Verizon Signs Deals with ESPN, CBS Sports and others for college sports

Verizon deals with various big networks for college sports games.

Verizon Communication (NYSE:VZ) is planning to launch its wireless Internet TV service by the end of 2015. It has also signed a number of deals with channels such as CBS Sports and ESPN and others to distribute college sports programs.

Verizon plans to introduce its “mobile-first” pay-TV service with initial channels of between 20 and 30 channels targeting the young audience who aren’t much interested in typical channels shown on cable TV, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam stated.

"College sports with all of its live programming and networks targeted to millennials are a natural fit for any mobile-first video platform," said Terry Denson, Verizon's VP of content acquisition and strategy.

He Further said, "These brands are at the top of the league, and we're excited to work with them as new content models for our customers develop and evolve."

The deals will provide subscribers to watch full college games, including various famous college games from CBS Sports. Verizon signing up these deals indicate that they will mostly focus on recaps and highlights. It also makes sense as the Internet Service which is mobile focused, the audience would most likely be more interested in the smaller versions.

Fran Shammo Chief Financial Officer at Verizon hinted that the service will use the carrier's LTE multicast technology for broadcasting live events.

However, it also indicates that big networks that have access to popular games don’t wish to offer it online. That’s probably the reason why Verizon is making deals with networks like ACC Digital Network and Campus insiders and 120 sports.

Last year, Verizon acquired Intel’s OnCue over-the-top division for $200 million. Intel had been providing services to compete with Pay-TV service providers but did not continue due to cost issues.

Additionally last year Verizon also purchased content-delivery network provider UpLynk and EdgeCast Networks, which provides streaming video services.Verizon has also announced deals with Viacom, giving a permit to the company to the distribution rights for MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other channels.

AT&T, the biggest mobile service competitor of Verizon has also hinted of offering future mobile video. Verizon stock were trading at a share price of 50.55, and we up by 0.94% as on Wednesday at 6:27AM.

Ford Motors (F) Reported First Quarter Earnings for Fiscal Year 2015

Ford Motors Co. reported its 1QFY15 earnings of 23 cents per share on $31.8 billion of revenue.

Ford Motor reported its quarterly earnings for fiscal year 2015 on Tuesday April28. The company was not able to meet revenue and earnings expectation of analysts, as it was not able to sell many vehicles in North America because of the F-150 pickup truck roll out and continuously lost money in Europe and South America.

The world’s second-biggest automaker company reported earnings of $0.23 per share compared to previous year earnings of $0.25 per share. The company reported $31.8 billion in revenue less than $33.9 billion in the prior year quarter. This was Ford’s twenty-third profitable quarters in a row.

Ford President and CEO, Mark Fields said in a statement, “The first quarter was a good start to a year in which our results will grow progressively stronger as the new products we have been launching start to pay o. We are re-confirming that 2015 will be a breakthrough year for Ford as we continue accelerating our One Ford plan, delivering product excellence and driving innovation in every part of the business in a way that benefits all of our stakeholders.”

The company reported $924 million in net income equals to 23 cents per share, down $65 million or 1 cent compared to the similar quarter last year.

Wall Street has expected Ford Motors to post quarterly earnings of $0.26 per share on $33.9 billion of revenue, as per the consensus forecasts by Thomson Reuters.

However, the company upheld its whole year projection of pre-tax income in the range of $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion. Ford improved its projection to 8.5% to 9.5% for North American operating margin.

Earlier last week, the company announced that it will discharge around 700 workers from its Detroit production plants. The Michigan plant in Wayne, which manufactures compact hybrid and compact cars, will be cutting a whole shift. Ford said the step is due to decreasing demand for hybrid cars among weak gas prices.

Strengthening US dollar is wiping out the majority of companies revenue during the first 3 months if 2015. Last week, quarterly earnings were reported by General Motors, who failed to meet earnings estimate including a loss of $1.8 billion in revenue earned from international sales.

The share price of Ford went down by 1.07% to $15.73 during the pre-market session following the announcement of quarterly results.

Apple Inc Earnings For 2QFY15

The iPhone makers reported an exceptional quarter earnings from the significant sales in China.

Apple Inc (AAPL) has been doing wonders in the tech world with the extraordinary sales of the iPhone that it reported in its quarterly report presented on April 27, 2015. The tech company was seen to have recorded an exceptionally high revenue increment in the quarter which was due to the strong sales of the new iPhone that was carried out in the previous fall. The kind of sales that the firm has been experiencing is one of its kinds.

In the much awaited quarter report, Apple Inc declared that it sold a massive $61.2 million items of the smartphone in a period of three months which the analysts believe is a number to be reckoned with. These sales have arisen by a huge 40% as compared to the previous year’s same quarter. One of the main reasons for such a rise in the sales was due the successful penetration that the company managed to do in China which was marked as one of the biggest achievements of the iPhone makers.

The revenue for Apple Inc came around $59 billion for the three months quarter with the earnings per share rising up to $2.33, as per a report by WSJ. According to the average selling price, in which the iPhone were sold and bought at, the price tag of $659 showed an increment of $60 if compared to the price the smartphones were previously sold at. In an interview, Tim Cook, who is the CEO of the Silicon Valley based company, told the WSJ that this time around, the company has experienced an unusual growth of customers switching from other phones to Apple phones which has been marked as another jewel in the firm’s crown.

The gross margin that was received by Apple in the quarterly results came around with a rise of 40.8% which was higher than the expected margin of 38.5%. Previously, the software company had decided to return around $130 billion to shareholders in the form of dividend but an increase was recorded in that department as well, as by March 2017, the firm has planned to return $200 billion to its shareholders.

The company has also managed to raise the cash revenue to $193.5 billion which totaled around only $178 billion by the end of the previous quarter.

FedEx Narrows Earnings Estimate Amid Strong Holiday Season

Courier company expects “continued moderate global economic growth" in US this year.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) posted a weaker-than-expected outlook for fiscal year 2015 (FY15), as it narrowed its earnings' estimation on lethargic global economic growth expectation. However, the courier company had a strong holiday season, due to which it thrashed Wall Street Journal's estimates.

The Tennessee-based company trimmed its earnings per share (EPS) forecast from $8.5-9, which was announced on January 23, to $8.8-8.95 for the fiscal year ending May 31. Analysts on Wall Street were looking for EPS of $8.98. The company reiterated its capital expenditure guidance for FY15 at $4.2 billion.

FedEx shares plummeted 2.4% to $171.57 before the trading commenced on Wednesday.

In its earnings call today, the company expected economic growth of 3.1% in the US for 2015 and 2016, stating it as “continued moderate global economic growth".

FedEx arch-rival, United Parcel Services Inc. also failed to impress Wall Street with its FY15 outlook last month, citing stronger dollar and increasing pension expenses.

Holiday Season Earnings Upsides And Downsides

The company, which has 90,000 vehicles and over 600 aircraft, benefited from low crude costs, which pulled the fuel expenses by 30.3% year-on-year (YoY ) to $697 million in third quarter of 2015 (3QFY15).

The earnings of the company were also upbeat due to restructuring initiatives, which improved the fuel efficiency of the air fleets. Furthermore, milder weather in the holiday season was like a blessing for FedEx, as the company’s operating earnings were hit by severe winter weather last year, shaving off $125 million.

However, the earnings of the company were hit by currency headwinds and fuel and declining fuel surcharges in the foreign markets.

FedEx earnings jumped 53.44% YoY to $580 million ($2.01 per share) in 3QFY15, compared to $378 ($1.23 per share) in 3QFY14. The company also said that its EPS received a boost of $0.11 due to share buybacks. Revenues of the company mounted 4% YoY to $11.72 billion in the quarter.

The company thrashed the consensus estimates of $1.87 EPS and 11.79 billion revenues.

Segment-wise Performance

FedEx Express Segment, which is the largest segment of the company, saw its revenues decline slightly to $6.67 billion in 3QFY15. However, the margins grew from 2.5% to 5.8% over the year in the quarter and volumes of domestic package mounted 4%.

FedEx Ground Segment’s revenues grew 12% YoY to $3.39 billion during the quarter, as average daily volumes rose 7% due to growth in both business-to-customers (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). E-commerce growth and higher base rates were key factors for growth in the segment in the 3Q.

Revenues at FedEx Freight Segment climbed 6% YoY to $1.43 billion, as less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments rose 3%.

McDonald's Sales Stumble Despite Efforts

McDonald's continues to stumble in Q1 despite efforts to improve.

With many companies revealing their earnings report for the first quarter, McDonald Corporation has also unveiled their report. With this report of their performance in the first quarter, things are already a mess for them.

According to the report, the company experienced a massive decline in sales during the first quarter of fiscal year of 2015. The company’s business is stumbling since more United States consumers are opting out of fast food franchises and going towards healthier alternatives. The company’s performance has been disappointing in United States, Asia and Europe. McDonald’s restaurant during this tenure has taken several initiatives to revive it, but it seems like things are not willing to go their way.

The company’s problems are not short term but date back to the past few quarters where their performance has continuously slacked. MCD has tried to accustom itself to the changes in consumer demand but have not really succeeding in doing something concrete. They also came up with a complex menu, but companies like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread tend to take the limelight away from them.

Wall Street had earlier predicted that McDonald’s stock performance would stagger by 1.8 per cent. However, the company also crossed that benchmark where now its stocks have gone down by 2.3%.

The company initiated several competitions and incentives based policies so that they could gain more diners but despite efforts sales fell by 2.6 per cent within United States. Moreover, the largest market for McDonald’s resides in Europe, but even then they struggled to a great extent in Russia and France. However, the company believes that the weak economy is the prime reason behind their stumbling in United Kingdom.

Apart from this, the food safety scare that occurred in Asia and Middle East resulted in a drop in sales by 8.3 per cent. Thus, all in all, the sales record has resulted in the operating profit margins of the company to compound to 28 percent for Q1.

The company itself believes that this will continue for them in the months ahead as it expects sales to decline even further.

Mr. Steve Easterbrook, the new chief executive officer of McDonald’s has taken several initiates that will help them pave their way to glory. This includes a comparatively simplified menu, the company put an end to stores that were not doing well and also worked on increasing the wages of employees. However, the efforts taken seem all in vain.

“McDonald’s management team is keenly focused on acting more quickly to better address today’s consumer needs, expectations and the competitive marketplace,” mentioned Easterbrook in a statement.

Apple Inc Q2 Earnings for FY15 Preview

The iPhone makers are expected to report a rise in sales and revenue for the second quarter of the fiscal year.

Apple Inc has set the date of April 27, 2015 to announce the second quarter earnings of the company. The tech company has been receiving a lot of approvals and disapprovals all at the same time as equity firms cannot seem to agree on one perspective when it comes to the stock activities of the company. The majority of the financial firms believe that the iPhone makers are going to make it big this time around as well. However, equity analysts at Societe Generale seem to be very bearish about the stock as they have decreased their estimates for the upcoming quarter report.

Analysts at Stifel, however, are expecting Apple Inc to shock everyone with the extraordinary results that are predicted by them. These analysts are of the opinion that the consensus estimate is easily going to be surpassed by the Silicon Valley Company and there is no need for a debate about it. Analysts who have downgraded the shares of the iPod makers feel negative about the stock as they believe the Apple Inc Smart Watch is not going to work which might end up as a loss to the company.

According to the Street’s analysis of the revenue of Apple Inc, the numbers have come around at $54.9 million for the quarter. However, the Stifel analysts have become over bullish on the stock which is why they have ended up giving an estimate of $58.4 million for the sales of the tech company. One of the main reasons for their positive expectations is that the iPhone sales in China were carried out more successfully than expected.

The Street analysts believe that the earnings per share for Apple Inc will come around at$2.14 for the 2nd quarter of fiscal year whereas for the full year, the EPS has been estimated at $8.81 per share. As for the analysts at Stifel, the full year revenue generation has been predicted to be $231.2 billion. The analysts of the firm have also granted a ‘buy’ rating to the shares of the tech giant.

Currently, Apple Inc stock is trading at a price of $129.67 share value while the market value rests at $749.18 billion.

CFO of Sears Blogs In Reply To Wall Street Journal's Article

The CFO of the company believes that they are in a good position to not cut off on the pension plans no matter where the sales take them.

According to the most recent Sears Holdings news, it was seen that even though the company official do not comment on the activities of the management quite that often, it cannot be said that they are unaware of what the press chooses to say about them. Recently, a journalist of the Wall Street Journal posted an article regarding the fact that the retail store’s pension plans might get affected by the unsatisfactory results on the sales that it has been recently witnessing. CFO Rob Schreisheim decided to reply to that article and his response discussed how he felt that some of the major press companies and media firms were constantly writing articles and posting things against the multinational company that was far from being true.

This accusation was pointed directly towards WSJ keeping in mind the article that was posted by the major press firm which was not in favor of Sears. The pension plan of the Chicago-based company was said to be affected by the low sales and returns on the stock after the stock received a dip in the market for a couple of days. In his article on the Sears Blogs, Rob was seen discussing the plans that his company followed regarding distribution of pension and complained about how some of the media companies spoke without having complete knowledge of the arrangement.

The Wall Street Journal’s article pointed out that Sears Holdings has been facing low earnings for the past couple of quarters which was the reason why their pension plan could be affected. But the CFO of the Illinois Company dismissed this as well and declared that all these allegations were untrue.

Rob was also seen talking about the fact that the articles published by Sears were not taking all the facts into consideration and were just creating hype out of news that was only half the facts. He said even if the multinational company receives low sales, the backup plan that is followed which is dependent on the assets of the firm are there to make sure that such plans do not fail.

Sears CFO also explained that the company has been spending a large amount of money on the pension plans on a yearly basis and for the purpose of putting less risk into the matter; they have decided to lessen the amount that is spent on them, letting other companies take their place for some time now.

Keeping that in mind, analysts still believe that the pension plan followed by the Sears financial department is sure to become a burden on the firm no matter what is said by the management.

McDonald’s first quarter earnings fell short of analyst’s expectation

McDonald’s reported its first quarter earnings on April 22 mornings. The company failed to meet analyst’s expectation regarding EPS and revenue.

McDonald’s Corporation reported its first quarter of fiscal year 2015 earnings on Wednesday April 22 before market open.

McDonald’shas been facing a downside for more than two years now in its revenue, amongst adverse news which are not likely to arrive to an end in the expected future.

Analysts believes that the quarterly outcomes are not up to the mark, and expects that there is much possibility that the market share of the international fast food chain will endure to decline if the new competition enters the market.

After the announcement, the share of the company went up during pre-market session. McDonald’s earnings fell short of analysts’ expectation. The main reason for the miss is considered to be as the company is still not completely able to come out of Japan and China food scandal, and also tough competition in US.

Revenue of the company went down to $5.96 billion from previous $6.7 billion; however its net income fell by over 32.6% and reached $811.5 million in the same period. The fast food chain posted earnings of $1.01 per share compared to prior year quarter earnings of $1.21 per share.

Although, McDonald’s is under extreme pressure, analysts think that the company still has a lot of potential compared to its competitors. Analysts also pointed out several catalysts that can help McDonald’shave to reach the top position once again.

The analysts pointed out that the restaurant can reach the population of United States as it has got nearly 14.300 outlets for dine in and take away. Furthermore, McDonald’s is all set to launch 600 to 700 more outlets internationally by the end of this year. Altogether, it has approximately 36,200 outlets all over the globe. With robust financial support, the company has an upper hand over its rivals to promote their business better than anyone else.

One more point that McDonald’s should emphasize for future growth is increasing the time of breakfast deals. The fast food chain received a lot of request from customers to increase the time of its breakfast hours. This can be the way by which McDonald’s can entice its consumers to visit the restaurant.

Analysts Expect Facebook Earnings To Be Overwhelming

Facebook earnings are likely to change the game for them.

Facebook Inc. is one of those stocks that have always been in the limelight engaging investors. At this point of time, traders are anticipating bigger moves for the company since Facebook earnings will soon be unleashed.

This is not an unheard phenomenon where Facebook stocks have got an overwhelming response after earnings have been revealed. Therefore, many analysts believe that history is all set to repeat itself since Wednesday trading day will change the game for the company all over again.

Facebook stock price is expected to increase to its fullest potential once the company reveals its earnings.

According to the renowned analyst, Mike Khouw: the option prices for the firm pose a 7 per cent move once the earnings are reported. However, Khouw believes that earnings are essentially a game changer for any firm and the response after revelations is what actually interests him.

He further states, after earnings have been revealed it almost takes a months’ time to govern what direction will it move and the number usually sums to 15 per cent.

Facebook stock performance has been brilliant in general. An increase of 40 per cent was observed over the past twelve months. Moreover the Nasdaq composite has been 22 and S&P 500 has been estimated to 13 per cent. This has actually elasticized the valuation of the company.

According to a report by FactSet, the company trades almost at 38 times more than the usual expected earnings. However, many are not ready to believe or accept that Facebook stocks are generally overpriced.

"What is interesting about the valuation here is that we haven't seen multiple expansion in Facebook like we have in almost every other part of the market," said Khouw. Thus the revenues of the company have superseded growth in stock prove over the past couple of months. Hence the company’s stock is certainly not cheap.

The head of technical analysis at the renowned Cornerstone Macro believes that the company’s performance chart seem to be promising in the days to come.

Worth added that the company was not doing fairly well in the market when considering their Friday performance. But at this stage, it is expected that the company’s earnings will be good and the stocks will correspond to the upside.

"We think it bounces off the top and actually goes on to make a new high," Worth said.

Hence in a nutshell, it not all depends on FB’s earning that will cope up for all the mishaps as expected. The company’s position is strong where analysts are in favor of growth.

National Bank Of Greece Stocks Moderately Rise As EU-Greek Talks Gain Momentum

EU troika and Greek representatives reportedly reach common ground on issues of privatization, but all eyes on mid-May deadline for unlocking new funds, if no clear plan disclosed.

National Bank of Greece’s (NYSE:NBG), the largest bank of Greece, stock rose by 0.02 points or +1.71% from the previous trading day. This comes against the backdrop of the EU troika leaders reaching an agreement with Greek government representatives on issues regarding privatization. It has been one of the sticking points that have dogged the two sides, especially as Greek PM, Alexis Tsipras’s government unleashed populist measures, including halting privatization program, amongst others after years of financial mismanagement.

However, either Greek authorities or the EU itself does not officially confirmed it, which leaves to speculation as to whether the two parties will be able to reach a compromise by the middle of May, which is when Greece will run out of cash, is defaulted, and squeezed out of the euro zone.

To this end, a conference will be held tomorrow on April 22nd, attended by deputy finance ministers, followed by a meeting of finance ministers later on 24th April, both which will be held in Riga, Latvia. According to European Commission Vice President, Valdis Dombrovskis, it is hoped that Greece will be able to provide a clear reform package, ahead of a meeting in May, since the Riga meeting will only take stock of the status of negotiations between the two sides. Both sides have expressed cautious optimism, though privately express grave concerns at the same time.

Time may not be on Greek’s side. After many talks in Brussels and the IMF’s spring meetings, officials say that they are still yet to agree as to how the country will move forward on its reform program, provided if it is solid enough to allow more funds to keep it afloat while there is still a chance.

National Bank of Greece officials say that the signs do not look too rosy. The two sides look nowhere close to bridging a gap amongst a host of many issues that has been affecting many Greek households and consumers, who have been bearing the brunt of austerity cuts that have reduced their disposable income. Depositors and borrowers alike had been withdrawing their cash from their banks, as they anticipate the inevitable prospect of a “Grexit”.

So all eyes are now fixed on mid-May as a make or break point, because Greece has now to step up or ship out, as they have been given enough time to conclude that a “Grexit” is bad for both sides and a compromise plan of action is in the need of the hour.

IBM First Quarter Results beat earnings estimate but missed revenue target

IBM released its 1QFY15 results on Monday after market close and reported earnings per share of $2.91 and $19.6 billion in revenue falling short of analysts’ estimate of $19.7 billion.

International Business Machines reported its first quarter of fiscal year 2015 earnings on Monday April 20 at market close. It was a diverse quarter despite exchange rate volatility.

Analysts predicted IBM to post adjusted earnings per share of around $2.82 on $19.7 billion sales. Earnings of the company increased by 9% on a year over year basis and stood at $2.91 each share from $2.68 in a period earlier. Without including the impact of currency exchange and divestment business segments, IBM revenue was stable at $19.6 billion, decreased by 12%.

The strengthening US dollar was the biggest problem with the company; however currency impact surpassed every estimate and update that the company delivered to its shareholders. Lastly, business division sales cut the revenue of IBM by almost 4% while exchange rate volatility caused slowdown by 8%.

As reported by Thomson Reuters, Wall Street had forecasted the company to report quarterly earnings of $2.80 per share on revenue of $19.64 billion, the results were the 8th time in the last nine quarters that big blue company failed to meet analysts’ expectations. Adjusted sales of IBM rose by 2% on the Y-o-Y basis in United States but plunged by 2% internationally.

The Technology Company gross margin increased by$49.3% from the previous year 48.5%. Operating margin of the company surged by 18.4% compared to 15.8% last year.

International Business Machines restated its future guidance for the fiscal year of earnings of $16.12 per share.

Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM said in a statement, "We had a strong start to the year. Our strategic imperatives growth rate accelerated, demonstrating the power of our offerings in these new opportunities and contributing to improved revenue performance. Our focus on higher value through portfolio transformation and investment in key areas of the business drove continued margin expansion."

Twenty-three covered IBM stock, out of which two have given Buy rating while one gave it strong buy rating. While 16 analysts assigned hold rating to the stock.

At market close on Monday April 20, IBM stock was up by 3.42% to $166.16 and went further up by 0.20% during after hour trading and reached $166.50 at 07:59 PM EDT.

Verizon Declines Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Request To Install Apps On Samsung Phones

The wireless company has declined Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) request to pre-install apps on S6.It is a known fact that Microsoft has been facing quite a threat by tech giants like Google and Apple and for that reason; the software giant has been trying hard to make plans so that it could make itself prominent and dominant in those companies rivalry. The main thing that it has been working on it is to make the applications more popular amidst the dominance of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS system. The software company was recently seen making an announcement for the purpose of spreading its apps on a wider scale by targeting as many phones and handsets that it could get its hands on. However, this plan of the firm seemed to be with no proper foundation.

Verizon Communications business and AT&T were recently seen to have declined the fact that any such deal between the tech giant and them took place. They further declared that Microsoft Corporation had plans for installing its apps before anybody on Samsung’s new phone Galaxy S6, but this was also not accepted by the wireless companies. Now the fact that the US’s largest wireless communication providers are not in favor of reinstalling or installing apps made by Microsoft Corporation on their phones clearly shows how the software developing apps have a really low demand currently and this has come as a huge shock to the Windows company.

Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest software developing company in the world and for it to face such a position is quite a surprising factor. The company had initially planned to install apps like OneDrive, Skype and OneNote on the S6 series so that once the phones get out in the public, it becomes available to more and more people and in this way, the popularity and usage of these apps could have increased. The tech giant is desperately trying to compete with the other developers in the industry and is looking forward to taking the company to higher levels of progress and it to be believed by the developers that by pre-installing apps on a phone, it could be made possible that it reaches out to more people. Unfortunately, the wireless companies have different cell phone plans and the decline from them has come out to be not only a surprise, but also quite a disappointment for the giant.

On the other hand, Verizon wireless business has made sure that the three apps Microsoft Corporation was previously planning to install on the S6 will not be taking their said positions on the handsets and it was a final notice given by them, dismissing all the rumors. However, AT&T will have Skype and OneDrive pre-installed on the phones it sells.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) Is Playing Off the Hook

General Electric is taking a major stride in the history of the corporate sector.

General Electric Company is said to be selling its assets in the real estate world that worth $30 billion. The reason behind this massive sell-off is that the company already has a massive finance business which has always yearned substantial revenues for them. However, their massive portfolio has always been associated with risk among those who have invested in them, therefore, the company now wishes to facilitate all those who have invested in General Electric stocks.

The company has collaborated with the private equity company, Blackstone Group, as well as Wells Fargo, to sell off a chunk of its portfolio that has a worth of $26 billion. This involves the investment the company has made in buildings, mega ventures like shopping malls, and other property owned for commercial purposes across the globe reported individuals familiar with the matter.

The deal will be signed soon and will be a major breakthrough in the financial world since it is said to be one of the largest financial deal ever. To add more to this, the top leadership at General Electric are there to see how a massive chunk of the company will be separated from them. This deal is quite similar in nature to the company previous electrical appliance deal which was also so massive.

However, GE has ensured that the company will continue its operations in the aircraft leasing, health care financing, and energy sector. Moreover, the company will also offer services in industrial operations. The company is also dealing with a strategic shift in strategy where officials have also gathered to observe the company’s big businesses like commercial lending sell off in case they get the right bargain in terms of prices as well as clearance from regulatory bodies to do so.

These are some of the massive steps taken by a big finance tycoon. It is still uncertain why would a profit making organization sell its services that were already streaming in revenues for them. General Electric stock price has been stable for a fairly long span of time, therefore, the decision seems to be extremely surprising for an organization that is not new to the dynamics of the corporate sector.

However, a company at big as GE what is actually good or bad for them so the decision will n ot be as foolish as many might perceive it to be. Whatever the case might be, nobody can deny the magnitude of this deal as the entire corporate sector has never embraced a deal of such nature where assets worth billions are being sold.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) first quarter 2015 Earnings preview

GE is scheduled to report its first quarter 2015 results on Friday April 17 morning.

General Electric Company is all set to report its quarter covering from January to December earnings on Friday, April 17. Results are normally disclosed in the morning at 06:30 a.m. EST along with a conference call. Earnings of General Electric are every so often seen as an indicator of the overall health of United States and international economy. Hence, the company has all the potential to impact wider markets, including currencies, index futures and various other indicators of the market, mainly if the outcomes are way out of consensus expectations.

The current estimate by Street regarding adjusted earnings per share is in the range of $0.29 to $0.31 (reported by Yahoo! Finance). Estimates were cut by almost 5 cents earlier this year. Analysts forecasted a revenue growth of 0.5% on a year over year basis in the range of $33.46 billion to $35.22 billion. The company has abstained itself from providing guidance in recent prior quarters. General Electric last issued its earnings forecast in the year 2008.

The company’s current stock yields at 3.3% in contrast to average 3.1% in last five years. The price to earnings ratio stands at 18.3 times as compared to average 16.4 times in last 5 years.

Analysts believe that GE will report earnings of 30 cents per share, and revenue of $34.47 billion. The primary reports suggest that the company was in contact to sell its real estate assets of up to $30billion was the kind of news investors might not want to take place quickly. Well, the company has announced the departure of the majority of its capital assets that will house enormous buybacks of approximately $50 billion, high dividends and emphasize on the only industrial conglomerate.

General Electric inclines to surpassed analysts estimation by 1 cent with the share price reacting positively to stronger reports. Assumed the stock is previously up on expected payouts due to the capital deal, investors perhaps want to see company surpassing the analyst estimation by posting earnings of $0.33 per share on $34.55 billion of revenue to generate a much of a favorable response.

General Electric stock 0.97% down to $27.46 at market close on Wednesday. The Schenectady based company has 52 week low and high of $23.41 and $28.68, respectively.

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) 10 Supports Foko

The BlackBerry 10 now supports Foko- the photo sharing app.

Foko, is a popular photo sharing app which most of us are not aware of. However, when I heard the news that Foko is making its way to BlackBerry 10, I decided to have a look at this service and extract more details about this enriching app.

Foko is generally considered to be like Facebook Inc. owned Instagram app but with a more defined audience that is enterprises. The company is under the able leadership of Marc Gingras who previously headed Tungle which was later sold to BlackBerry Limited.

The concept behind Foko is pretty simple yet attractive. It is quite similar in nature to Instagram but targets the corporate world. Instagram is usually considered to be a fairly public medium, but Foko, on the other hand, allows users to share pictures privately. The company allows users to share visual content which includes prototypes, designs, ideas, mockups and everything that needs to be penetrated in the corporate world but ensuring privacy and target audience.

The company understands the photo sharing in the corporate sector is looked down upon as something being indecent and shallow. However, Foko wishes to change this image and thus for the same reason is propagating its fresher side by claiming that there is nothing to fight over it.

The company has an agenda to show the corporate sector that is immense room for growth and productivity in photo sharing as it gives a wider canvas to play with, allows firms to collaborate and is easier approach to show products and services.

The app can be downloaded from BlackBerry World which is compatible with BlackBerry 10 mobile phones.

The functionalities that will be available for Foko users on BlackBerry which includes capturing and sharing of content within your corporate environment privately, images will be shared, liked, edited or commented via your BlackBerry smartphone, content could be shared on popular social networking platforms, users will be allowed to add hashtags to optimize and manage searches.

Hence, in a nutshell Foko is the right solution for photo sharing within the corporate sector. The company has done the right thing to launch this service for Blackberry since its corporate usage is far more than regular consumption. The app is not just saturated to BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) users but is also available on iOS and Android for those who wish to share photos privately with their corporate colleagues. This is a positive step for the developer to be acclaimed at so many operating systems.

Tesla Seeks To Modify Model S

Tesla Motor expands its operation to achieve its target of selling 55,000 vehicles in FY15.

Tesla Motors Inc. did not receive a good response over its Model S Electric car where its sales have been fairly slow. However, the company has now decided to upgrade its technology in order to make the user experience more pleasant. The company wishes to equip the car with a more powerful battery, a heftier price tag and an all-wheel drive.

The reason behind this upgrade is that the company has set a target for 2015 according to which they have to increase sales by the end of this year.

In the first quarter, it has been reported that Tesla Motors sold over 10,300 cars. However, the company at this stage needs to gain momentum where it needs to achieve a target of 15,000 vehicles in Q1 in order to achieve the target it has set to sell 55,000 units.

The launch of a new base model can act as a catalyst to surge Tesla sales. This will be extremely important for them since the Model X will make its way by the second half of 2015 so till then this upgrade will attract buyers for the company.

According to sources, Tesla Motors has decided to immediately halt the sales of Model S priced at $71,000 equipped with a 60 kilowatt battery that acts as a signature model for most of the cars tenure. However, the new product will be priced $4,000 higher than its predecessor.

Tesla Motors at this point of time is on a pretty inconsistent stage where the company is not able to come up with a massive breakthrough. This is not only affected their overall performance, but Tesla stocks have also suffered because of the same reason. The spinoff is required at this stage to overcome the calamity the company is experiencing at this stage.

The company has a massive target to achieve in a fairly short span of time. Selling 55,000 vehicles in 2015 is certainly a big target to achieve but it will not be so difficult for them since they have certain mega projects in the pipeline that can change the game for them. One of the company’s massive projects is the autonomous car venture that is likely to make its way this year before any other firm could make it possible. This will certainly attract buyers and would help he company to achieve its target.

The company is on the verge where it will make or break its future in the automotive sector. If it remains focused then it will pave its way to glory with ease.

Should Google Inc Acquire Twitter?

Analysts believe that the tech giant would want to take over Twitter but might not be in a position to do so.

The recent Google news update has been entertaining rumors about the tech giant having plans for acquiring Twitter Inc. This news has been made a little more legit as it was heard that the media company was seen to have hired Goldman Sachs, an equity firm, for the purpose of handling attempts of other giants of the industry who are trying to take over or buy the company. This step taken by the social networking company confirmed the analysts and shareholders that the company was in fact threatened by other giants of the industry who had serious plans for acquisitions.

Twitter has always been in the news related to acquisition plans that other companies are usually making to take over the social media company. Taking the history into consideration, it can be seen that in 2009, Google made its first attempt to acquire the company for $250 million but the deal did not get completed for some reasons unknown. In 2011, the networking firm was again offered a takeover by none other than Facebook for a massive $10 million but this request also got ignored by the company owners. This time around, however, the search engine giant has made an offer to the media company of a much higher amount than before.

The fact that Google wishes to buy Twitter clearly shows that the tech giant wishes to make it big in the social media industry as the previous attempts of the company was either deemed unsuccessful or were belittled by none other than social media giant Facebook Inc who has an extensive user base of around a 1.39 billion users.

Facebook has been enjoying revenue generation on a lot of platforms by offering various kinds of services to its users, beating Google Inc on many levels. By taking over Twitter, which is yet another social media giant and is the only site which is still capable of competing with the success and popularity of FB, the tech giant will be able to dust off its sluggish sales of the past few quarters and will be able to fight back with its competitors in the tech industry by a mile.

Even though Facebook is a lot of steps further from any of its competitors, Google Inc feels that it should yet not give up or get dominated by the giant. However, analysts believe that acquiring Twitter might just not be easy for the android store giant as over the period of time, the share value of the media company has increasingly risen upwards and to buy such a company might turn out to be very expensive for Silicon Valley Company.

Expectation From Coca Cola In 2015

What to expect from Coca-Cola in 2015.

The Coca-Cola Co. is a popular name in the beverage industry that is known for its high-end fizzy drinks. The company recently revealed their fourth-quarter sales and earnings that were far more than what Zacks estimated earlier.

The Coca-Cola Co. stocks adjusted earnings for each share was said to be 58 cents that increased by 7.4 per cent on a year over year basis. This was due to the low sales cost and other expenses which the company had to deal with. However, sales of the company experienced a boost of 1.5 percent when considering constant currencies. The volumes of sales improved, but the pricings remained as weak.

The Coca Company which operates with ticker KO has Coca-Cola Enterprise as its bottling partner in the Western European market. So this means the Coca-Cola Enterprise has limited its focus to the Western European market resulting in an exposure to the economic uncertainties that persist within the region.

At this point of time, Coca Cola Company has been dealing with several obstacles in its retail consumer businesses and the highly competitive market that persists in the United Kingdom. However, the odds are currently in their favor since consumer trends show positivity since buyers within the region are known for spending without much worry.

However, the economic softness and operating barriers that persist in the region are going on since a long time. The consumer pattern is constantly changing as well that further ignites competition which has also dented the company’s top line in 2014. The executive leadership at Coca-Cola expects these obstacles to persist in 2015 that can further rupture the growth in the company’s revenues.

Apart from this, the management at Coke expects that a minimal cost of commodities in 2015 whereas previously the benefit were different. The Cost of sales has also reduced by 1 percent when studying the previous year. Moreover another thing that bothers the company is currency translations which can result in massive headwind in 2015 which was also different back then in 2014.

The Euro has also not been doing much good when compared to the performance of the dollar. These currency fluctuations have also resulted in problems for Coca-Cola Enterprises earnings in Q4. Moreover, it is also expected that Fx to be a massive blow in 2015 earnings per share than what the management expected a year back.

This has created immense instability for Coca-Cola Co. stock price in 2015 since conditions were far more in favor of them earlier. Things have changed now and it will be amusing to see how KO fights back.

Bed Bath & Beyond earnings report for 4QFY14 and Credit Suisse rating update

Credit Suisse has reduced its 2015 and 2016 forecast on Bed Bath & Beyond following its 4QFY14 earnings released on Wednesday.

On Wednesday after market close Bed Bath & Beyond reported its fourth quarter earnings for the fiscal year 2014, followed by that announcement Credit Suisse reduced the future forecast for 2015 and 16 for the company.

The worrying numbers, for Seth Sigman an analyst were earnings of$1.80 per share, which was lower than the consensus estimate but was more than the previous year EPS of $1.60. The Profit of the company plunged by 4%. On the basis of these results, Sigman cut the earnings per share estimate to $5.22 from previous $5.49 for 2015 and to $.70 from $5.95 for 2016 respectively. Sigman at the moment maintains a price target of $70 on the stock of BBBY.

Mr. Sigman acknowledged the performance of Bed Bath and Beyond in a competitive retail and difficult market, which is now in competition with the e-commerce markets. The operating margin of the company has got subtle followed by the transparent market prices.

However, the reported figures for the quarter by the company were 3.7% of comparables and allotment of FCF (free cash flow) to stockholders through share buybacks, specified positivity. This was counterbalanced by the decrease in revenue from every transaction which was done by the customer. Operating margins have battered, and Earnings before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization growth has turned out to be difficult specified by only 3% growth in the quarter. Analysts at Credit Suisse believe that EBITDA of the company will further decline in the current fiscal year.

M. Sigman further stated that, “We continue to believe the key to Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock from these levels is the company being able to show investors that the margin declines they are experiencing will subside over time. At slightly more than 8 times forward EV/EBITDA going into yesterday's print, we expect Bed Bath & Beyond will sell off on the lower guidance. However, we expect value investors will continue to find Bed Bath & Beyond intriguing as they look to this high-quality management team, with hopes they eventually will stabilize the margin profile.”

Twenty-eight analysts had covered the stock of home furniture retailer; out of them eight assigned Buy rating while fifteen rated the stock as Hold. The twelve-month average price target is $76.17 which represent an upside potential of almost 2.7% compared to its latest closing price.

Bed Bath & Beyond share price is currently red by 5.91% and stood at $73.09 on Wednesday market close.

Tesla Looks For Better Possibilities

Tesla Motor stocks get a BUY rating after several technological achievements.

Tesla Motors wishes to change the game for itself. For the same reason, the company has been modifying its offerings and products to attract consumers globally.

The company’s Model S Sedan did not really do much good for consumers so now the company has decided to increase the price range of the Tesla Model S and equip with a 70 D where initially it had a Model S 60.

The reason behind Tesla’s initiates to offer better products and services is that the company is not doing quite good in the market and the market has the numerous potential to grow. So now they wish to make it all possible by increasing the quality of Tesla products so that the masses get reasons to invest in it.

The company did not earlier cater to all wheel drive so now this is another benchmark for the company who has explored new horizons to become the automotive industry giant. The company notified previous fall that there they will be working on a dual motor system which is now making its way to reality. This is an extremely important benchmark for buyers since the winters particularly in United States are extremely harsh so such a technology can not only preserve the engine but can also make the tedious task easier.

“In retrospect, it was remarkable how much market share TSLA rear-wheel-drive vehicles seem to have taken from its all-wheel-drive luxury peers,” reported James Albertine, who is an equity analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. he further added, “This is akin to TSLA fighting with one arm tied behind its back, in our view, which is perhaps another indication that TSLA demand may be stronger” than implied by growing sales during the past three years.

Many analysts now give Tesla stocks a BUY rating considering the way they are growing surely indicates that the future is extremely bright for them.

The best part about designing such a system is that it will not only help drivers but will assist the company in minimizing manufacturing costs. The company plans to launch Model X in the times to come. Thus, this initiate will reduce costs and make the process smooth for them.

According to O’Neill “They’re able to get better experience in terms of building up all-wheel-drive vehicles,” said O’Neill, who gives Tesla stocks a buy rating and has also set the 12-month target price of the stocks as $320. “If customers prefer the four-wheel drive, and they’re trying to standardize on the four-wheel-drive version, then everybody comes out a winner.”

Verizon (VZ) Is On The Verge Of Success

Verizon is constantly improving to offer top notch services to consumers. Verizon Communications is one of the few companies that is constantly improving so that they can offer top notch services to consumers. Undoubtedly, it is considered as the largest wireless service provider in United States.

Verizon is one of the few companies that offer services all over the United States. This is a major milestone for any company to penetrate deeper within the region. Many skeptics who have not used the company’s services consider it to be vague and futile which is certainly not true.

The best thing about Verizon Communications (VZ) is that the system is very much organized. Those who wish to know about the company’s presence can simply log in the website and can verify where they fit in the map. Moreover, they can also visit the stores in case they need assistance.

Apart from this the company’s customer service is exceptional. The staff is very courteous so they are always ready to assist customers. The company staff is more than happy to entertain queries and reservations. Verizon smartphone and services are exceptional which make it a treat for customers.

The company’s standards are extremely high where no compromise is done on quality. Hence network issues hardly arise while using Verizon. Moreover if any case arises where the call has been dropped then it takes hardly any time to connect again.

However, when comparing the service of Verizon and AT&T, the former will face a fairly tough time since the latter’s service is comparatively better. One of the official spokespeople reported: "Verizon has service arrangements with other providers where they have no direct service and there is the most extensive and comprehensive in the States."

One of the best features of Verizon services is that the company is a global commodity. The company is not only present in the United States but is also present in Canada, Mexico etc. so in case you travel or move to these countries then one can enjoy the same services offered by Verizon.

The company is not only offering quality services but is constantly offering better technological services. The company upgraded from 3G to 4G LTE services to offer its customers high-level services. This is a massive breakthrough for them which allow them to come up to international standards.

Moreover, the company also offers incentives and promotional campaigns to attract consumers. However, their campaigns are not as aggressive as other wireless network providers who constantly come up with campaigns to make it all work. This is something that slouches their position in market

Facebook Provides A Safe Business Platform

Facebook provides a safe haven for small business with numerous growth opportunities.

Facebook Inc., the social media giant is one of the few companies that have reigned over the internet since a long time now. Undoubtedly, Facebook is one of the few companies that has engaged billions of users across the globe.

The company is not the only platform that connects billions of people every day across the globe but has now become a powerful platform to run, govern, promote and propagate businesses. Mark Zuckerberg is running a source of livelihood of the masses that depend on the company to generate revenue.

The reason behind the popularity of Facebook to promote businesses is that it allows users to connect to a diversified lot of people. The company that is generating so many revenues on a daily basis also provides a platform for small and medium sized businesses to make their way to the top and penetrate among the masses. Not only small companies but big businesses are also using Facebook and other social media platforms to bolster their businesses to enriching social media campaigns.

The concept of entrepreneurship has gained great momentum in a fairly short span of time. These business ventures are usually small scale, therefore, are started by using minimal investment. FB becomes the right choice for such businesses since it is merely free of cost.

The popularity of Facebook can be governed by the fact that all companies are suing it now to convey their products and services to the board. Even major consultancy firms that provide and structure marketing campaigns have considered it to an essential medium. The concept of digital marketing also considers Facebook to be a very important tool in terms of growth opportunities.

Facebook’s popularity provides numerous opportunities for Ecommerce allowing them to mature into mega projects from homed based ventures. The company gives the right exposure to such firms that are extremely in the first few years when businesses are in its infancy stage. Moreover, those businesses who wish to penetrate deeper amongst the masses at a faster face are also offered with paid advertisement campaigns that make the work easier at fairly reasonable rates.

The Vice President of Facebook who handles small businesses, Mr. Dan Levy considers it to be great opportunity for small scale businesses to get the right exposure that can help them in making their way swiftly across the board.

Facebook knows the potential and the magnitude of its business which is why it is such a big commodity. Facebook stocks have also showed rampant growth for the same reason making it a potential stock.

Sears Witnesses A Rise In Shares After Rumor About Merger With REIT

The retail store owners have experienced a rise in share value after the acquisition news got out.

In the most recent Sears Holdings News Update, what became evident was that the company has made an announcement in a recent press release in which it has disclosed the name of a new firm called Seritage Growth Properties which has huge plans for acquisitions. According to the most recently available data, it has become clear that this new company will be taking over a massive 254 stores of Sears, all in one go. This has come as a huge surprise to the investors and financial analysts but it has also been taken as pleasant news as the multinational retail store has been in a dire need for some help regarding the finances.

According to analysts, this new acquisition plan is expected to raise the fallen standard of the Sears retail stores. One of the main reasons why analysts came up with this analysis was that the shares of the multinational company experienced a huge rise in share value in which an increase of 11% was recorded on the stock index.

After the most recent trading session, Sears enjoyed a rise of 3.5% in the share price which showed that this new plans for a takeover by a new company might turn out to be in the favor of the Chicago-based company. According to analysts who are making coverage on the stock of the company are of the opinion that since the fall in the share value of the retail store firm, it has been finding it hard to regain its position in the financial market which has raised many concerned eyebrows of the investors over the period of time.

Therefore, the fact that Sears stores will be soon taken over by REIT has been welcomed warmly by analysts and investors alike. As the retail store giant falling stature in the financial market has made it clear that the company is in a bad position and any way through which the company can welcome cash will not be ignored.

After the selling of the Sears closing stores takes place, the company will be receiving a massive $2.5 billion with which the retail stores owners can make further plans to bring about positive changes in the management as well as the future endeavors of the company. Analysts believe that through this selling procedure, the firm will get a chance to fix a lot of the problems that have been troubling the retail company for quite some time.