Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 3, 2009 11:00 A.M. ET

Louisiana Pacific

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of (19c) on revenue of $304.09M. The consensus range is (24c)-(11c) for EPS, and revenue of $293.25M-$318M, according to First Call. When it announced its Q2 results, the company announced it is seeing mixed signals for U.S. housing, but is seeing more good than bad, and seeing slight seasonal uptick at end of June on all product lines. Louisiana Pacific also stated that it expects new homes starts to improve slowly in months ahead, and in late September said it anticipates Q3 Siding to be in the range of $14M-$16M, Oriented Stand Board ($10M)-($8M) and Engineered Wood Products ($10M)-($8M).

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

On September 22, we used AFG's equity research and investment tools to Identify Large Cap investment opportunities. Today, we will address Small Cap stocks for those investors who benchmark themselves against the Russell 2000.

Using its proprietary valuation metric, The Applied Finance Group has a measured approach for identifying companies that will under or over perform their chosen benchmarks. AFG’s analysis spans across growth and value universes, as well as all sectors, industries, and market caps; in all, nearly 4,500 domestic companies are covered and over 17,000 companies globally.

For traders with a more short-term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks that have the largest intraday high-low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low over the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling 50-day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this month.

This month's most volatile stock is AIG, which has an average intraday range of 14.6%. A couple of years ago the stock was considered a conservative and safe investment. Today, it has become a daytrader's dream. As the market becomes more stable, we are also beginning to see an increase in the number of stocks with share prices in the double digits. While AIG's double digit share price is somewhat artificial given the 1:20 reverse split, seven other stocks with prices above $10 are also on the list.

Weyerhaeuser (WY), Louisiana Pacific (LPX), Macy's (M), Sherwin Williams (SHW), Bank of America (BAC), JP Morgan (JPM)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

August 4, 2009 11:00 am ET

• BoA's Lewis closer to exit. Bank of America (BAC) reshuffled its senior management yesterday, replacing the head of consumer banking with Brian Moynihan, who had previously run wealth management, and hiring Sallie Krawcheck as the new wealth management chief. The bank is also setting up a five-way competition for a new CEO to replace Ken Lewis "at the appropriate time," with candidates including Moynihan, who is the front runner for the position, Krawcheck, CFO Joe Price, home-lending chief Barbara Desoer and Goldman Sachs veteran Tom Montag. Shares -1.4% premarket (7:00 ET). (Read BoA's press release)
• BoA settles Merrill suit. Bank of America (BAC) agreed to a $33M settlement with the SEC over charges that it made false and misleading statements to investors about bonuses at Merrill Lynch. The settlement was announced almost immediately after the allegations, which the bank neither confirmed nor denied, but the SEC emphasized it will continue its investigation. Though the $33M payment is high for disclosure-related cases not connected to fraud, the fine seems small compared to the $3.6B in bonuses paid at Merrill in 2008 and damages CEO Ken Lewis' once-golden reputation far more than BoA's bottom line. (Read the SEC's complaint (.pdf) and statement on the settlement)
• No surprises from UBS loss. UBS (UBS) posted a Q2 net loss of 1.4B Swiss francs ($1.32B), its third consecutive quarterly loss, on costs related to job cuts and charges related to the company's debt. Its wealth and asset management divisions saw outflows of 39.4B francs. CEO Oswald Gruebel said markets improved in the second quarter but a sustainable economic recovery 'is not yet visible.' Shares -8.3% premarket (7:00 ET). (Read UBS' letter to shareholders (.pdf))
• Bank regulators oppose financial reforms. Several top banking regulators, including the FDIC's Sheila Bair, will testify in Congress today against some key elements of Obama's proposed financial reforms. The regulators feel parts of Obama's plan are unnecessary, and Bair doesn't "see merit or wisdom in consolidating federal supervision" under a single regulator since combining agencies is 'no panacea' for effective oversight. The testimony comes in spite of strongly-worded exhortations from Geithner, who wants regulators to end their turf battles and public criticism and to get in line behind the reforms. (See the Senate's full list of witnesses for today's hearing)
• Monday's market climb. The S&P 500 broke through the 1,000 mark for the first time since November, climbing 1.5% to close at 1,002.63, and the Nasdaq broke the 2,000 mark, closing up 1.5% at 2,008.61. All three major U.S. indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, are now at their highest levels since last autumn. Speculation that the recession may be ending helped commodities surge and sent Treasurys and the dollar down.
• Google's Schmidt leaves Apple board. Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's (AAPL) board of directors, with Apple releasing a statement that "as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses... Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest." The resignation, which Apple described as mutual, highlights not just the growing overlap between Apple and Google, but also increased antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. The move failed to mollify the FTC, which said it "will continue to investigate remaining interlocking directorates between the companies."
• ANZ picks up Asian assets. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZBY.PK) agreed to buy some Asian units from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for around $550M. ANZ will pick up retail, wealth management and commercial businesses in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, as well as RBS' institutional banking businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam, as a 'further stepping stone' in the bank's Asian growth strategy.
• Clunker program lifts car sales. July U.S. motor vehicle sales reached their highest pace in eleven months, thanks in large part to the 'Cash for Clunkers' program which sent consumers rushing to dealerships. Car firms sold 997,824 cars and light trucks in July, pushing the annualized selling pace to 11.24M vehicles vs. June's rate of 9.69M, and a slump in luxury auto demand showed signs of lessening. Here's the breakdown:
  -Ford (F): +2.3% to 158,838 vs. consensus of -5%, making it the first U.S. manufacturer to report a monthly sales increase this year.
  -Chrysler: -9% to 88,900. Car sales -14% to 22,109. Sales up 30% M/M. "We are seeing encouraging signs that consumer confidence is building, and more consumers are considering purchasing a new vehicle."
  -General Motors: -19.4% to 189,443. Chevrolet was the best-performing brand at -9.3% to 124,948. Saturn, the worst performer, was -66.1% to 5,968.
  -Honda (HMC): -17.3% to 114,690. Truck sales -20.6% to 37,996.
  -Toyota (TM): -11.4% to 174,872, up 27.7% M/M. Lexus division -16.5% to 18,517. Hybrids +19.3% to 24,295.
  -Nissan (NSANY): -24.6% to 71,847. Trucks -48.4% to 20,448.
  -Daimler (DAI): -24% to 17,646 for the Mercedes-Benz car division.
  -Volkswagen (VLKAY.PK): +0.7% to 20,590. Diesels accounted for more then 30% of total sales.
• CIT sweetens buyback offer. CIT Group (CIT) raised its tender offer on $1B in notes to a purchase price of $875 per $1,000, up from $825. CIT also lowered its minimum tender condition to 58% of notes, and has already received tenders for 64.97% of notes. The improved terms all but guarantee the buyback's success, pulling CIT one step farther away from bankruptcy court. (Read CIT's press release)
• AIG gets new chief. Robert Benmosche will become CEO and President of AIG (AIG), replacing Edward Liddy as of August 10. Benmosche is the former CEO of MetLife (MET), and will be AIG's fifth chief since 2005.
• Manufacturing still contracting. The ISM Manufacturing Index came in at 48.9 in July vs. 46.5 consensus, its 18th consecutive month of contraction. Nonmetallic Mineral Products and Paper Products reported growth. Machinery, Plastics & Rubber Products, and Wood Products led the laggards.
• Construction spending inches up (.pdf). June Construction Spending rose 0.3% to $966B/year, beating consensus estimates of -0.5%. Compared to a year ago, construction was down 10.2%. For the first half of the year, spending of $456B was 11.4% below last year.

Earnings: Tuesday Before Open

• Allegheny Energy (AYE): Q2 EPS of $0.43 in-line. Revenue of $815M (-15%) vs. $868M. (PR)
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ4 EPS of $0.10 vs. consensus of $0.45 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $16.5B (-24%) vs. $15.2B. (PR)
• ArvinMeritor (ARM): FQ3 EPS of -$0.25 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $993M (-47%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)
• Cameron International (CAM): Q2 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $1.3B (-14%) vs. $1.2B. Issues upside Q3 EPS guidance of $0.50-0.55 vs. $0.42 consensus. Issues upside FY '09 EPS guidance of $2.15-2.25 vs. $1.89 consensus. (PR)
• Cincinnati Bell (CBB): Q2 EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $328M (-7%) vs. $336M. (PR)
• Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q2 EPS of $0.50 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $777M (+13%) vs. $762M. Issues upside Q3 guidance: sees EPS of $0.44 vs. $0.39 consensus, revenue of at least $800M vs. $781M consensus. (PR)
• CVS Caremark (CVS): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $25B (+18%) vs. $24B. (PR)
• Discovery Communications (DISCA): Q2 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $881M (-0.5%) in-line. (PR)
• D.R. Horton (DHI): FQ3 EPS of -$0.45 misses by $0.22. Revenue of $922.5M (-43%) vs. $792M. (PR)
• Duke Energy (DUK): Q2 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.9B (-10%) vs. $3.2B. (PR)
• Emerson Electric Company (EMR): FQ3 EPS of $0.56 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $5.1B (-22.5%) vs. $5.3B. (PR)
• Entergy (ETR): Q2 EPS of $1.23 misses by $0.03. Issues in-line guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $6.20-6.80 vs. $6.56 consensus. (PR)
• Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD): Q2 EPS of $0.25 in-line. Revenue of $895M (-38%) vs. $999M. (PR)
• Frontier Communications Corporation (FTR): Q2 EPS of $0.11 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $532M (-5%) vs. $534M. (PR)
• HCP (HCP): Q2 EPS of $0.55 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $267M (+7.5%) vs. $249M. (PR)
• Henry Schein (HSIC): Q2 EPS of $0.81 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.6B (-2%) in-line. (PR)
• Iconix Brand Group (ICON): Q2 EPS of $0.30 in-line. Revenue of $56M (+9%) vs. $51M. (PR)
• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q2 EPS of $1.12 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $250M (+27%) vs. $243M. Shares +0.6% premarket (7:40 ET). (PR)
• Louisiana-Pacific (LPX): Q2 EPS of -$0.26 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $266M (-31%) vs. $241M. (PR)
• Marvel Entertainmnet (MVL): Q2 EPS of $0.37 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $116M (-26%) vs. $106M. (PR)
• NiSource (NI): Q2 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1B (-35%) vs. $1.6B. (PR)
• Pinnacle West Capital (PNW): Q2 EPS of $0.77 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $840M (-5%) vs. $834M. (PR)
• PPL (PPL): Q2 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.08. Revenue of $1.7B (+65%) in-line. (PR)
• Progress Energy (PGN): Q2 EPS of $0.64 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $2.3B (+3%) in-line. (PR)
• Rowan Companies (RDC): Q2 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $482M (-18%) vs. $435M. (PR)
• Spectra Energy Corp. (SE): Q2 EPS of $0.22 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $937M (-17%) vs. $1.1B. (PR)
• St. Joe Company (JOE): Q2 EPS of -$0.49 misses by $0.33. Revenue of $41M (-40%) vs. $24M. (PR)
• Tenet Healthcare (THC): Q2 EPS of -$0.03 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $2.2B (+5.5%) in-line. (PR)
• TRW Automotive (TRW): Q2 EPS of -$0.11 vs. consensus of -$0.83 (may not be comparable). Excluding charges, reports $0.08 per share. Revenue of $2.7B (-39%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX): Q2 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $192M (+25%) vs. $181M. Shares +5.6% premarket (8:20 ET). (PR)
• W&T Offshore (WTI): Q2 EPS of -$0.07 beats by $0.41. Revenue of $150M (-67%) vs. $138M. (PR)

Earnings: Monday After Close

• Anadarko (APC): Q2 EPS of -$0.48 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $1.8B (-37%) in-line. (PR)
• Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA): Q2 EPS of -$0.48 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.4M (-8%) vs. $3.1M. (PR)
• Atmel (ATML): Q2 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $285M (-32%) vs. $279M. Sees Q3 sales up 4-8% sequentially. (PR)
• Axis Capital (AXS): Q2 EPS of $1.22 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $781M (-4%) vs. $747M. (PR)
• Centex (CTX): Q2 EPS of -$2.63 misses by $1.46. Including tax benefit, reported EPS of $0.68. Revenue of $574M (-49%) vs. $563M. (PR)
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q2 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $1.7B vs. $1.9B. (PR)
• Comstock Resources (CRK): Q2 EPS of -$0.26 in-line. Revenue of $65M (-62%) vs. $63M. (PR)
• Extra Space Storage (EXR): Q2 FFO of $0.24 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $69M (+3%) vs. $67M. (PR)
• Forest Oil (FST): Q2 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $182M (-65%) vs. $240M. (PR)
• Herbalife (HLF): Q2 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $572M (-11%) vs. $550M. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.66-0.69 vs. $0.81. Sees Q3 revenue down 4-6%. (PR)
• Hologic (HOLX): FQ3 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $403M (-6%) vs. $395M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.14-1.16 vs. $1.12. (PR)
• Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q2 EPS of $0.69 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.2B (-19%) vs. $2.5B. (PR)
• Pulte Homes (PHM): Q2 EPS of -$0.74 misses by $0.17. Revenue of $679M (-58%) vs. $647M. (PR)
• STEC (STEC): Q2 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $86M (+54%) vs. $83M. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.45-0.47 vs. $0.39. Files to sell 7.5M shares of common stock. (PR)
• WMS Industries (WMS): FQ4 EPS of $0.49 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $196M (+5%) vs. $197M. Sees full-year revenue of $760M-780M vs. $707M. (PR)

Today's Markets

Little movement in Asian markets, which closed mixed. European markets are heading down and U.S. markets are unlikely to sustain yesterday's gains.

Many of the institutional clients of The Applied Finance Group, Ltd. (AFG) tend to focus on large cap stocks and benchmark themselves against the S&P 500 Index, which is why many of the buy ideas from ValueExpectations.com usually come from the large cap index. Earlier in the week we highlighted companies from our buy/sell list both from large and small cap, as well as from growth and value style universes. We thought it would be a good follow up for some of the investors we work with who focus on small and mid cap stocks, to provide a more thorough list of companies from the Russell 2000 Index.

Below is a summary of 20 companies to watch from the Russell 2000 Index. The table highlights the 2 companies from each sector (ex. Financials) that have the most attractive Value Score (above 80) and are currently rated Neutral or higher by AFG’s buy/sell criteria. Factors used to derive an AFG recommendation include: Expected change in Economic Margins, Intrinsic Value, and Management Quality. Many classify stocks with market capitalization under $250 million as micro caps, therefore only those companies within the index that met that market cap minimum were considered for the list.

Market conditions make shorting the home builders and their cousins - suppliers, Home Depot (HD) et al - very difficult in the short run. In the long run, housing in the US will be permanently different, the ongoing profitability of these companies is in question and several of these outfits are going under. For sure and for certain.

Housing is a wreck and compared to market expectations, getting worse. Why does this matter so much?

Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

May 5, 2009 11:00 am ET

• More banks need capital. Speculation continues to grow ahead of Thursday's stress test results, with sources now saying as many as 10 out of 19 tested banks may need more capital. Regulators will likely cite commercial real-estate loans as a major reason why the banks need more capital, with projected losses of up to 12% on those loans over two years. Despite the rumors, financial shares rose by the most in more than a month yesterday, sending Wells Fargo (WFC) up 23.7%, Bank of America (BAC) up 19.3% and Citigroup (C) up 7.7%.
• S&P marches upwards. The S&P 500 turned positive for 2009, as a late burst of buying in the financial sector, basic-materials, energy and consumer stocks pushed the index to 907.24. The S&P is up 34% since hitting bear-market lows in early March, and is now up 0.4% for the year to date.
• UBS misses profit mark again. UBS (UBS) posted a Q1 net loss of 1.98B Swiss francs ($1.75B) amid more writedowns and continued client withdrawals, and said its bad loans may increase as the global economy worsens. Since taking office in February, CEO Oswald Gruebel has cut 7,500 jobs, replaced two executive board members and sold a Brazilian business unit, calling a return to profitability his 'most urgent' task. Shares -1.2% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Obama tax plan faces resistance. Obama unveiled plans to end tax breaks for U.S.-based multinational corporations but met with resistance from some Democrats in Congress worried about 'unintended consequences.' The proposal would ban three offshore tax-saving strategies commonly used by companies like Citigroup (C), General Electric (GE) and Procter & Gamble (PG), and re-opened a debate about whether U.S. firms can stay globally competitive if forced to pay hefty taxes on foreign profits.
• Bankruptcy fallout for Chrysler lenders, dealers. Chrysler's dealership network is on the verge of collapse as uncertainty about Chrysler's future drives already-scarce consumers away. Meanwhile, secured lenders who oppose Chrysler's bankruptcy plan have asked for their identities to be kept secret after some received death threats. Chrysler itself received court permission to use $4.5B in government loans for bankruptcy financing, and expects to be profitable again by 2012.
• Antitrust probe on Apple, Google. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) violated antitrust laws with the overlap of directors on their boards. Arthur Levinson and Google CEO Eric Schmidt sit on the boards of both companies, leaving room for antitrust regulators to intervene if their presence reduces competition.
• Alcatel-Lucent widens loss. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) saw its Q1 loss more than double to €402M ($537.5M) from €181M the year before, as demand for telecommunications equipment slumped. This marked the company's tenth consecutive quarterly deficit. CEO Ben Verwaayen said the company has no plans to leave the business of making wireless-communications equipment but acknowledged this "will be a year of transition" and "taking appropriate actions." Shares -2.7% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Raising the bar on failed bank reviews. With so many U.S. banks failing (32 to date in 2009), government watchdogs want to change the law so that a review is required only if a bank's failure costs the FDIC $300M or more. Currently, a review must be done if a bank failure costs the FDIC $25M or more, which has created a heavy workload of 'material loss reviews' of failed banks.
• Kindle tackles textbooks. Amazon (AMZN) is reportedly planning to unveil a new version of Kindle tomorrow aimed at publishers of periodicals and academic textbooks. The new e-reader will, among other features, likely have a larger screen and a more fully functional web browser. Amazon has already worked out a deal with several publishers to make their textbooks available in e-format.
• ArcelorMittal shelves steel bid. ArcelorMittal (MT) has suspended a potential $8B investment in Indonesian steelmaking facilities, after over a year of stalled negotiations. The deal was meant to capture key supplies of iron ore and reduce ArcelorMittal's reliance on big suppliers like Rio Tinto (RTP) and BHP Billiton (BHP).
• TALF gets a boost. The Federal Reserve's TALF program is making some progress, with a $5B JPMorgan Chase (JPM) bond offering backed by credit-card loans that is eligible for the program. The JPMorgan deal is the largest to date of the TALF-eligible offerings, and is one of six deals due to be sold today.
• Loss but no aid expected for AIG. AIG (AIG) is expected to post a Q1 loss when it reports on Thursday, but reportedly won't need a new capital injection from the government. If this is true, it will be the first quarterly results announcement since AIG's September bailout that is not coupled with government aid.
• Aussies hold rate steady. Australia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3%, as largely expected. The bank is waiting to see whether the lowest borrowing rates in nearly 50 years, coupled with government spending, will be enough to pull the economy out of its recession.
• Construction spending improves (.pdf). Construction spending rose 0.3% in March vs. an expected 1.6% fall and last month's 1% fall (revised). For the quarter, spending fell 10.9%.
• Home sales beat expectations. Pending Home Sales rose 3.2% in March, vs. consensus of 0% and previous sales of +2% (revised). NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the increase could be the "leading edge" of first-time buyers taking advantage of cheap prices and the $8,000 tax credit.

Earnings: Tuesday Before Open

• Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM): FQ3 EPS of $0.37 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $14.8B (-20.7%) vs. $16.9B. (PR)
• Automatic Data Processing (ADP): FQ3 EPS of $0.80 in-line. Revenue of $2.4B (-2.2%) in-line. (PR)
• Avon Products (AVP): Q1 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $2.2B (-12.9%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
• Brookfield Asset Management (BAM): Q1 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2.65B (-17.4%) vs. $1.61B. (PR)
• Cincinnati Bell (CBB): Q1 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $625.5M (-3.5%) vs. $345M. (PR)
• Cimarex Energy (XEC): Q1 EPS of $0.09 misses by $0.08. Revenue of $209M (-56.2%) vs. $232M. (PR)
• Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q1 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $746M (+16%) vs. $734M. (PR)
• Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q1 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $3.1B (-16.2%) vs. $4.4B. (PR)
• CVS (CVS): Q1 EPS of $0.55 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $23.4B (+9.7%) vs. $23.6B. (PR)
• Denbury Resources (DNR): Q1 EPS of $0.19 in-line. Revenue of $173.7M (-45.2%) vs. $241.4M. (PR)
• Diamondrock Hospitality Company (DRH): Q1 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $118.5M (-10.8%) vs. $114M. (PR)
• Duke Energy (DUK): Q1 EPS of $0.28 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $3.3B (-0.7%) vs. $3.4B. (PR)
• Emerson Electric (EMR): FQ2 EPS of $0.49 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $5.1B (-15.5%) in-line. (PR)
• FirstEnergy (FE): Q1 EPS of $1.02 beats by $0.13. (PR)
• Foundation Coal (FCL): Q1 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $395M (-2.9%) vs. $401M. (PR)
• Health Net (HNT): Q1 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $3.9B (+2.5%) in-line. Shares +2.6% premarket (8:40 ET). (PR)
• Hewitt Associates (HEW): FQ2 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $762M (-3.5%) vs. $754.5M. (PR)
• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q1 EPS of $1.09 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $232M (+12.1%) vs. $230M. (PR)
• Kraft Foods (KFT): Q1 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $9.4B (-6.5%) vs. $9.7B. Shares +3.0% premarket (7:30 ET). (PR)
• Legg Mason (LM): FQ4 EPS of -$2.29 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $617M (-42.3%) vs. $611M. (PR)
• Louisiana-Pacific (LPX): Q1 EPS of -$0.29 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $205M (-41.4%) vs. $245M. (PR)
• Macerich Company (MAC): Q1 EPS of $1.16 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $211M (-3.1%) vs. $201M. (PR)
• Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q1 EPS of $0.57 beats by $0.21. Revenue of $197M (+75%) vs. $136M. (PR)
• Molson (TAP): Q1 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $559M (-58.8%) vs. $568M. Shares +6.5% premarket (8:45 ET).(PR)
• Penske Automotive Group (PAG): Q1 EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.2B (-32%) in-line. (PR)
• PetroQuest Energy (PQ): Q1 EPS of -$1.36 misses by $1.40. Revenue of $59M (-22.4%) in-line. (PR)
• Pinnacle West Capital (PNW): Q1 EPS of -$0.29 misses by $0.17. Revenue of $629M (-8.6%) vs. $699M. (PR)
• Precision Castparts (PCP): FQ4 EPS of $1.87 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.6B (-9.2%) vs. $1.8B. (PR)
• Progress Energy (PGN): Q1 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.4B (+18.2%) vs. $2.2B. (PR)
• Radian Group (RDN): Q1 EPS of -$2.69 misses by $1.03. Net loss is "primarily attributable to unrealized mark to market losses on derivatives and the continued increase in mortgage insurance defaults." (PR)
• Spectra Energy (SE): Q1 EPS of $0.33 in-line. Revenue of $1.4B (-13.5%) in-line. (PR)
• St. Joe (JOE): Q1 EPS of -$0.12 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $21.6M (-81.5%) vs. $33.3M. (PR)
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA): Q1 EPS of $0.71 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $3.1B (+22.4%) vs. $3.4B. (PR)
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): Q1 EPS of $0.46 beats by $0.23. Revenue of $178M (+17%) vs. $175M. Shares +5.6% premarket (8:15 ET). (PR)
• Wisconsin Energy (WEC): Q1 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.18. Revenue of $1.40B (-2.2%) vs. $1.45B. (PR)
• W&T Offshore (WTI): Q1 EPS of -$0.54 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $117M (-67.1%) vs. $122M. (PR)

Earnings: Monday After Close

• American Financial Group (AFG): Q1 EPS of $1.11 beats by $0.15. Sees full-year EPS of $3.75-4.05 vs. $3.72. Shares +9.7% AH. (PR)
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q1 EPS of $0.46 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $2B (+23.8%) vs. $2.2B. Shares -6% AH. (PR)
• D.R. Horton (DHI): FQ2 EPS of -$0.34 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $775M (-52.3%) vs. $817M. Shares -1.2% AH. (PR)
• EOG Resources (EOG): Q1 EPS of $0.53 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $1.16B (+2.1%) vs. $0.98B. Shares +0.9% AH. (PR)
• Extra Space Storage (EXR): Q1 FFO of $0.23 misses by $0.26. Revenue of $69.3M (+5.5%) vs. $67.1M. Sees full-year FFO of $0.99-1.03 vs. $1.21. Shares -3.7% AH. (PR)
• FMC Corp. (FMC): Q1 EPS of $1.22 in-line. Revenue of $690M (-8%) vs. $790M. Shares -6.2% AH. (PR)
• Forest Oil (FST): Q1 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $195M (-48.3%) vs. $257M. Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Health Care REIT (HCN): Q1 FFO of $0.81 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $144M (+14%) in-line. (PR)
• Hill-Rom (HRC): FQ2 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $337M (-10.1%) vs. $334M. Full-year guidance in-line. (PR)
• Hologic (HOLX): FQ2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $402M (-6.7%) vs. $405M. Sees FQ3 EPS in-line, and revenue of $390-400M vs. $409M consensus. Shares -10.3% AH. (PR)
• McKesson (MCK): FQ4 EPS of $1.23 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $26.22B vs. $27.3B. Shares -3.4% AH. (PR)
• MGM Mirage (MGM): Q1 EPS of -$0.06 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-20.4%) vs. $1.58B. Says cancellations have tapered off and business seems to be stabilizing. Shares +4.8% AH. (PR)
• Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q1 EPS of $0.63 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2.18B vs. $2.51B. Assets under management down 22% from a year ago to $237B. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
• St. Mary Land (SM): Q1 EPS of -$0.01 misses by $0.15. Revenue of $199M (-45%) vs. $196M. Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Vulcan Materials (VMC): Q1 EPS of -$0.29 misses by $0.22. Revenue of $600M (-26.6%) vs. $690M. -2.4% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets moved higher Tuesday. Futures are up moderately.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

March 2, 2009 10:00 am ET

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

March 02, 2009, 10:00 a.m. ET

Louisiana-Pacific

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of (46c) on revenue of $272.79M. The consensus range is (55c)-(31c) for EPS, and $250M-$336M for revenue, according to First Call. Louisiana Pacific announced in January it sees Q408 revenue $250M, consensus for Q4 revenue was $296M at the time the company gave guidance.

From Weyerhaeuser’s Q408 conference call:

It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago the main worry in the forest products industry was how to pass along soaring commodity costs.

Today, the greatest concern is how demand for paper and packaging will hold up as the U.S. economy sinks deeper into recession,  said Standard & Poor’s in a report this week.

Q3 2008 Earnings Call

November 4, 2008 11:00 am ET

• Even more firms may gain access to TARP. Sources say the Treasury may use some of its $700B rescue fund to buy stakes in financing companies such as GE's (GE) GE Capital and CIT Group (CIT). Presently the program only includes publicly-traded banks and insurers, although the Treasury is already mulling opening the door to some privately-held firms. The U.S. government could eventually own even more of the American financial system than first envisioned.
• Yahoo, Google tone down ad tie-up. Yahoo (YHOO) and Google (GOOG) submitted a revised version of their search-ad pact to the Justice Department in the hope gaining approval. New provisions limit the scope of the deal, including shortening the agreement to two years from ten, and capping Yahoo's revenue from the deal to 25% of its search revenue total; previously there was no cap. The revised plan also gives Google advertisers the ability to opt out of having their ads displayed on Yahoo sites. It's unclear whether the changes will suffice to appease regulators who worry the deal will allow Google (GOOG) to monopolize online advertising. Separately, Yahoo said Monday Microsoft (MSFT) executive Jeff Dossett will take the lead position in its online media properties after veteran Scott Moore left "for other opportunities."
• UBS posts earnings, warnings. UBS (UBS) confirmed a Q3 profit of 296M Swiss francs ($256.3M) helped by credit and tax gains, with outflows of 49.3B francs from its wealth management unit and 34.4B francs from its asset management unit. The world's largest wealth manager, UBS had already reported much of its Q3 results last month when it announced a capital injection of 6B franc from the Swiss government and said it would unload $60B of risky assets into a central bank fund. UBS noted some positive client money flows in October, but warned 'difficult' market conditions would hurt fee-earning businesses and Q4 results would be weighed down by the accounting effects of transferring risky assets. Shares -2.6% premarket.
• Outlook sours for RBS. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) abandoned its full-year profit forecast after it wrote-down £1B in October against assets connected to Lehman Brothers and Icelandic banks and as bad loans rose. It also posted £1.4B of markdowns in Q3 before new accounting rules allowed it to claim back £1.2B. CEO Stephen Hester said the latest writedowns, coming in addition to £5.9B in H1, show the bank has too much risk and could face a full-year loss. RBS is in line for a U.K. bailout, and the government could own up to 60% of the bank unless investors buy some of the £20B of stock to be issued later this year. Shares -14.9% premarket.
• Goldman hedge fund down $1B. A flagship Goldman Sachs (GS) hedge fund - Goldman Sachs Investment Partners - has lost almost $1B of its $6B since its launch in January, further evidence of the crisis facing the industry. "We anticipate that these results will lead to net outflows from the hedge fund industry," managers said, although GSIC itself imposed a two-year lock-in at inception. More than half of its 13% Q3 loss was on positions in commodities, basic materials, metals, mining, energy and agriculture.
• Tough 2009 for JPMorgan. JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon told employees the firm faces "highly challenging conditions" in 2009, but sees a possible "strong recovery" in 2010. JPM's recent acquisitions of Bear Stearns and WaMu will improve performance in the "longer term," he said. Dimon warned Asia is "going to get worse than you think" as the tidal wave that began with a collapse of the U.S. mortgage market washes over it. Still, longer-term, he sees "very substantial natural growth" in the region.
• iPod master leaves Apple. Tony Fadell, one of the fathers of the iPod, is leaving Apple (AAPL) for personal reasons, sources say. Former IBM (IBM) executive Mark Papermaster will take his place. During Fadell's tenure, the iPod grew from a curiosity into a major cash cow; Apple sold 54.7M iPods during its most recent fiscal year. But growth has cooled off as saturation becomes a factor in many countries. Still, Apple shows no signs of giving up any of its 70% U.S. market share.
• Dismal October for automakers. General Motors (GM) said October was likely the auto industry's worst month since WWII after its sales plunged 45%, Ford's (F) fell 30%, Nissan's (NSANY) declined 33%, Honda's (HMC) dropped 25%, while Toyota's (TM) declined by 23%. GM marketing chief Mark LaNeve said he believes there's plenty of pent-up demand, "but until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer." U.S. auto sales are now down 14.6% YTD. "It's weaker than we were anticipating," J.D. Power's Bob Schnorbus said, warning leaders should take heed: "The auto industry is important to the economy and it should not be taken too lightly."
• Manufacturing paints bleak picture. The ISM's Manufacturing index fell to 38.9 in October, its lowest level since 1982, and worse than the expected 41.5. The only industries reporting growth were apparel and leather & allied products. Petroleum & coal and nonmetallic mineral products led the laggards. The weaker than expected data increases the risk the current slump will outdo the recessions of 2001 and 1991. Companies are cutting back on investments and hiring as Q3 consumer spending plunged by 3.1% - the biggest decline in 28 years. The survey "indicates a significantly faster rate of decline in manufacturing when comparing October to September," ISM director Norbert Ore said. "It appears that manufacturing is experiencing significant demand destruction as a result of recent events." Prices also rose at a much slower rate: the price index plunged to 37 from 53.5 in September - the lowest level since December 2001. Export orders dropped for the first time in 70 months.
• September Construction Spending fell 0.3% from August's revised numbers, better than the expected 0.8% drop. Residential private construction -1.3%; non-residential +1.2%.

Earnings: Before Open

• Ameren (AEE): Q3 EPS of $1.17 misses by $0.08. Revenue of $2.06B (+3.2%) vs. $2.29B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.80-3.00 vs. $3.01. Shares -5.3%. (PR)
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ1 EPS of $1.63 vs. consensus of $0.69. Revenue of $21.16B (+65%) vs. $15.98B. (PR)
• Autodesk (ADSK): Sees Q3 EPS of $0.53-0.55 vs. $0.55 consensus and revenue of $604-607M vs $624M. "The sharp downturn of the global economy is substantially impacting our business... Demand for our products fell dramatically in October in all geographies as the financial crisis worsened. (PR)
• Cimarex Energy (XEC): Q3 EPS of $2.19 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $576.5M (+67.7%) vs. $568M. (PR)
• Dean Foods (DF): Q3 EPS of $0.28 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $3.19B (+2.5%) in-line. (PR)
• Emerson Electric (EMR): FQ4 EPS of $0.88 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $6.7B (+11.1%) in-line. (PR)
• GrafTech (GTI): Q3 EPS of $0.55 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $316M (+25.7%) vs. $303M. Shares +6.7%. (PR)
• HCP Inc. (HCP): Q3 FFO of $0.71/share beats by $0.05. Revenue of $270M vs. $242M. Sees full-year FFO of $2.38-2.42 vs. $2.29. (PR)
• Holly (HOC): Q3 EPS of $1.00 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $1.72B (+42.3%) in-line. (PR)
• Louisiana-Pacific (LPX): Q3 EPS of -$0.38 misses by $0.08. Revenue of $390M (-17.5%) in-line. (PR)
• Magna International (MGA): Q3 EPS of $0.17 vs. consensus of $0.90. Revenue of $5.53B (-9%) in-line. (PR)
• Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q3 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $182.5M (+47.7%) vs. $146M. Sees full-year EPS of $2.45-2.65 vs. $1.93 and 2009 EPS of $1.00-1.35 vs. $1.94. (PR)
• Myriad Genetics (MYGN): FQ1 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $74M (+52.4%) vs. $70M. (PR)
• NiSource (NI): Q3 EPS of $0.03 in-line. Revenue of $1.42B (+11.8%) vs. $1.36B. (PR)
• PPL Corp. (PPL): Q3 EPS of $0.45 misses by $0.15. Sees full-year EPS of $2.00-2.05 vs. $2.29, and 2009 EPS of $1.60-1.90 vs. $2.17. "Many of the pressures that affected our results in 2008 also are expected to continue into 2009..." (PR)
• Rowan (RDC): Q3 EPS of $1.00 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $527M (+5%) vs. $540M. "Continuing weakness in capital markets and commodity prices will, eventually, affect customer demand for our products and services, though we have experienced little impact thus far." (PR)
• St. Joe (JOE): Q3 EPS of -$0.12 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $32.8M (-57.6%) vs. $47.3M. (PR)
• Talisman Energy (TLM): Q3 EPS of $0.72 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.82B (+50.9%) vs. $2.89B. (PR)
• Tenneco (TEN): Q3 EPS of $0.01 misses by $0.22. Revenue of $1.5B (-3.8%) in-line. (PR)
• Tenet Healthcare (THC): Q3 EPS of -$0.06 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2.14B (+5.2%) vs. $2.21B. Shares +14.1%. (PR)
• W&T Offshore (WTI): Q3 EPS of $0.79 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $290M (+13.6%) vs. $276M. (PR)

Earnings: Monday After Close

• Automatic Data Processing (ADP): FQ1 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $2.18B (+9.5%) in-line. Shares -2.5%. (PR)
• Coldwater Creek (CWTR): Sees Q3 sales of $225M vs. $265M consensus, and EPS of -$0.07 to -$0.09 vs. $0.03 consensus. "The overall macro-economic environment has proven to be substantially more challenging than anticipated." Shares -5.9%. (PR)
• Comstock Resources (CRK): Q3 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $169M (+103.7%) vs. $158M. (PR)
• Embraer (ERJ): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $1.55B (+8.1%) vs. $1.63B. (PR)
• EOG Resources (EOG): Q3 EPS of $2.34 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $3.22B (+226.5%). Shares +1.9%. (PR)
• Forest Oil (FST): Q3 EPS of $1.26 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $474M (+51.5%) vs. $465M. (PR)
• Herbalife (HLF): Q3 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $M in-line. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.65-0.70 vs. $0.91, and 2009 EPS of $3.50-3.55 vs. $3.71. Shares -13.5%. (PR)
• MasterCard (MA): Q3 EPS of $2.47 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $1.34B (+23.7%) vs. $1.27B. Gross dollar volume rose 12.3%. "As we are not immune from the long-term effects of the current economic environment, we have significantly accelerated the focus on our cost structure..." Shares +8%. (PR)
• Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q3 EPS of $1.10 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.76B (-9%) in-line. (PR)
• Open Text (OTEX): Q3 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $183M (+11.4%) vs. $179M. Shares -1.1%. (PR)
• Pepco Holdings (POM): Q3 EPS of $0.59 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $3.06B (+10.4%) vs. $2.73B. (PR)
• Pitney Bowes (PBI): Q3 EPS of $0.67 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.55B (+2.6%) vs. $1.6B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.75-2.82 vs. $2.85. (PR)
• St. Mary Land (SM): Q3 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $324M (+31.4%) vs. $329M. Shares +1.2%. (PR)
• Viacom (VIA): Q3 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $3.41B (+4.2%) vs. $3.32B. Shares +1.5%. (PR)

Today's Markets

• Asia closed mixed Tuesday. Tokyo was the standout, +6.27% to 9,115. Shanghai -0.76% to 1,707. Hang Seng +0.28% to 14,384. BSE Sensex +2.84% to 10,631.
• European markets posted strong morning gains. London +1.75%. Paris +2.1%. Frankfurt +2%.
• U.S. futures are markedly higher at 7:00 AM. Dow +1.88% to 9506. S&P +1.96% to 988.50. Nasdaq +2.18%. Crude +1.16% to $64.65. Gold +1.49% to $737.60.

Tuesday's Economic Calendar

• 7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
  8:55 Redbook
  10:00 Factory Orders
  5:00 PM ABC Consumer Confidence Index
• Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: ADM, AEE, AMSC, DF, DNR, EMR, ENTG, EXPD, FE, GTI, HCP, HL, HNT, HOC, JEC, JOE, LPX, MAC, MGA, MYGN, NI, NNN, NXG, PPL, PQ, RDC, TDC, TEN, THC, TLM, VNO, WTI, XEC
• Notable earnings after Tuesday's close: AMMD, BRE, CBL, DCT, FCH, HRP, JKHY, ME, NHP, PXD, UPL, USU, VTR

Seeking Alpha editor Rachael Granby contributed to this post.

Louisiana-Pacific

Guidance

The consensus estimate is loss (30c) for EPS and $394.06M for revenue, according to First Call. Shares of lumber and wood products companies fell Monday morning and then traded mixed into afternoon trade, after a government report showed a weak housing market in September contributed to another monthly decline in construction spending.