Cart (0)
VIDEOTicker Shock: Mattel No Fun; Sysco, Corn Products Food for Thought
Monday's top stories and stocks with potential to move.
 |
|
I know - I'm a guy, so I’m supposed to care about the Super Bowl. But I have to be honest, I really don’t. Even though I played back in school, I can’t help but look at the game now and wonder why 22 guys would want to fight over one lousy ball. I do, however, like the party that goes with the big event and I had my fill of chips and suds yesterday.
Asian stocks took a bit of a thumpin’ overnight with the Hang Seng closing down more than 3%, and the Nikkei off 1.5%. Meanwhile, European stocks were showing me some red as well, earlier this morning. Here in the US, we're currently trading lower.
Here's what has my attention on this Monday morning:
Mattel (MAT):
The world-renowned toy company was out with its fourth-quarter numbers earlier this morning. Lets just say that Barbie's seen better days riding around with Ken in the Corvette.
In the period, Mattel earned $0.49 a share, well below the $0.72 a share analysts had been expecting. Plus its sales line came in at $1.94 billion, which was shy of the $2.2 billion estimate that I’m seeing. Even Barbie herself saw a more than 20% decline in sales.
I like Mattel’s chances of mounting a comeback at some point down the road. But that was such a big miss that I see no reason to get involved at this point. Perhaps no surprise, I suspect that we’ll see the $1.47 a share estimate for ’09 get ratcheted down in the days ahead.
Sorry Barbie.
Sysco (SYS):
The big-name food distributor was out with its second-quarter numbers earlier this morning. It put up $0.40 a share, which was south of the $0.43 a share it put up in the comparable period last year. However, it was $0.02 ahead of what analysts were expecting.
On the flip side, its sales line came in at about $9.15 billion, which was below the $9.2 billion the Street had been looking for.
I’m cautiously optimistic. Sysco obviously has a great name and a great foothold in the biz. At the same time, I’m worried about small businesses/restaurants and their ability to stay afloat in this environment. This means the company could have a rough time in the months ahead as restaurants try to stretch their dollars further and, perhaps, seek cheaper vendors.
The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.
Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
