Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, May 2, 2014

Article Excerpt

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER, $25.29, symbol GT on New York, is the world’s largest tire maker, with 52 plants in 22 countries. In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Goodyear’s sales fell 7.9%, to $4.5 billion from $4.9 billion a year earlier. North American sales declined 13.3%, to $1.9 billion from $2.2 billion. Sales also fell 13.2% in Asia and 17.7% in Latin America. That offset a slight increase in Europe. Harsh winter weather hurt North American car and truck sales, which cut demand for new tires. The weather also slowed customer traffic to retailers, which hurt sales of replacement tires. The weakening of the Brazilian, Venezuelan and Australian currencies against the U.S. dollar also lowered Goodyear’s revenue. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share fell 17.6%, to $0.56 from $0.68. The lower sales and stronger price competition were the main reasons for the decline. Despite the weaker quarter, Goodyear’s outlook is strong. The stock trades at just 9.2 times the $2.75 a share the…