3 Stocks to Watch on Friday: Foot Locker, Inc. (FL), Gap Inc (GPS) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

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FL - 3 Stocks to Watch on Friday: Foot Locker, Inc. (FL), Gap Inc (GPS) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

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U.S. equities fell steeply across the board Thursday on a particularly bad day for small caps, with the Russell 2000 declining by 1.8%. The S&P 500 Index lost 1.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite slumped by 1.9%.

3 Stocks to Watch on Friday: Foot Locker, Inc. (FL), Gap Inc (GPS) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)As we head into Friday, earnings once again take center stage — for better or worse. This morning, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMATGap Inc (NYSE:GPS) are roaring ahead on their most recent corporate results, while Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) is getting torched.

Here’s what investors should be looking at as we enter the final trading day of the week.

Foot Locker, Inc. (FL)

FL shares are collapsing this morning following a dreadful second-quarter earnings report.

The sports apparel retailer reported revenues that dropped 4.4% to $1.7 billion, below analyst expectations of $1.801 billion. That came on a wildly disappointing performance in same-store sales, which declined 6% against estimates for an improvement of 0.8%.

That filtered down to a bottom line of $51 million (39 cents per share), off roughly 60% year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, Foot Locker’s profits of 62 cents per share dove under Wall Street’s bar of 90 cents per share.

Said CEO Richard Johnson about the quarter:

“We were affected by the limited availability of innovative new products in the market. We believe these industry dynamics will persist through 2017, and we expect comparable sales to be down three to four percent over the remainder of the year. … In addition to working with our vendor partners to identify and capture new trends faster, we are also evaluating a realignment of our capital expenditure priorities and additional expense reductions so we can regain our momentum on both the top and bottom lines and deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”

FL stock is down nearly 20% on Friday morning, adding another gash to a 2017 in which the company has already lost more than 30%.

Gap Inc (GPS)

Not all retail is lost, however.

GPS shares should end the week on a high note, getting a lift on the company’s impressive second-quarter earnings results and an outlook bump.

The owner of the namesake Gap brand, as well as Banana Republic and Old Navy, posted Q2 earnings of 68 cents per share, a 119.35% increase year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, profits of 58 cents per share topped projections of 52 cents.

Gap’s revenues did decline, falling 1.3% year-over-year to $3.8 billion. That still was enough to get over the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion, however. Meanwhile, same-store sales flipped from a 2% decline in the year-ago period to a 1% improvement.

Encouraging investors further was full-year 2017 guidance, in which Gap sees earnings coming in a range of $2.02-$2.10 per share. That’s up from a previous forecast for $1.95-$2.05 per share.

GPS stock is up roughly 5% this morning.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

Lastly, semiconductor equipment and services company Applied Materials is on the rise Friday after its latest round of quarterly results.

For its fiscal third quarter, AMAT posted profits of 85 cents per share, up nearly 85% year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, earnings of 86 cents per share beat the Wall Street consensus mark by 2 cents.

Revenue was also strong at $3.74 billion, wafting 33% higher compared to the year-ago period’s $2.82 billion. Wall Street’s consensus estimate came to $3.69 billion.

For its fourth quarter, Applied Materials predicts earnings in the range of 86 cents to 94 cents per share and revenue of $3.85 billion to $4 billion. That was better than analyst expectations on both fronts, with the pros calling for earnings of 82 cents per share on revenues of $3.7 billion.

AMAT stock is surging 4% higher in Friday’s premarket trade.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/08/3-stocks-to-watch-on-friday-foot-locker-inc-fl-gap-inc-gps-and-applied-materials-inc-amat/.

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