U.S. equities posted slight gains Thursday, with non-cyclical cons rising 0.6% and telecoms slipping 0.4%. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average wafted up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was trading flat by day’s end.
Several companies reported their quarterly results as earnings season kicks off, including CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ:CAMP), KB Home (NYSE:KBH) and Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), which updated its guidance.
Here’s what you should know:
CalAmp Corp. (CAMP)
CalAmp posted its quarterly earnings results after the bell yesterday.
The company posted second-quarter earnings of 34 cents per share on a GAAP basis, or 27 cents per share on a non-GAAP basis. The figure topped analysts’ expectations of 26 cents per share.
Revenue for the period came in at $89.77 million for CalAmp, more than $1 million ahead of Wall Street’s projection of $88.72 million.
The company’s Telematics Systems and Software & Subscription Services segments hiked up to $6 million on a combined basis, gaining 7.1% compared to the year-ago period.
“We experienced accelerating momentum on multiple fronts in the quarter, including strong financial results,” said Michael Burdiek, CalAmp President and CEO.
The company’s MRM Telematics product revenue surged 29% year-over-year, growing $8.5 million to a record $38.1 million. Caterpillar revenues gained 7.4% to more than $10.5 million, also a new quarterly record.
For its third quarter, CalAmp forecasts it will earn between 27 cents and 33 cents per share on an adjusted basis, compared analysts’ outlook of 30 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue guidance is in the range of $89 million to $94 million, in line with Wall Street’s prediction of $90.81 million.
CAMP stock fell a fraction of a percentage after hours.
KB Home (KBH)
KB Home’s latest period was a profitable one that sent shares higher ahead of Friday’s session.
The company’s third quarter yielded earnings of 51 cents per share, topping the consensus estimate of 46 cents per share. A year ago, KB Home earned 42 cents per share.
Revenue was a strong point as well for the company, coming in at $1.14 billion, which was better than the $1.12 billion that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had called for. The figure was a 24.6% improvement compared to the year-ago revenue.
KB Home did suffer from the wreckage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, which is among the company’s major markets. The company has also been in the midst of a controversy as CEO Jeffrey Mezger insulted comedian Kathy Griffin, calling her a slew of sexist and homophobic slurs.
“I regretted the incident immediately and I’ve apologized for it sincerely,” Mezger said in a statement late Thursday. “The board of directors has already taken action as the company has disclosed and I and the KB Home team are fully focused on leading this company into the future.”
KB Home’s board slashed Mezger’s bonus by 25% and said it will fire him if he finds himself in another controversy.
KBH shares gained 4.2% after the bell yesterday.
Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN)
Tyson Foods updated its guidance and reduced its workforce late yesterday.
The company announced that it had a “much better than expected” profit in its beef segment, prompting it to raise its forecast for fiscal 2017 to adjusted earnings between $5.20 a share and $5.30 a share from $4.95 a share to $5.05 a share.
Its fiscal 2018 outlook is for adjusted earnings of $5.70 a share to $5.85 a share. Tyson also revealed that it plans on cutting 450 jobs in order to save costs.
Most of these positions will be from corporate offices, and the move is parter of a broader restructuring plans that will save $200 million on fiscal 2018, $400 million on fiscal 2019 and $600 million on fiscal 2020.
Tyson will reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Nov. 13, and it will report restructuring costs of $140 million to $150 million, about a third of which is from employee termination costs.
TSN stock soared 5.9% after hours Thursday.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
