wmt

Foot Locker (FL), which competes against Collective Brands (PSS) and Wal-Mart (WMT) for a share of the shoe industry, issued a Q3 report on Thursday after the bell that was typical of many retailers: declining sales and dismal profits. Sometimes, the market is in the mood to ignore such grim news, but such indifference is usually predicated on an earnings beat. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the New York-based specialty athletic retailer.

On an adjusted basis, per-share profit dropped over 40% to 10 cents per share. Analysts were looking for 13 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Same-store sales took a dive of 8.2%.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) was selling off close to 5% at the time of this writing in reaction to the company's Q3 report. On an adjusted basis, the retailer lost 81 cents per share. That was better than the 90 cents lost in the comparable period, and it did beat the forecast as highlighted in our earnings preview.

I'm sort of shocked that the market didn't bid Sears higher. Going into the earnings news, the stock was hanging out near a 52-week high. Let's see, Wall Street sends the stock to the high point of the range, the release comes out, the loss isn't as bad as analysts expected it to be, and everyone sells. The market sure is strange sometimes, isn't it?

The price at the cash register ticked higher in October, though it was driven by the cost at the pump and on the lot.

Energy prices and new car sales (the highest in 28 years) pushed consumer prices upward in October, they're still cheaper than they were a year earlier. The Labor Department reports that consumer prices edged up 0.3% last month, a tad higher than the 0.2% anticipated. Take food and energy out of the equation, and inflation rose 0.2%, again ahead of the 0.1% that analysts expected.

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ), whose competitive colleagues include Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), issued Q3 results earlier today. According to TheStreet.com, adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share met expectations.

And apparently that wasn't good enough for the traders. As of this writing, shares of BJ's were trading down 3% on above-average volume. Was the BJ's story that bad?

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q3 results still topped expectations and sent shares higher.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) posted much better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the first profit in a year.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) received an analyst's downgrade due to concerns over its earnings prospects.
• Blackstone Group (BX) received an analyst's upgrade following the company's Q3 results.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) widened its net loss in Q3 and revenue and same-stores sales declined.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) shares declined after its Q3 numbers fell short of expectations.
• Consolidated Water Co. Inc. (CWCO) earnings prospects for 2010 earned it an analyst upgrade.

Jobless claims almost went under 500,000 and gave one of the lowest readings this year. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for the market because these likely need to get under 400,000 or so before unemployment will stop rising. Oil inventories took some fuel from oil, but the weak 30-Year Treasury auction and the government's budget deficit kept the six day rally from turning into a 7-day rally.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,197.47 -93.79 (-0.91%)
S&P 500 1,087.21 -11.30 (-1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,149.29 -17.61 (-0.81%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Top Day Trader Alerts
Top Stock/Market Rumors

Wal-Mart (WMT), which competes with chains such as Sears Holdings(SHLD), Costco (COST), and Target (TGT), reported results for the third quarter this morning. According to our Before the Bell piece, the famous -- and oftentimes controversial -- retailer beat expectations by a few pennies, earnings 84 cents per share from continuing operations. This was 9% better than the per-share profit earned in the comparable period.

Net sales went up only 1%. They were inhibited by the currency environment. But total sales aren't as relevant as same-store sales when it comes to this sector. If I were a shareholder of Wal-Mart, I would be very disappointed by the comps number, since it is the older locations which indicate how well a retailer is truly doing.

Wal-Mart (WMT) won't close Thanksgiving weekend -- not at all. The world's largest retailer is going to keep its stores open 24 hours in an attempt to manage demand for entry during the busiest shopping days of the year. The company has announced it will also implement other crowd-control measures. The festivities start at 5 AM on November 27, 2009. Of course, this doesn't involve any change fro the Wal-Mart Supercenters which already remain open 24 hours a day, but it does address the 800 stores that aren't.

The 24-hour access alone won't do much to alleviate the pressure from thrill-seekers and the bargain-crazed who will want to push through immediately. To help with this problem, Wal-Mart is allowing people to gather in different parts of the store when waiting for the deals to kick off. According to Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar, "If you've got a 200,000-square-foot store, people will be dispersed throughout the store instead of lined up outside the store." Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

As the old infomercial guys love to say ... "But wait, there's more!"

Macy's (M) reported third-quarter numbers on Wednesday, and although the bottom line beat estimates, shares of the retailer plunged over 8% on high volume. And I don't blame the market whatsoever for deciding to sell the company down.

Macy's said it lost, on an adjusted basis, 3 cents per share. The call was for a loss of 7 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Okay, I guess we can say losing less money than expected is a good thing. However, looking at the sales numbers really makes me pause. Total sales declined 3.9%, and same-store sales contracted 3.6%.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the futures are wrong again -- as the year winds down, the chances for a big drop are dwindling.

All morning long I have listened to extended discussions about why the futures are down: Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) (Cramer's Take) guide-up wasn't much of a guide-up, Wal-Mart's (WMT) (Cramer's Take) beat wasn't real because of the revenue, oil could be down because of the Deutsche Bank forecast.

I think it is nonsense.

There's no reason for the futures to be doing anything. We are, once again, presuming knowledge.

U.S. stock futures were lower Thursday morning after the Dow industrials hit yet another 13-month high on Wednesday, but the S&P 500 couldn't close above the 1,100 level. Even though Wal-Mart beat earnings and improved its outlook, futures declined as investors await weekly jobs data.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) posted third-quarter profit of 84 cents a share, above Bloomberg's analyst estimates for profit of 81 cents. Wal-Mart also upped its full-year profit above estimates, but fourth quarter guidance barely matched projections. Sales grew by just 1% in the quarter. WMT shares slid over 1% in pre-market trading.

Joining the ranks of Tickle-Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kids, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ... behold, the Zhu Zhu Pets. These robotic rodents are expected to be the most in-demand toy for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

The five battery-operated hamsters respond to touch with 40 different sounds, and can also run around when set in "explore" mode. It's all the fun of having a pet without the messy clean-up duty.

Parents, you have Cepia LLC, a small company in St. Louis, to thank for these critters. The firm is hoping to ship between 4 million and 5 million pets by the end of the year (banking $300 million to $400 million in sales), but admits they cannot keep up with the demand. Cepia has grand plans, however, for the next part of the Zhu Zhu universe, hoping to roll out hedgehogs, rabbits, and other furry robot friends in the next year or so.

Santa hasn't even been tugged down Central Park West yet, and Wal-Mart (WMT) is already slashing its prices. The market among major retailers is intensifying, with many offering products as loss leaders in order to entice customers into the store (physical or otherwise) and boost their basket sizes. Along with Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN), Walmart is slashing DVD prices, the same tactic it's using with books.

Retailers are rushing to undercut each other this year, which is causing prices to spiral down quickly. When Walmart announced reduced prices on several titles to $10, Amazon followed at $9.99, with Walmart stepping back in at $9.98.

The conventional wisdom is that consumer spending is what drives the U.S. economy. And consumer spending arises out of consumer confidence. Unfortunately, the signals along the road to economic recovery are mixed, what with the rising GDP growth and the dismal unemployment numbers. Its enough to leave investors scratching their heads. What barometers of consumer confidence will the coming week bring?

The TIPP Economic Optimism Index for November is scheduled for Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November is due out Friday.

There's a chill in the air and a slight up-tick in confidence. Holiday discounts are coming a bit earlier, too. For retailers, this has been a great combination, leading to the second consecutive month in which retail sales increased.

This follows more than a year of drops. Consumers aren't going crazy, but they are loosening their wallets a little bit. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy, and the coming holiday season is where the action is -- for the retail sector and, consequently, for everyone else.