Second-quarter earnings season was a bit of a bust. Although earnings remain at an all-time high, the pace of earnings growth continues to look weak. Earnings growth is up just 3% from last year, a small improvement from the first quarter's 2.6% gain and the 2.8% average for the past four quarters.
The headlines reflected that disappointment, with stories about the biggest blue chips struggling with the weak global economy and falling short of expectations. That includes misses from bellwethers like IBM (NYSE: IBM), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).
But in spite of some earnings headwinds, there were a number of companies that bucked the trend and delivered big earnings surprises. For instance, take Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), which delivered a 44% earnings surprise last month that sent the company's share price soaring.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2015: Chevron Corporation(CVX)
Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Wednesday’s top DJIA laggard stocks were higher, up less than a point, headed into the early�1 p.m. close today.�McDonald’s�(MCD),�Disney�(DIS),�Chevron�(CVX)�Procter & Gamble�(PG) were up, though�ExxonMobil�(XOM) shares were flat headed into the close.�
- [By David Dittman]
Answer: Based on your parameters I would pick TransCanada Corp (TSX: TRP, NYSE: TRP), Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ), NextEra Energy Inc, ONEOK Inc �and Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX).
- [By Matt Thalman]
As a whole, the energy sector slid lower today, while Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) dropped 1.09% and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) declined 0.8%. The decline came as crude prices hardly fell, but natural gas moved lower by 2.55%. Last week's U.S. crude oil inventory report has caused traders some concern as inventories fell; the price of oil also moved lower, which doesn't follow standard supply and demand theories. Furthermore, both Chevron and Exxon are scheduled to report earnings later in the week, so that could be playing on investors' minds as the price of oil highly affects the company's earnings per share. As earnings are released, investors should be watching each company's inventories and what each expects on the production side in the coming months as that will likely also affect the price of oil and earnings down the road. �
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rupert Hargreaves]
Even so, thanks to its checkered past, many companies such as Visa� (NYSE: V ) �and�MasterCard� (NYSE: MA ) �have been late to the party.�However, astute companies, such as�Deutsche Bank� (NYSE: DB ) have been active in the market since the mid 1970s.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Remember, last September, Alcoa (AA), Bank of America (BAC) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) were bumped from the blue-chip index, and replaced by Visa (V), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Nike (NKE). So how did that work out? Not so well, as this chart from Bespoke shows:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
After five days of losses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 15,928.56, while the S&P 500�rose 0.6% t0 1,792.50, ending its three-day losing streak. The Dow got a boost from Pfizer (PFE), Visa (V) and General Electric (GE), while the S&P 500′s biggest winners included homebuilder DR Horton (DHI) and T. Rowe Price (TROW).
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
…large stocks can outperform in ��isk on,��rising markets, as well as in bifurcated markets like this year. A period of large cap outperformance is not necessarily a bear market phenomenon. The large cap rally during the dot-com boom is a classic example, as large technology companies led the market. In the ��0s, large multinational growth companies such as Coca-Cola (KO), Pfizer (PFE), and Philip Morris�(PM) led the charge. It is also important to note that during these periods both large and small stocks delivered positive returns.
- [By Lawrence Meyers]
That means you should go with either Altria Group (MO) or Philip Morris International (PM). And if you’re only interested in buying one, I think I�� select MO stock. It pays a slightly better divided (5.2% vs. 4.7%).
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) has experienced more than impressive growth in both its share price and its profits in the past four years. Lately its gains have petered out. The problem is that much of that growth has come from a few countries in Asia, and if one analyst report is accurate, there will be little to no growth from those areas ahead. Nomura Securities is downgrading Philip Morris to a Reduce rating from Neutral, but for all practical purposes it is a Sell rating. The firm’s $76 price target suggests downside of more than $10 ahead.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Reeves and David Meier]
Look at the amazing results of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) over the past several decades, for example. The company has been able to deliver outstanding total returns by paying out higher and higher dividends each year over an extremely long time horizon. Ultimately, investors are willing to pay higher and higher prices for shares that offer a growing stream of dividends.
- [By Jim Royal]
Let's take McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) as an example. In the four quarters ending in December, the restaurateur generated $6.97 billion in operating cash flow. It invested about $3.05 billion in property, plant, and equipment. To calculate free cash flow, subtract McDonald's investment from its operating cash flow. That leaves us with $3.92 billion in free cash flow, which the company can save for future expenditures or distribute to shareholders.
- [By Fast Weekly]
I am however certain that I have cash I need to put to work, and I am very happy with my recent investments in Coca-Cola (KO), McDonalds (MCD), General Mills (GIS), Unilever (UL), and VWO. �Those purchases were sized such that I'm not yet to my target allocation, and I will continue buying as the stock prices go lower.
- [By Douglas A. McIntyre]
The most recognizable league sponsors for 2013 are led�by McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP).�Each�has�the financial�capacity to sponsor the league, as well as to�spend tens of millions of dollars outside its sports sponsorships. That�should come as no surprise.�Both rely on a large portion of the American consumer population for revenue. For the two companies, there is no such thing as overexposure. Consequently, neither of them needs to market to the relatively small audience reached by the NFL’s online site.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)
Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Yet one company looks poised to benefit in a big way from Iran. That company, the former largest company in the world by market value, is none other than Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) . Don't get too ambitious here, because Apple isn't planning to open an Apple store in Iran anytime soon. However, in late May the U.S. Treasury Department lifted certain sanctions on Iran which would allow Apple to sell its iDevices, including the iPhone, in Iran.
- [By Sue Chang , Saumya Vaishampayan]
$AAPL: Apple (AAPL) shares are down 1.2% despite good news from Washington, D.C. The U.S. government on Tuesday upheld a ban on the import and sale of several Samsung Electronics Co. (KR:005930) � devices, taking Apple�� side in its battle with the Korean company, according to The Wall Street Journal. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman decided not to exercise his veto on the ban on Samsung products, saying there was no basis on policy grounds for doing so. In August, Froman had overturned a similar ban on some Apple products that had favored Samsung, the newspaper said.
- [By Chris Neiger]
Hit 'em where it hurts
Samsung has been on a smartphone rampage over the past few years. Most of its energy has been directed toward Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) , its chief competitor. Apple currently holds the No. 3 spot in worldwide mobile market share, while Nokia clings to No. 2, and Samsung takes the first spot. Though Nokia holds the No. 2 place in market share, the company's grip is quickly loosening as Apple and Samsung spread their smartphones across the globe. - [By Rick Munarriz]
This doesn't mean I've soured on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) as an investment. This certainly doesn't mean that my next three phones will be Android devices. I just came to the conclusion that it's in my best interest to be mobile operating system-agnostic.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Neiger]
IBM (NYSE: IBM ) just launched a $1 billion initiative to build and test Flash technology for enterprise solutions. The company said that Flash is already an integral part of consumer products, and that the technology could help companies tackle Big Data challenges.
- [By Tom Taulli]
Innovation: Innovation is a major priority at AT&T. And so far, it looks like the company is making savvy moves, particularly with its push into the cloud. To this end, AT&T has rolled out NetBond, which involves alliances with top providers like IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), CSC (CSC) and Equinix (EQIX). But perhaps the most interesting growth initiative is Digital Life, which allows customers to use their smartphones as remote control devices with homes and cars. All in all, the opportunity could be huge, adding another nice revenue stream — AT&T already has agreements with companies like GM (GM), Ford (F), Nissan, Audi, BMW and Tesla (TSLA)
Hot Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)
Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Other earnings highlights in the coming week include Dow components McDonald�� Corp. (MCD) , DuPont (DD) , AT&T Inc. (T) , and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) . Notable S&P 500 companies include Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Netflix Inc. (NFLX) �, Amgen Inc. (AMGN) �, TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) �, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) �, Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) �, Ford Motor Co. (F) �, Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) �, and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) �
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