SPX Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know (SPW)

SPX Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of engineered products manufacturer SPX Corp. (NYSE: SPW ) were diving today, losing as much as 15% on heavier-than-average volume.

So what: SPX's second-quarter results certainly didn't look like anything that would kneecap the stock. Revenues were up 16% from last year, to $1.38 billion. On the bottom line, the year-over-year comparison was hurt by a charge in this year's quarter and a tax benefit last year. Adjusting for those items, per-share profit was $0.91 versus $1.00 in 2010. Analysts were expecting $0.89 in earnings per share on revenue of $1.34 billion.

Now what: Though current results topped estimates, investors were hoping for more from the company's forward guidance. Management left its full-year profit forecast fixed at a midpoint of $4.40, which is short of the $4.57 that Wall Street had been expecting. Meanwhile, management estimated $1.00 to $1.10 in earnings per share for the third quarter, notably shy of the $1.48 analysts had in mind.

Want to keep up to date on SPX? Add it to your watchlist.

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

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Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting his CAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter @KoppTheFool or Facebook. The Fool's disclosure policy prefers dividends over a sharp stick in the eye.

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