Tuesday October 8, 2024
FedEx Delivers Earnings
FedEx Corp. (FDX) released its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Tuesday, June 20. The company reported a decrease in revenue, causing the stock to decline 3% following the release of the report.
Revenue came in at $21.9 billion for the quarter, down 10% from $24.4 billion at this time last year. This fell short of analysts' expected quarterly revenue of $22.7 billion. For the full year, revenue came in at $90.2 billion, down 4% from $93.5 billion one year ago.
"The solid close to the fiscal year demonstrates the significant progress Team FedEx has made in advancing our global transformation while adapting to the dynamic demand environment," said FedEx CEO, Raj Subramaniam. "FedEx is becoming a more flexible, efficient and data-driven organization as we significantly lower our cost structure, drive enhanced profitability, and deliver outstanding service for our customers."
The company posted net income of $1.5 billion for the quarter or $6.05 per adjusted share, up from $558 million or $2.13 per adjusted share one year ago. For the full year, net income reached almost $4.0 billion, up from $3.8 billion one year ago.
FedEx reported a decline in revenue across nearly all major segments. The company saw a 13% decline of $10.4 million year-over-year for their FedEx Express segment, attributable to lower global volumes, partially offset by decreased expenses and higher U.S. domestic yields. To mitigate the impact of volume declines, the company implemented incremental cost reduction actions during the quarter which included reductions in flight hours and the early retirement of certain aircraft and related assets. FedEx Ground segment fell by 2% to $8.3 million, and FedEx Freight saw an 18% drop off to $2.3 million. For fiscal 2024, FedEx expects revenue of $90.2 billion and earnings per adjusted share between $15 and $17.
FedEx (FDX) shares ended the week at $232.34, remaining relatively unchanged for the week.
La-Z-Boy Earnings Recline
La-Z-Boy, Inc. (LZB) announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report on Tuesday, June 20. The residential furniture retailer experienced a drop in sales and income for the quarter, causing its stock to fall 6% following the report's release.
The company posted quarterly sales of $561.3 million, down 18% from $684.6 million reported during the same quarter last year. This beat analysts' expectations of $533 million. Full-year sales returned at $2.3 billion, remaining relatively unchanged from the prior year.
"I would like to congratulate and thank our entire organization for delivering another strong year, with record Retail segment sales and operating profit, and record consolidated diluted EPS," said La-Z-Boy CEO, Melinda D. Whittington. "We are pleased with our strong finish in the fourth quarter, where we were able to maintain roughly flat written same-store sales despite the declining macro environment."
For the quarter, La-Z-Boy reported net income of $34.4 million or $0.79 per adjusted share. This was a decrease from net income of $57.5 million or $1.33 per adjusted share in the same quarter last year. Net income for the full year was $150.7 million, remaining nearly the same from last year.
The Michigan-based furniture manufacturer is known for its recliners, sofas and chairs. The company saw an increase in its retail segment as delivered sales rose 4% to $243 million during the quarter. Delivered same-store sales remained relatively flat. Wholesale sales decreased 23% to $395 million due to a decline in delivered volume as the company's backlog returned to pre-pandemic levels. The company expects revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to be between $470 million to $490 million.
La-Z-Boy, Inc. (LZB) shares ended the week at $27.49, up 1% for the week.
Darden Restaurants Serves Up Earnings
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) posted its fourth quarter and full-year earnings on Thursday, June 22. The parent company of restaurants such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille saw its stock fall more than 3% in early morning trading despite reporting increased sales.
Revenue came in at $2.8 billion for the fourth quarter. This was up 6% from $2.6 billion recordered during the same quarter last year. Full-year revenue reached $10.5 billion, up from $9.6 billion one year ago.
"We had a solid quarter to conclude a strong year in which we met or exceeded our financial outlook, despite a tough operating environment," said Darden CEO, Rick Cardenas. "Throughout fiscal 2023, our strategy continued to serve us well. In addition to our Back-to-Basics Operating Philosophy driving strong execution in our restaurants, Darden's Four Competitive Advantages of Significant Scale, Extensive Data & Insights, Rigorous Strategic Planning and our Results-Oriented Culture continued to enable our brands to compete more effectively and provide even greater value to their guests."
The company reported net income of $315.1 million or $2.58 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, Darden posted net income of $281.7 million or $2.24 per adjusted share. Full-year net income increased to $981.9 million, up from $952.8 billion one year earlier.
Darden's same store sales rose 4% across most of its brands in the quarter. LongHorn Steakhouse, a strong breadwinner for Darden, experienced a 7% increase in same-store sales. Olive Garden also saw a rise in same-store sales of over 4% but missed expectations of 5% growth. Darden's fine dining segment, which includes restaurants such as The Capital Grille, saw same-store sales decline almost 2%. The company expects net sales of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion with earnings per share between $8.55 to $8.85 for fiscal 2024.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) shares ended the week at $161.30, down 3% for the week.
The Dow started the holiday week at 34,207 and closed at 33,727 on 6/23. The S&P 500 started the week at 4,396 and closed at 4,348. The NASDAQ started the week at 13,642 and closed at 13,493.
Treasury Yields Drop
U.S. Treasury Yields were lower on Tuesday as markets reflected the latest housing data showing signs of an improving housing market. Yields fell at the end of the week as the Fed's latest commentary showed indications of the likelihood of more interest rate hikes in the future.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that the housing start data, which measures the amount of new home construction, rose 21.7% in May, far exceeding expectations of a 0.1% decline. There were 1.63 million housing starts in May which outpaced the expected 1.39 million. New building permits came in at 1.49 million, exceeding the anticipated 1.42 million permits.
"While housing starts data tend to be volatile and this figure may be revised down in coming months, the enormity of the increase suggests that builders are broadly expanding operations this summer," said Nationwide Senior Economist, Ben Ayers.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of June 20 at 3.77% and traded as high as 3.81% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 3.86% and traded as high as 3.88% on Thursday.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment remained raised at 264,000 for the week ending June 17. This was unchanged from the previous week's revised level and exceeded analysts' expectations of 260,000. Continuing unemployment claims fell by 13,000 to 1.76 million.
"The diverging momentum in initial claims and continuing claims raises the obvious question about which data is telling the right story, and how long can this condition persist," said U.S. economist at Jefferies, Thomas Simons.
The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 6/20 at 3.74%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 3.82%.
Mortgage Rates Continue to Drop
Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, June 22. Mortgage rates fell for the third consecutive week, but demand remains flat as low inventory continues to impact the housing market.
This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.67%, down from last week's average of 6.69%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.81%.
The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.03% this week, down from 6.10% last week. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.92%.
"Mortgage rates slid down again this week but remain elevated compared to this time last year," said Freddie Mac's Chief Economist, Sam Khater. "Potential homebuyers have been watching rates closely and are waiting to come off the sidelines. However, inventory challenges persist as the number of existing homes for sale remains very low. Though, a recent rebound in single-family housing starts is an encouraging development that will hopefully extend through the summer."
Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.42% as of 6/20. The one-year CD averaged 1.63%.
Editor's Note: The publicly available financial information is offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends. This article is not an endorsement of any company, product or service.
Published June 23, 2023
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