wall street
ADOBE SYSTEMS INC., $28.43, Nasdaq symbol ADBE, fell 5% this week after the company announced a new restructuring plan. A big part of this plan is Adobe’s decision to quit making its Flash software for smartphones and other mobile devices (Flash lets web site developers make web pages more interactive by adding animation and video). That’s mainly because Apple Inc. (Nasdaq symbol AAPL) refused to include Flash in its hugely popular iPhone and iPad. Apple feels Flash is slow and uses too much battery power....
Commodity investments: Acquisitions help offset weakness in other operations. Ag Growth International Inc. (symbol AFN on Toronto;)), is a
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., $63.03, New York symbol PG, is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care products. Some of its top brands include Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Pampers diapers. In April 2011, the company agreed to merge its Pringles potato-chip business with Diamond Foods Inc. (Nasdaq symbol DMND), which makes a variety of snack foods, including potato chips, nuts and popcorn. Pringles accounts for less than 4% of Procter’s revenue and earnings. Under the terms of the deal, Procter will give its investors the option to exchange some or all of their shares for a holding in Diamond. That would give Procter shareholders 57% of the combined company. Diamond investors would own the remaining 43%....
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This week, an Inner Circle member asked Pat about one of Canada’s major mining stocks. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty has quietly built a position as a world leader in iron ore. Now it faces several challenges in today’s volatile commodity markets....
Companies with dominant market shares of widely used products are in an enviable position. But as markets become more saturated, those companies must look elsewhere for growth. Diebold aims to take on this challenge in several ways. DIEBOLD INC. (New York symbol DBD; www.diebold.com) is a leading maker of automated teller machines (ATMs). It also makes safes, vaults and building-security systems. To cut its reliance on ATMs, the company now offers more services, such as software, ATM maintenance and processing customer transactions. The company now gets over 50% of its revenue from services. That gives it recurring revenue and helps cut its risk....
TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP., $59.47, New York symbol TUP, makes high-quality household products, including plastic food and beverage containers and educational toys. It also makes wide range of cosmetics, bath oils and fragrances. The company continues to see strong demand in fast-growing economies, such as Asia and Latin America. Tupperware now gets 63% of its sales from these markets. That’s helping it offset slower sales in North America and Europe. In the three months ended October 1, 2011, Tupperware earned $50.3 million. That’s up 23.3% from $40.8 million a year earlier. During the quarter, the company spent $195.7 million on share buybacks. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 29.7%, to $0.83 from $0.64....
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. An interesting question came up this week about Ocean Power Technologies, a company that is generating electricity from ocean waves. This raised the issue of the risks and rewards associated with a renewable energy stock. In particular, Pat drew the comparison between the long-term prospects of wave power and wind power....
Our TSI Network rating system is a key guide we use to find the best stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on top-quality U. S. stocks.
Stock market strategy: This is a good time to add high-quality U.S. companies to your portfolio
...
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $181.63, New York symbol IBM, reported higher-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. However, the computer maker’s revenue fell short of expectations. That caused the stock to fall 5% this week. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, IBM earned $3.8 billion. That’s up 7.0% from $3.6 billion a year earlier. The company spent $3.4 billion on share buybacks in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 13.1%, to $3.19 from $2.82. If you exclude unusual items, mainly costs to integrate acquisitions, IBM’s earnings per share would have risen 15.1%, to $3.28 from $2.85. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $3.22 a share. Revenue rose 7.8%, to $26.2 billion from $24.3 billion. That was less than the consensus estimate of $26.3 billion. If you exclude the positive impact of foreign-exchange rates, revenue would have risen 3%....
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This week, an investor asked about one of the telecommunications giants of the world stock market, Telefonica. That prompted Pat to examine the balancing act a company like Telefonica undergoes when it experiences weakness in some markets and strength in others....
