Goodyear is the better buy right now

Article Excerpt

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $14.93 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 232.5 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; Dividend yield: 4.3%) is one of the world’s largest tire makers. It has 47 production plants in 21 countries. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the company’s revenue fell 6.1%, to $3.60 billion from $3.83 billion a year earlier. Demand remained steady in the Americas. But the volume of tire sales in Europe dropped along with those for Asia, including China’s slowing vehicle market. Goodyear earned $45 million, or $0.19 a share, in the latest quarter excluding one-time items. That’s a drop of 63.1%, from $122 million, or $0.50, a year earlier. While the company sold fewer tires overall, it sold more high-profit-margin premium tires. Still, soaring prices for raw materials more than offset those gains. In fact, Goodyear projects that its commodity costs may be up as much as $300 million this year. The company’s long-term outlook is nonetheless positive. Demand…