>>> Abbott Labs beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus; gu

Abbott Labs beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus; guides FY18 EPS in-line; increases quarterly dividend to $0.28/share from $0.265/share (59.23)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.74 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.73; revenues rose 42.3% year/year to $7.59 bln vs the $7.38 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.57-0.59, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Co issues in-line guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $2.80-2.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.83 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Abbott has stated its commitment to reduce its debt levels following the recent acquisitions of St. Jude Medical and Alere, Inc. For the full year 2017, Abbott generated operating cash flow in excess of $5.0 billion and free cash flow4 in excess of $4.0 billion. In January 2018, Abbott repaid $4.0 billion of debt and anticipates additional debt repayments throughout 2018.
  • On Dec. 15, 2017, the board of directors of Abbott increased the company's quarterly dividend to $0.280 per share from $0.265 per share. Abbott's cash dividend is payable Feb. 15, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 12, 2018. This marks the 376th consecutive quarterly dividend to be paid by Abbott

>>> Grainger beats by $0.75, beats on revs; raises FY18 EPS above consensus, rea

Grainger beats by $0.75, beats on revs; raises FY18 EPS above consensus, reaffirms FY18 revs guidance
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $2.94 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.75 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.19; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to $2.63 bln vs the $2.57 bln Capital IQ Consensus. The sales increase consisted of an 11 percentage point increase from volume, partially offset by a 3 percentage point decline from price and a 1 percentage point decline from the divestiture of a specialty business. The company's gross profit margin for the quarter decreased 1.3 percentage points, primarily driven by price deflation in the United States, partially offset by higher gross profit margin in Canada.
  • Co issues guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $12.95-14.15, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $11.41 Capital IQ Consensus; reaffirms revs +3-7% to ~$10.74-11.15 bln vs. $10.88 bln Capital IQ Consensus. The prior earnings per share guidance for 2018 was $10.60 to $11.80. The increase in the midpoint of the earnings per share guidance is composed of $0.50 from better than expected 2017 operating performance, $2.15 from a lower corporate tax rate under U.S. tax legislation and $0.06 from incremental share buybacks funded by the benefits of the tax legislation, partially offset by $0.10 of lower benefits from clean energy investments and $0.26 in increased investment in the business funded by the benefits of the tax legislation.
  • "Overall we were pleased with the year. We made progress by removing the pricing barrier and improving service for customers while improving our cost structure. This continued in the fourth quarter with strong performance, as customers responded positively to our actions. We're encouraged that we remain on track with our volume growth and expense management goals in an improving demand environment," said DG Macpherson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In Canada, we are in the early stages of a business model reset and like the progress we are seeing."

>>> US Gapping down

gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • TXN -7.4%, MRCY -7.2%, UAL -6.6%, LUV -3.5%, RES -2.9%, CNI -2.3%, ROK -2.3%, COF -1.9%, CREE -1.5%, STL -1.1%, UTX -1.1%

M&A news:

  • SIGM -11.4% (Sigma Designs to sell Z-Wave business to Silicon Labs (SLAB) for $240 mln)

Other news:

  • PBYI -26.7% (CHMP communicated negative trend vote after meeting to discuss MAA for neratinib for the extended adjuvant treatment of early stage HER2-positive breast cancer)
  • TK -8.8% (Teekay Shipping to sell $100 mln aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2023, commences offering to sell 10 mln shares of its common stock)
  • FPRX -7.5% (to offer and sell $75 mln of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering)
  • SYBX -6.3% (commences underwritten public offering of its common stock; size not disclosed )
  • KOOL -5% (files $15 mln common stock offering )
  • RPD -2.9% (Rapid7 commences 5.18 mln common stock offering by the co and selling stockholders, sees Q4 revs above consensus, highlights FY18 outlook)
  • BOLD -1.7% (commences $150 mln common stock offering; suspends 'at-the-market' program and sales agreement with Cowen and Company)
  • AERI -1.6% (announces public offering of $75mln of shares of its common stock )
  • QCOM -1.3% (EU Commission fines QCOM EUR 997 mln for abuse of dominant market position)
  • GDS -0.9% ( intends to offer 8.0 mln ADSs and entities affiliated with SBCVC Holdings intend to offer 1.5 mln ADSs in an underwritten public offering), .

Analyst comments:

  • VRX -5.2% (initiated with a Sell at Goldman)
  • ATI -2.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill)
  • HBAN -0.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie)

->>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • CVRS +21.2%, HZO +14.4%, ARAY +7.7%, TEL +5.3%, WKHS +5%, NVS +3.6%, TSS +2.5%, AUDC +2.5%, GE +1.9%, MBCN +1.2%, GD +1.2%, ROL +1.1%, NTRS +1%, SWK +0.5%, BHGE +0.5%

M&A news:

  • MSCC +5.9% (report that the company is weighing its options after receiving an apparent takeover approach)
  • TROX +0.9% (requests court to order FTC to defend its unmerited objection to the pro-competitive transaction of the titanium dioxide business of Cristal)

Other news:

  • SPI +37% (signs strategic agreement with COOIX for blockchain business services)
  • SRT +35.5% (StarTek and Amazon.com (AMZN) enter into Transaction Agreement under which the company agreed to issue to Amazon.com a warrant to acquire up to 4 mln shares of common stock), CERS +31.6% (Cerus reports its Phase 3 transfusion study of chronic anemia evaluating INTERCEPT-treated red blood cells in thalassemia patients met primary efficacy and safety endpoints), BAK +3.1% (issues statement, says it was not informed of any decision about the holding of a secondary share offering), OBLN +2.6% (modestly rebounding), NGD +1.8% (continued strength), RGNX +1.5% (REGENXBIO enters into strategic partnership with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies), VTVT +1.4% (after closing near highs - up 28% on the day), STML +1.4% (prices 3.7 mln common stock offering at $14.00/share), VLO +1.3% (increases quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.80/share and approves incremental $2.5 bln share repurchase authorization), SIRI +1.1% ( affirms $0.011/share quarterly dividend, adds $2 bln to repurchase program), RARE +1.1% (prices offering of 4,385,965 shares of its common stock at $57.00 per share), . 

Analyst comments:

  • STO +2% (upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Suisse)
  • AUO +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley)
  • ANIK +1.5% (upgraded to Overweight at First Analysis Sec)
  • WY +1.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill)

>>> US Early premarket gappers


Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

  • CERS +35.3%, CVRS +30.8%, ARAY +7.7%, TEL +5.3%, WKHS +5%, MSCC +4.1%, OBLN +3.8%, NVS +3.5%, TSS +2.5%, AUDC +2.5%, NGD +1.8%, BHGE +1.6%, RGNX +1.5%, VTVT +1.4%, VLO +1.3%, RARE +1.3%, MBCN +1.2%, SIRI +1.1%, OLED +1%, TROX +0.9%, CMCSA +0.6%

Gapping down:

  • PBYI -27%, SIGM -10.7%, RCKT -8.8%, TK -8%, FPRX -7.5%, UAL -7.5%, MRCY -7.2%, TXN -7.1%, JBLU -5%, SYBX -4.9%, AAL -4.8%, DAL -4.7%, LUV -4%, LUV -4%, RPD -2.9%, SAVE -2.9%, RES -2.9%, ON -2.6%, CNI -2.3%, STM -2.2%, COF -1.9%, BOLD -1.7%, AERI -1.6%, ADI -1.6%, CREE -1.5%, QCOM -1.4%, RVLT -1.2%, MCHP -1.2%, KOOL -1%, STL -1%, MXIM-0.5%

>>> General Electric misses by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY18 EPS guidanc

General Electric misses by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY18 EPS guidance (16.89)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.27 per share, excluding $1.40/share net in negative items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.28; revenues fell 5% year/year to $31.4 bln vs the $33.93 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Adjusted EPS at low end of guidance excluding $(1.49) of charges for insurance, U.S. tax reform, portfolio actions; power market challenging; Power profit miss driven by market, execution, and charges; strong performance in Aviation and Healthcare; positioned to deliver in 2018.
  • Equipment (5)% organically driven by decline in Power on lower aero orders & gas turbine project scope, offset by strength in Healthcare & Transportation
  • Services (5)% organically driven by Power Services offset by strength in Aviation, Renewables, & Healthcare
  • CFOA -40% to $7 bln
  • Backlog $341B, +$13B versus 3Q driven by services
  • Power: Orders of $10.2 billion were down 25% with equipment down 24% and services down 26%. Revenues of $9.4 billion were down 15%. Segment profit for the quarter was $0.3 billion, which was significantly below prior year and our expectations. These results include several charges that negatively impacted the segment in the quarter. Excluding these items, the business still operated well below expectations
  • Co reaffirms guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $1.00-1.07, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.01 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. GE Capital lower due to insurance-related portfolio actions; Aviation & Healthcare strength; tough Power markets continue. Industrial FCF $6-7 bln: 2017 progress collections stronger than expected; Executing on working capital & capex. "In the fourth quarter, EPS was at the low-end of guidance, excluding insurance-related items, U.S. tax reform, and industrial portfolio actions. Cash performance was above expectations and our visibility and execution on cash is improving. Aviation and Healthcare had strong performances in the quarter. Power was down significantly and we expect market challenges to continue.

>>> Comcast beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; raises dividend 21%; plans to

Comcast beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; raises dividend 21%; plans to buyback $5 bln in stock this year (42.44)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.47; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $21.91 bln vs the $21.83 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Adjusted EBITDA of $6.8 Billion was Consistent with the Prior year. Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities was $5.4 Billion; Free Cash Flow was $2.0 Billion.
  • Cable Communications Revenue Increased 3.4%; Adjusted EBITDA Increased 4.2%. Revenue growth was driven primarily by increases in high-speed Internet, business services and video revenue. High-speed Internet revenue increased 8.4%, driven by an increase in the number of residential high-speed Internet customers and rate adjustments. Business services revenue increased 12.2%, primarily due to increases in the number of customers receiving our small and medium-sized business services offerings. Video revenue increased 1.5%, primarily reflecting rate adjustments, as well as an increase in the number of customers subscribing to additional services, partially offset by a decrease in the number of residential video customers. Customer Relationships Increased by 243,000; High-Speed Internet Customer Net Additions were 350,000; Video Customer Net Losses were 33,000
  • NBCUniversal Revenue Increased 3.9%; Adjusted EBITDA Increased 6.4%. Cable Networks revenue increased 7.5% to $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, reflecting higher distribution, content licensing and other and advertising revenue. Distribution revenue increased 6.7%, due to contractual rate increases and contract renewals, partially offset by a decline in subscribers at our cable networks. Content licensing and other revenue increased 34.5%, due to the timing of content provided under licensing agreements. Advertising revenue increased 2.3%, reflecting higher rates, partially offset by audience ratings declines.
  • Increased Dividend by 21% to $0.76 per Share on an Annualized Basis for 2018; As of December 31, 2017, Comcast had $7.0 Billion Available under its Share Repurchase Authorization, with at Least $5 Billion Expected to be Repurchased in 2018
  • "At Cable, our best-in-class products and continued focus on the customer experience drove healthy EBITDA growth balanced with strong customer relationship net additions. At NBCUniversal, our Film business achieved record profitability, our Theme Parks delivered record attendance, and our TV business produced strong results - demonstrating the power of our sports, news and entertainment content."

>>> Baker Hughes beats by $0.01, beats on revs

Baker Hughes beats by $0.01, beats on revs (35.82)

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.14; revenues fell 2.7% year/year to $5.76 bln vs the $5.6 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue was down 3%. All segments grew revenue sequentially despite a declining rig count within the quarter. Year-over-year, the shorter cycle businesses grew, as Oilfield Services was up 10% and Digital Solutions was up 4%. The growth in the shorter cycle businesses was offset by a decrease in the longer cycle businesses as Oilfield Equipment declined 21% and Turbomachinery & Process Solutions declined 14% year-over-year.
Orders for the quarter were $5,757 million, up 1% sequentially and down 2% year-over-year. This sequential increase was driven by service orders, which were up 2%, and partially offset by equipment orders, which were down 1%. The 2% year-over-year decline was mainly driven by a 5% decrease in service orders partially offset by a 3% increase in equipment orders. The Company's total book-to-bill ratio in the fourth quarter was 1.0; equipment book-to-bill ratio in the fourth quarter was 0.9. Backlog grew in the fourth quarter, which ended at $21.0 billion, an increase of $0.1 billion or 1% from the third quarter of 2017. Equipment backlog was $5.4 billion, down $0.3 billion, or 6%, sequentially. Services backlog was $15.7 billion, up $0.5 billion, or 3%, sequentially.
"Overall, we continue to see improvement in activity as early indications of customer capital spending in 2018 are encouraging, particularly for our shorter cycle businesses. International activity is stabilizing, and we are seeing signs of activity increase both in the volume and size of tenders for new work as customers feel more confident about their operating costs and commodity price stability. The subsea market continues to be challenging and activity remains low, with prices continuing to be pressured. We expect activity in the LNG space to increase as customers position to make new capacity available in 2022 and beyond.

>>> Rockwell Automation beats by $0.22, reports revs in-line; guides FY18 EPS ab

Rockwell Automation beats by $0.22, reports revs in-line; guides FY18 EPS above consensus (204.69)
  • Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.96 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.74; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to $1.59 bln vs the $1.6 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Pre-tax margin was 18.8 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to 17.3 percent in the same period last year.
  • Co issues upside guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $7.60-7.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $7.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.