Topic: Growth Stocks

The Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, August 1, 2008

Article Excerpt

SONY CORP. ADRs $37.83, New York symbol SNE, fell roughly 10% this week after it reported earnings that fell short of consensus forecasts. In its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2008, earnings fell 39.2%, to $0.31 per ADR from $0.51 a year earlier. The drop was mainly due to lower profits at its TV division, where intense price competition and rising raw material costs have squeezed profit margins. Lower results from its cellphone and movie operations also contributed to the weaker earnings. However, overall sales improved 16.2%, to $18.7 billion from $16.1 billion. If you disregard foreign currency changes, sales were unchanged. The slowing U.S. economy and weak dollar could hurt Sony’s growth in fiscal 2009. But recent cost cuts should improve its long-term profitability. As well, rising sales of its PlayStation 3 video game player should lead to more licensing revenue from game designers. Sony is a buy for long-term gains. JONES APPAREL GROUP INC. $16.47, New York symbol JNY, is…