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 electronics retailer RadioShack
So what: It wasn't a terrible earnings release, but it was close. The company preannounced fourth-quarter results and investors did not like what they saw. Promotions during the holiday season and softness in its business around Sprint Nextel
Adding to the disappointment was the additional announcement that the company is turning off the share-repurchase spigot.
Now what: As my fellow Fool Rick Munarriz pointed out, sales were not the big issue -- sales were actually up 6%. However, gross margins slipped from 41% to 35%, reflecting the lower profitability of the stores' sales mix. The question for RadioShack investors to ponder going forward is whether -- as Rick believes -- the lower profitability is here to stay, or whether this is a hiccup and management can fatten the bottom line back up in the quarters ahead.
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