Market Currents

• Thursday, December 17, 2009

• 09:06 AM Discover Financial Services (DFS): FQ4 EPS of $0.63 in-line by $0.15. Chargeoff rate rose to 8.43% from 8.39%; delinquencies rose to 5.31% from 5.1%. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable pre-market earnings: ATU, DFS, FDX, GIS, PIR, RAD, WGO Comment!

• Tuesday, December 15, 2009

• 15:53 PM More credit-card default and late-payment reports: JPMorgan Chase (JPM -2.2%): defaults up to 8.8%, delinquencies fall to 4.9%; BofA (BAC -2.9%): defaults down to 13%, delinquencies up to 7.69%; Citigroup (C -3.8%): defaults up to 10.29%, delinquencies up to 5.81%. Discover (DFS -2.7%): defaults up to 8.98%; delinquencies down to 5.65%. 3 Comments

• Monday, December 7, 2009

• 09:22 AM Brighter days ahead for credit-card stocks, Bank of America says, "as the economic recovery becomes more obvious." Card issuers typically move higher once chargeoffs reach peak levels, which usually happens when employment trends start improving - and Friday's better-than-expected payrolls data "could serve as the fundamental inflection point that we have been waiting for." DFS +3.2%. COF +1.5%. AXP +1.5%. 1 Comment

• Tuesday, September 29, 2009

• 12:53 PM Credit card stocks tick lower after the Fed proposes amendments to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to protect consumers from several costly practices. Among the changes: prohibiting first-year rate hikes and cards to consumers under 21, and stopping creditors from allocating payments in ways that maximize interest. COF -3.3%. V -2.5%. DFS -1.8%. AXP -0.3%. Comment!

• Thursday, September 17, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: AMR +20%. YMI +19%. BBI +8%. PIR +7%. RZ +5%. DFS +4%. LCC +4%. MGM +4%. CVM +4%.
  Losers: SNV -7%. EXK -6%. AIB -4%. Comment!
• 08:43 AM Discover Financial Services (DFS): FQ3 EPS of $1.07, not comparable to consensus of -$0.11. Net charge-off rate +60bps from the previous quarter to 8.39%. Loan loss provision +23% ($170M) Y/Y. Maintains "a very cautious view of credit due to the mixed signals in the US economy." Shares +5.2% premarket. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday's open: DFS, FDX, PIR Comment!

• Monday, August 24, 2009

• 09:08 AM Barclays goes bullish on U.S. credit card issuers, saying earnings will increase steadily over the next 3-5 year, and that it's encouraged by what appear to be signs of stabilization in default rates. Firm boosts American Express (AXP +2.4% premarket), Capital One (COF +2.7%) and Discover (DFS +7%) to Overweight. 10 Comments

• Wednesday, July 15, 2009

• 11:55 AM Capital One's (COF +9.4%) chargeoff rate rises to a frightful 9.73% from 9.41%, but deliquencies declined for the fourth straight month to 4.77%, which may be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Institutional chargeoffs were down to 9.26% from 9.77% in May. (8-K) COF's peers are broadly higher: AXP +6%. DFS +4%. MA +2.8%. V +2.7%. 2 Comments

• Monday, July 13, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: CYTR +14%. OSIP +8%. CPHD +6%. AIG +6%. HBAN +6%. STP +6%. JASO +5%. PHG +5%. CTIC +4%. BAC +4%. DAN +4%. GS +4%. DFS +4%. FITB +4%.
  Losers: BEAT -34%. CIT -16%. Comment!

• Tuesday, July 7, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: GY +20%. AEZS +7%. LSI +6%. DDSS +5%. MRVL +4%. MT +4%.
  Losers: HNSN -34%. DFS -8%. INSM -5%. NVAX -5%. Comment!

• Monday, July 6, 2009

• 16:27 PM After market close, Discover Financial Services (DFS) announced its plan to offer $500M in stock. Shares closed +3.6%; -7.9% to $9.67 AH. Comment!

• Thursday, June 18, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: PIR +19%. SLM +15%. ARM +15%. LVLT +12%. IRE +11%. VICL +9%. DFS +7%. YRCW +7%. MPEL +6%. APWR +6%. ATHR +5%. AA +4%.
  Losers: CTIC -12%. RTP -6%. HMY -4%. Comment!
• 08:48 AM Discover Financial Services (DFS): FQ2 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.01. Managed net charge-off rate increased to 7.79%, up 131 bps Q/Q and 280 bps Y/Y. Managed net charge-off rate for FQ3 is expected to be 8.5-9%. Shares +6.6% premarket. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday's open: CCL, DFS, SJM Comment!