Continue reading Wal-Mart shares are dead money -- so where is it headed?

Wal-Mart shares are dead money -- so where is it headed? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Halloween stocks offer investors a chance at financial treats

Halloween stocks offer investors a chance at financial treats originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Small book retailers were buying in bulk from major online booksellers because they could really save some money. One was buying up to 70 copies of a particular title -- it was $5 less a pop from the big guys than it would have been from the publisher. Finally, however, the big retailers have become wise to the trend and taken action, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Target (NYSE: TGT) have decided to cap the number of books customers can buy online, a measure intended to prevent smaller competitors from treating them as partners. Walmart is limiting customers to two copies of a particular book, with Amazon placing the border at three and Target at five.

Continue reading Major booksellers didn't realize they were suppliers to rivals

Major booksellers didn't realize they were suppliers to rivals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

People need to eat, and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) sells food. People need to cover themselves, and Wal-Mart sells apparel. You get the idea - the biggest needs may be thin-margin, and their all sure things. Wal-Mart plays in the inevitable, which makes its latest market entry a little less surprising than you might think. Wal-Mart is pushing caskets and urns - depending on how you want your remains preserved. What is a bit shocking, however, is that the brick-and-mortar player is selling its death gear online.

Wal-Mart is using its low price strategy to beat funeral homes, which have seemingly forever been the biggest sales channel for caskets. Prices start at $999 for the low end models and go up to the Sienna Bronze Casket at $3,199. Except for this last one, all models sell for under $2,000 ... and all product ships within 48 hours. The funeral homes are over a barrel on this one, since federal law requires them to accept third-party caskets.

Wal-Mart is supplied by Star Legacy Funeral Network, and both are apparently happy with the first week's sales.

The Bentonville-based retail giant is not the first to get into the gloomy business of bodies. Discount retailer Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is already in the online casket business.

Wal-Mart's latest money-making scheme: Death! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz in May and is now ready to do something interesting with it.

It's a pretty bold move for a tough retail market. Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores. It's also relaunching the upscale toy seller's website, FAO.com. A year ago, this would have been suicide, but now, it might work out. With retailers in every sector fighting for an edge, this move may beef up the Toys R Us in-store experience, with the online play helping it reach higher-spending consumers that may not have access to an FAO brick-and-mortar spot.

Continue reading Toys R Us opening FAO Schwarz boutiques for the holidays

Toys R Us opening FAO Schwarz boutiques for the holidays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), simply put, had a quarter to die for, the kind that all shareholders have on their wish lists. The Q3 numbers, which were released on Thursday after the bell, speak for themselves. Net sales: up 28%. Operating income: up 62%. Per-share profit: up 67% to 45 cents. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months: up 98%. Yep, Amazon's fundamentals seem to be heading in the right direction.

According to our earnings preview, Wall Street was on record as wanting to see 33 cents per share on the bottom line. Amazon's management did a fine job of supplying further evidence to the market that the company's online business model is not only here to stay, but that it should provide shareholders with a significant amount of value over time.

Continue reading Amazon's third quarter is just what shareholders wanted

Amazon's third quarter is just what shareholders wanted originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was a crown jewel in the retail world in 2008. It was seen as a more upscale and clean alternative to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) but with the same discount strategy. It was winning customers for most of last year.

Then the economy went south (almost to the South Pole). Customers immediately flocked to save as much money as possible and obtain everyday staples as cheaply as they could. Target got whacked by reality. It's been playing catch-up to Wal-Mart ever since.

Continue reading Target chases after Amazon.com, Wal-Mart in new book discounts

Target chases after Amazon.com, Wal-Mart in new book discounts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The international division of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) would rank as the fifth-largest global retailer if it were a standalone company. With sales of $100 billion, it certainly looks impressive from a sales perspective. But, Wal-Mart international has failed in quite a few markets in recent years under the then-leadership of current company CEO Mike Duke.

Recent partnerships in India and China have repaired Wal-Mart's somewhat disjointed international picture, and international operations are now given autonomy and freedom to operate as needed inside the culture of each region and country where they are located. Long gone are the days of the "big box" retailing format being simply exported to other countries. That strategy obviously does not work.

Continue reading Wal-Mart progressing in international markets -- finally

Wal-Mart progressing in international markets -- finally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The wireless mobile phone service is a highly lucrative business. Now the competition is heating up with the expansion of service from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) service.

Walmart will offer prepaid mobile phone service for $30 for 1,000 minutes and $45 for unlimited calling. Walmart will expand service to 3,200 stores from 234. Response to the initial launch was "overwhelming," said Walmart.

Continue reading Walmart to offer cut-rate mobile phone service

Walmart to offer cut-rate mobile phone service originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nutrisystem Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) will soon be coming to your local Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) location in the first partnership between the two companies -- and the first retail exposure for the venerable infomercial nutrition company.

Nutrisystem's 14-day "Starter Program" will start hitting Wal-Mart shelves in over 3,200 locations starting now -- and just in time for the holiday rush and also in time to become somewhat entrenched leading up to the 2010 New Year's holiday (and all those resolutions). Like many other brands, though, will this tarnish Nutrisystem's brand? Nah -- or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) would have never allowed its chic and still uber-popular iPhone for sale inside Wal-Mart either.

Continue reading Wal-Mart to become first-ever retail partner for Nutrisystem

Wal-Mart to become first-ever retail partner for Nutrisystem originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO), like Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), is benefiting from the soft economy. Consumers love paying low prices, so they flock to these retail business models like moths to a flame. And judging by Family Dollar's Q4 report, people are still having a great time saving money.

Net income increased over 13% to 43 cents per share, which was two pennies higher than Wall Street's forecasts, according to our earnings preview. Unfortunately, sales weren't so great. Total sales went up 2.6%, and same-store sales saw a mere 1% gain. I would have expected higher growth in the comps metric.

Continue reading Family Dollar beats in Q4, but sales weren't exciting

Family Dollar beats in Q4, but sales weren't exciting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), the popular warehouse store that competes with BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), will report Q4 earnings on Wednesday, October 7. How will the company do?

Don't look for growth, my friends. According to Earnings.com, estimates from Wall Street say that Costco will produce 77 cents per share in income. Unfortunately, that represents a 16% drop in the metric. Surprising? Maybe a little. After all, we're still suffering a bad economy, and you figure that people would want to cut costs by leveraging the bulk buying power of the Costco business model.

Continue reading Costco's fourth quarter: Will Wall Street be surprised?

Costco's fourth quarter: Will Wall Street be surprised? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has been the leader in DVD sales in the U.S. for years now. It's estimated that 40% of all U.S. DVD sales originate within the doors of the world's largest retailer. But, could those days be coming to an end?

With Blu-ray DVD players coming with built-in internet video streaming, cable and satellite having video-on-demand choices of all recent movies, and more people buying content from Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes every day, what is the future of the physical DVD?

Continue reading Walmart doing away with new-release DVD displays

Walmart doing away with new-release DVD displays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will be mortal enemies this holiday season after both seeing consumers close their wallets and purses last season. Although September job losses were worse than expected, the U.S. economy continues to gain confidence, regardless of market losses this week.

What will be the weapons of choice in this season's holiday retail market? Wal-Mart will be pushing no less than 100 toys priced at $10 or below, with some hot names like "Transformers" in that mix. At the same time, Target announced the same items for $11.99. Not quite the same, is it? With Wal-Mart's research indicating that many of its shoppers start budgeting for Christmas purchases by August, that puny $2 difference does indeed make an impact on millions of consumers.

Continue reading Wal-Mart, Target to do holiday battle with sub-$10 toys?

Wal-Mart, Target to do holiday battle with sub-$10 toys? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) to Buy from Hold as it believes the follow-on contract from Sinovel has positive implications. The firm has a $36 price target on shares.
• Goldman upgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation, visible long-term growth, and signs of sales stabilization. The firm has a $75 target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent underperformance. The firm raised its target on shares to $5.50 from $4.
• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at ThinkEquity.
• China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Roth Capital.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CBRL, GAME, LO, NKE, RAIL, TGT, WMT ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CBRL, GAME, LO, NKE, RAIL, TGT, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A little over a year after teaming up to offer in-store technical support, the folks in Bentonville have dumped Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) as their partner. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) now plans to use its Sam's Club division to help its consumer electronics customers.

Sam's Club will offer free technical support for many consumer electronics products offered in Walmart stores and will even offer home delivery and installation services for a fee. The question I have is this: does Sam's Club have employees with a decent level of technical expertise who can help instead of frustrate customers?

Continue reading Walmart ends technical support program with Dell, will use Sam's Club instead

Walmart ends technical support program with Dell, will use Sam's Club instead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Short City Update: Exxon-Mobil: hold short; Wal-Mart: cover short

Short City Update: Exxon-Mobil: hold short; Wal-Mart: cover short originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), a chain that competes with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT), issued Q2 numbers on Wednesday after the conclusion of the regular trading session. Net sales increased over 3%, and earnings per diluted share expanded by 13% to 52 cents. The retailer beat expectations by four pennies, according to the earnings preview.

This is a good showing for the retailer. As we all know, the economy continues to show signs of improvement. At least, that's what the pundits and the headlines have been telling us. An earnings report like this from a retailer does offer some evidence that the worst is behind us.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond beats in Q2; fundamentals and technicals improving

Bed Bath & Beyond beats in Q2; fundamentals and technicals improving originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Wal-Mart upgraded as international sales continue growing

Wal-Mart upgraded as international sales continue growing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The article discussed the elimination of personal check-writing at retail points of sale. A few Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) locations, as well as 70 Fresh & Easy supermarkets in California, are no longer accepting checks as a viable form of payment. Whole Foods is apparently taking the idea out for a test run, but Fresh & Easy seems to be more serious about the idea.

Continue reading Should shareholders of retail stocks pressure managements to drop check acceptance?

Should shareholders of retail stocks pressure managements to drop check acceptance? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.