"Wit is educated insolence."
-- Aristotle
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News to Go
Soft drink and snack food company Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) announced its third-quarter results this morning. Revenues grew 7% to $4.9 billion, from $4.58 billion last year. The company earned $0.40 a share, compared to the pro forma $0.34 a share it earned in the same period a year ago. This beats the consensus First Call/Thompson Financial estimate by a penny. The company also said that current chairman and chief executive officer Roger Enrico will transition from his CEO position by the end of next year, and retire as chairman by the end of 2002. Steve Reinemund, Pepsi's current president and chief operating officer, will be elected by the board to fill both positions.
Amazon is selling traditional cameras, along with the newfangled digital variety. Customers will also find frames, albums, and books (shocker!) about photography. Amazon had been selling cameras in its electronics area before this new release.
Amazon is also offering digital photo albums for its customers through a joint venture with Ofoto, Inc., as reported in a Wall Street Journal story today. Shutterbugs will be able to either upload their digital photos to Amazon's service, or mail in actual analog film to Amazon for digitization and placement in an Amazon album. Similar digital photo album services are already offered by America Online (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). According to the Journal story, Amazon will be getting a less-than-5% stake in Ofoto as a part of the venture.
Amazon has been criticized by some for expanding into too many disparate areas. The retailer sells everything from tools, patio furniture, and DVDs to new cars, toys, and the books it became known for. Do photography equipment and digital photo albums fit in? We'll just have to wait and see how Amazon's customers take to the new store. In the meantime, smile for the camera!
[Tune in later today for this week's Dueling Fools, featuring a battle over Amazon.com.]
According to a Wall Street Journal story, AT&T (NYSE: T) may be considering a spin-off of its long-distance business. The company's been figuring out its options for the segment, which at one point included a possible sale of the long-distance business to Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Why AT&T's board is now looking to spin off the business, instead of just selling it outright, isn't known. The Journal story speculated that perhaps AT&T didn't get the price it was looking for when it was thinking about selling.
Commercial bank Firstar (NYSE: FSR) is buying U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) for around $21.2 billion in stock. The purchase will create the eighth-largest bank holding company in the United States. The combined company will have 2,200 branches in 24 states, mostly in the Midwest. Firstar chief executive Jerry Grundhofer said, "The combined companies will have a multitude of high growth, non-banking businesses as well as an enviable banking franchise in attractive growth markets."
High-speed Internet access equipment maker Carrier Access (Nasdaq: CACS) warned after the market's close yesterday that its third-quarter earnings will fall short of expectations. The company said earnings per share for the quarter will come in between $0.15 and $0.18 a share. Analysts as polled by First Call/Thompson Financial were looking for the company to report earnings per share of $0.32. In the third quarter last year, Carrier earned $0.25 a share.
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