Update Monsanto (MON)
It’s hard to keep earnings growing when competitors cut the price you can charge for your signature product in half. That’s the reality that’s finally put an end to Monsanto’s (MON) run of eight consecutive years of earnings growth. On September 10, the company, a...Update Johnson Controls (JCI)
The long-term future for Johnson Controls (JCI) is in batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and systems for building-wide energy efficiency. Not that the near-term future is so bad. What with the recovery, slow though it might be, in the global auto industry....Update ING Groep (ING)
ING Groep (ING) has moved a step closer to repaying the $14.3 billion loan it took out from the Dutch government in October 2008 during the height of the financial crisis. The company has asked for final bids for its private banking business with the price believed to...Update Flowserve (FLS)
Turns out the pumping business is a very good place to be in this economy. On July 29 Flowserve (FLS) announced second quarter earnings of a better than expected $1.92 a share and raised its earnings forecast for 2009. The company increased its target for 2009...Update Deere (DE)
Deere’s (DE) third quarter earnings report on August 19 confirmed what the company forecast in its second quarter report: forget about 2009. In the quarter earnings per share fell by 25% to 99 cents from $1.32 in the third quarter of 2008. Revenue dropped 24% to $5.89...Update LAN Airlines (LFL)
Bad news. I mean really, really bad news. On July 28 Chile’s LAN Airlines (LFL) reported that second quarter profit dropped a huge 93%, although the company did manage to stay profitable (to the tune of $4.2 million) during the quarter. But maybe a turning point. On...Update BHP Billiton (BHP)
When I added BHP Billiton (BHP) to my Jubak Picks 50 portfolio in my book The Jubak Picks I said that the company was a one-buy way to get exposure to a wide spectrum of commodities. In the first half of 2009 that diversification paid off big, the company reported on...Update Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Ever since this recession began Cisco Systems (CSCO) CEO John Chambers has shown an unexpected talent for taking all the joy out of his company’s earnings report. And he did it again when, on August 5, Cisco Systems reported earnings of 31 cents a share for the...Update Transocean (RIG)
Think of a bad quarter–or two or three or…–as a test of a company. If you are a long-term investor–and you are if you’re following my Jubak Picks 50–you see bad quarters as a test of a company’s strategy and management. What...Update Potash of Saskatchewan (POT)
There’s just one more big customer negotiation standing between Potash of Saskatchewan (POT) and a bottom for potash prices. Unfortunately for anyone hoping for a quick fix that customer is China and the Chinese are likely to take their time striking a deal. In...Update Middleby (MIDD)
On August 12 Middleby (MIDD) reported second quarter earnings of 74 cents a share. That was 7 cents a share below Wall Street expectations. Revenue also came in light at $159 million versus the $170 million Wall Street had projected. Middleby has attempted to keep...Update HSBC (HBC)
One half of HSBC’s (HBC) business is performing beautifully. Unfortunately, it’s not the part that I most want to own. On August 3, HSBCÂ reported second quarter earnings that showed that its investment banking and trading had doubled its pre-tax profit for...Update Vale (VALE)
The short-term numbers that Vale (VALE), the world’s low cost exporter of iron ore, reported on July 30 for the second quarter of 2009 were ugly but expected. Operating revenue dropped by $300 million to $5.1 billion from the first quarter. Profit margins fell to 20%...Update Cemex (CX)
Certainly Mexican cement producer Cemex (CX) isn’t out of the woods yet, but the trees sure look a lot less menacing. The company wound up buried under cord upon cord of debt, thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy that culminated in the 2007 purchase...Update Kinross Gold (KGC)
A good second quarter from Kinross Gold (KGC)–considering the uncertainties of the mining business where anything from an ore body running a lower grade than expected to floods to civil war can disrupt production. Earnings of 12 cents a share for the second...Update Monsanto (MON)
I think the recent huge  price increase from Monsanto (MON) is pretty much like putting a sign on the company’s back saying “Kick me.” I wonder if hiking seed prices by as much as 42% when much of the developing world is on the edge of a food crisis...Update General Cable (BGC)
Looking for the dark side of the recovery in commodity prices? Look no farther than the second quarter earnings reported by General Cable (BGC) on August 5. The company did indeed beat Wall Street earnings estimates by 20 cents a share but that doesn’t mean...Update ONEOK Partners (OKS)
Certainly not a great quarter but it will do. After the close on August 4, ONEOK Partners (OKS) announced second quarter earnings of 81 cents a unit. (This is a master limited partnership rather than common stock.) That was down from $1.46 in the second quarter of...Update Pepsico (PEP)
The deal is done. On August 4, PepsiCo (PEP) announced that it had completed deals to buy all the remaining shares of it5s tow biggest bottlers, Pepsi Bottling (PBG) and Pepsi Americas (PAS). The price is about $1 billion more than PepsiCo originally offered. (The...Update Luxottica (LUX)
For Luxoticca’s (LUX), the world’s largest maker and retailer of sun glasses, the  second quarter was a war between the slowdown in developed economies such as Europe and the United States and growth in emerging economies such as China. Because...Update W.R. Berkley Capital 6.75% Pref. (WRB-PA)
Worried about future inflation? Then this is your preferred stock. Because W.R. Berkley (WRB) CEO William Berkley is too. The insurance exec is building up reserves based on his forecast of 6% inflation not too far down the road. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt...Update ExxonMobil (XOM)
I think this quarter marks an important transition for oil stocks. What everybody knows—the consensus wisdom that is baked into stock prices–has moved on. Everybody now accepts that oil prices will be low enough so that oil company earnings will look terrible in...Update Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)
The longer the Federal Reserve promises to keep interest rates low, the more valuable Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) is and the longer I want to hold it. In its press release from its June 24 meeting the Federal Open Market Committee said it “continues to...Update Corning (GLW)
The recent past was much better than expected. The near term future is uncertain. And the long-term looks great. That’s about the way I’d sum up Corning’s (GLW) second quarter report released before the opening bell on July 27. For the quarter just...Update Coach (COH)
Coach (COH) reported that its earnings for the June quarter matched Wall Street expectations at 43 cents a share. That’s about the last good news for the fourth fiscal quarter that Coach had to announce, however. Coach certainly hasn’t escaped the...Update Transocean (RIG)
One robin doesn’t make a spring. And one new drilling contract with a higher price than the expiring one doesn’t make a turn in the drilling sector. But springs are built one robin at a time and turns in depressed industries begin with a single contract....Update PepsiCo PEP
It’s still the same old story, a song of… Wait. That’s a different story. This one is about the way that a strong dollar has cut revenue and earnings in the second quarter now being reported for the big international consumer companies such as...Update Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX
At least they were honest. Executives at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) told Wall Street on July 21 that they weren’t seeing any signs of a recovery in developed economies that would lead the company to restart its idled U.S. copper mines. So where...Update Thompson Creek Metals Raising target price again
Once again time to ask, Time to sell Thompson Creek Metals (TC)? I still don’t think so. It’s absolutely true that the commodities rally of has taken shares of this molybdenum miner way above my old Jubak Picks target price of $7 a share by December 2009. And it’s...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
Every post from Jubak Picks straight to your mailbox. And they're free!