Diamonds and Dogs
8/15/12
Staples Inc. (SPLS)Staples Inc. was not looking sharp today, down 14.98% at $11.44. The company saw its shares sink after announcing a poor earnings report. Both US and International sales declined significantly at, 5.5% and 18% respectively. Staples announced and EPS of $0.18 and saw declines on the top and bottom line across all their business units. According to CEO Ronald Sargent, "while we didn't provide financial guidance for the second quarter, these results fell short of our internal expectations." Sargent went on to say, "We're not satisfied with our performance. We've made progress growing adjacent categories over the past few years, but we haven't driven sustainable top line growth. Our retail store productivity has declined, and our performance in international remains particularly disappointing." Staples aren't holding the company together, down to a new 52-week low.
Photronics Inc. (PLAB)
Photronics is bouncing higher today, up 10.66% at $6.33. The photomask company saw its shares jump after a positive earnings report. CEO Deno Macricostas said, "Third quarter revenues reflect reduced demand at the end of the quarter for high-end integrated circuit (IC) and flat panel display (FPD) photomask's. At the same time, we increased operating margin by 190 basis points sequentially to 13.1% on lower sales volume, and achieved net income of $11 million, or $0.16 per diluted share." This net income was in line with the company's initial guidance. Sales for photomask's added to a majority of the net income for Photronics, with sales amounting to $90.3 million, or 77% of revenues. This huge pop today has pushed Photronics very close to their 52-week high.
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