stock split

A: Starbucks Corp., $57.39, symbol SBUX on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $82.8 billion; www.starbucks.com), is a leading seller and roaster of specialty coffee.



Starbucks has 12,444 company-operated stores and 11,477 licensed outlets in 72 countries....

A: Salesforce.com Inc., $81.42, symbol CRM on New York (Shares outstanding: 677.5 million; Market cap: $55.0 billion, www.salesforce.com) makes customer relationship management (CRM) software that helps businesses organize and share information about their sales, customer service and marketing activities.

The company first sold shares to the public at $2.75 a share (adjusted) in June 2004.

Salesforce sells its software over the Internet as a cloud-based subscription service....

Lumber firm Stella-Jones Inc. experienced double-digit growth in both sales and earnings for the quarter.

ALLIANT ENERGY CORP. $36 (www.alliantenergy.com) sells power and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The company earned $97.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, up 1.0% from $96.6 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings fell 1.1%, to $0.43 from $0.435 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split in May 2016)....

ALLIANT ENERGY CORP. $36 (www.alliantenergy.com) sells power and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The company earned $97.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, up 1.0% from $96.6 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings fell 1.1%, to $0.43 from $0.435 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split in May 2016)....

Stella-Jones Inc., $49.00, symbol SJ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 69.1 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; www.stella-jones.com), makes pressure-treated wood products. They include: railway ties (45% of sales); utility poles (34%); treated lumber products for the residential market (12%); lumber for industrial uses such as construction timbers and highway guardrails (6%); and logs and lumber (3%). The company gets most of its utility poles from timberlands that it leases in Quebec and B.C. It also buys wood for railway ties and other products from sawmills in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. also provides 82% of its sales, while Canada supplies the remaining 18%....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $1.52 and BBD.B $1.43; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.2; Dividend suspended in February 2015; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.bombardier.com) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. It’s also a leading maker of passenger railcars. The company recently formed a joint venture with the government of Quebec to build its new CSeries passenger jets. Under the deal, the province will pay $1.0 billion for 49.5% of this business (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars)....

Bombardier and BlackBerry (see box) continue to struggle with strong competition and shrinking sales. However, both are developing new products that should spur growth. As well, their sizable cash holdings help cut their short-term risk. BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $1.52 and BBD.B $1.43; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.2; Dividend suspended in February 2015; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.bombardier.com) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. It’s also a leading maker of passenger railcars. The company recently formed a joint venture with the government of Quebec to build its new CSeries passenger jets....

Share splits may make a stock more attractive to many investors, but it takes more than that to make it a buy.

CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $129.83, Toronto symbol CTC.A, saw weaker sales in the latest quarter, as warmer-than-usual weather hurt demand for winter goods such as snow shovels and tires. Lower gasoline prices also dampened revenue at its gas stations. The company’s overall sales fell 7.5%, to $3.4 billion from $3.7 billion. Cost controls and lower marketing costs boosted company earnings, despite the revenue fall. In the three months ended January 2, 2016, the company earned $225.2 million, up 8.1% from $208.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 13.6%, to $3.01 from $2.65, on fewer shares outstanding, easily beating the consensus estimate of $2.55....