same period of 2006, as both home deliveries and new orders fell 50%. The results topped the consensus forcast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had expected a loss of $1.65 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion (these estimates typically exclude one-time charges such as land write-downs).

For the year ending November 30, Lennar's losses come to $12.31 per share, compared with profits of $593.9 million, or $3.69 per share, in 2006. Shares closed up 8.5%, to $16.21.

Kimberly-Clark reported that fourth-quarter profits slipped 5.5% as higher materials costs offset a 10.5% increase in revenue. The company earned $456 million, or $1.07 per share, in the fourth quarter, down from $482.6 million, or $1.05 per share a year earlier. Excluding restructuring charges, the company would have earned $1.11 per share, which met the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue rose to $4.76 billion, beating analysts' prediction of $4.65 billion, partly due to favorable currency exchanges.

For all of 2007, Kimberly-Clark earned $1.82 billion, or $4.09 per share, on sales of $18.27. That compared to 2006 earnings of $1.50 billion, or $3.25 per share, on $16.75 billion in sales. For all of 2008, Kimberly-Clark expects to earn $4.45 to $4.60 per share. Analysts had expected $4.60 per share. Kimberly-Clark said it will continue to boost per-share profit by buying back its own stock. Shares were down only a penny at the close, $64.43.

E*Trade posted a hefty loss for the fourth quarter because the struggling discount brokerage had dumped a book of risky investments at a steep discount. E*Trade lost $1.71 billion, or $3.98 per share, compared to a profit of $176.7 million, or 40 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a smaller loss of $2.90 per share. E-Trade's revenue for the quarter was negative $2.01 billion, compared to revenue of $628.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. Analysts expected revenue of negative $1.1 billion.

E-Trade lost $1.4 billion, or $3.40 cents per share, for the year in 2007, compared with profit of $628.9 million, or $1.49 per share, in 2006. Shares ended Thursday at $3.48, up just two cents from the open.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Pre-market movers: QCOM, EBAY, NOK, LEN

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-01-24T08:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, eBay (EBAY), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM)

Lennar (NYSE: LEN) is off almost 5% on a huge Q4 loss.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) is up over 7% on strong earnings.

Ebay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is off almost 11% on a weak 2008 forecast.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is up almost 5% after beating earnings projections.

Shares may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Before the bell: Futures could resume rally; more earnings, data ahead

Melly Alazraki — 2008-01-24T07:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Major movement, International markets, Earnings reports, eBay (EBAY), Ford Motor (F), Market matters, AT and T (T), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Xerox Corp (XRX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Economic data, Housing

Will Wall Street today resume Wednesday's rally? Stock futures sure point to such a possibility at this time ahead of another busy morning, full of corporate earnings. While eBay earnings and a trade fraud of over $7.1 billion could weigh in on stocks, already Nokia reported strong earnings this morning, helping to offset such an effect in the background of the coming economic stimulus package.

On Wednesday, many were left wide-eyed and slacked-jawed when the Dow industrials did an over 600 points about face. From being down 326 points, the Dow industrials finished 298 points, or 2.5%, higher. The Nasdaq Composite rose 24 points, or 1.05%, and the S&P 500 rose 28 points, or 2.14%. Many claim the market was oversold, hence buyers came to find bargains. The reverse could also be attributed to the bond insurer bailout and hopes for further interest-rate cuts.

The effect on international markets was generally positive. Asian markets were generally higher Thursday with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Phillippines all rising for a second day. In Hong Kong, though, the Hang Seng index seesawed to finish down 2.3%.
In Europe, the picture was even better as European shares moved sharply higher on Thursday morning. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index climbed 3.3%, with financials lifting stocks.

While it all points to a positive start, two economic data points will be released today. Weekly jobless claim is due at 8:30 a.m. EST, and while usually doesn't carry much of an impact, it could this time if it points to a much weaker trend in the job market, giving more credence to recession fears.
At 10:00 a.m., December existing home sales will be reported. As investors keep looking for that bottom in the battered housing market, again this data could affect the atmosphere on Wall Street.

No doubt, though, that it will be earnings more than anything that will set the tone today.
Already eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), which reported after the close Wednesday, topping analyst estimates, has spooked some with its forecast for the first quarter and 2008. Shares of the internet auctioneer are down $2.00, or 6.9%, to $27 in premarket trading. eBay also announced CEO Meg Whitman will be retiring and John Donahoe replacing her.

On the other hand, Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) shares are up 6.4% in premarket trading to $34.50 after the world's No.1 mobile phone maker reported this morning its fourth-quarter net profit surged 44% to $2.6 billion and that it had reached its long-term goal of 40% market share in handset sales.

Also reporting today are AT&T (NYSE: T), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Xerox (NYSE: XRX) and homebuilder Lennar (NYSE: LEN).

In something that looks nearly like a deja-vu, "French bank Societe Generale said Thursday it has uncovered a $7.14 billion fraud - one of history's biggest - by a single futures trader who orchestrated a series of bogus transactions." The bank, already exposed to the subprime crisis, has been destabilized and trading in its shares have been suspended.

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Hot tech growth companies, how to crack your nest egg & America's greediest cities - Today in Money 12/3

Allan Halprin — 2007-12-03T09:16:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), AT and T (T), Money and Finance Today, Morgan Stanley (MS), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Activision Inc (ATVI), Cypress Semiconductor (CY)

In the News:

· Vivendi to Acquire 'Guitar Hero' Game Maker Activision

· National Debt Grows to $1 Million a Minute

· Troubled Home Builder Lennar & Morgan Stanley Form Real Estate Venture

· Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Makes Big Move Into Junk Bonds

· Blogging Pioneer to Break Up

· MetLife Cuts 2008 Guidance

· Millions of Tax Refunds Could Get Delayed

· NBC to Pay for Blocks of Programs

· AOL to Use Amazon for Video Sales

· Most Recalled Meat Never Recovered, Likely Is Eaten

· Mrs. Butterworth Gets a Makeover

· Jay Leno to Pay Salaries of Staff Members

Hot Tech Growth Companies
Four of the top 10 companies in BusinessWeek's annual Hot Tech Growth 75 are involved in the manufacture of semiconductors. What's behind their banner year? Leading the list in 2007 is Google, AT&T and Apple followed by Cypress Semiconductor, Western Digital, Nvidia and MEMC Electronic Materials.
Hot Growth: The Chips Have It

America's Greediest Cities
Forbes takes a look at which cities are home to the richest people in America over the past decade. There are 751 Forbes 400 members in their 10-year tally. Of that number, 608 live in the 50 major metropolitan areas they used to compile this list. They divided the number in each city by that city's population to come up with Forbes 400 members per capita and then ranked that list. Some of the results are surprising. Reputed bastions of hedonism like New York and Los Angeles, for all the glamorous myths they generate, came in sixth and eighth, respectively. Topping the list is Silicon Valley capital San Jose followed by San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Boston.
America's Greediest Cities - Forbes.com In Pictures: America's Greediest Cities

Proposed Rate Freeze to Reduce Foreclosures
Whether you call it rate relief or a bailout, a mortgage rate freeze would have big effects on borrowers and lenders. If big lenders and regulators adopt the policy, here is a possible list of winners and losers.
Subprime relief: Winners and losers - Bankrate.com

How to Crack Your Nest Egg
Here's how to withdraw money and make the most of your retirement plan.
How to Crack Into Your Nest Egg - TheStreet.com

Your Insurance Problems Solved

What to do if your medication is no longer covered, you're sick and need insurance, and more.
Your Insurance Problems Solved - Kiplinger.com

America's Richest Universities
Higher education is increasingly a tale of two worlds: The wealth gap between the elite schools and even the most prestigious public universities has never been wider. Harvard University tops the list followed by Yale, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia and UPenn.
In Pictures: Richest Unveristies - BusinessWeek

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