Stocks pulled back modestly today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) dropping for the first time in 10 sessions while the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.02%) incurred a similarly small decline.
Today's stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | (0.15%) | (33.08) |
| S&P 500 | (0.24%) | (5.99) |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Image source: Getty Images.
Financial stocks had a comparatively strong day, as the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE 0.70%) rose 0.2%. The real estate sector endured a rough session, however, with the iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYR 0.31%) declining 0.6%.
As for individual stocks, disparate earnings reports from Michael Kors (CPRI -3.04%) and Dean Foods (DF) left shares of the two companies moving in opposite directions today.
Michael Kors is in style again
Shares of Michael Kors skyrocketed 21.5% today after the luxury fashion specialist announced stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter ended July 1, 2017.
That's not to say Michael Kors' performance looked great on the surface. Revenue declined 3.6% year over year (down 2.6% adjusting for foreign exchange) to $952.4 million, as more than 60% growth in Asia (to $117.1 million) helped offset more modest declines in both the Americas (down 8.2% to $634.1 million) and Europe (down 10.2% to $201.2 million). Comparable-store sales also declined 4.9%.
However, both figures were above Michael Kors' guidance provided last quarter, which called for revenue between $910 million and $930 million, and a comparable-sales decline in the high-single-digit percent range.
On the bottom line, that translated to net income of $125.5 million, or $0.80 per share -- down from $0.83 per share in the same year-ago period. But that figure was again well above guidance for earnings to be in the range of $0.60 to $0.64. For perspective, analysts' consensus estimates only predicted Michael Kors would achieve earnings of $0.62 per share on revenue of $918.6 million.
"We are encouraged by our first quarter performance," added Chairman and CEO John Idol, "although we continue to believe that fiscal 2018 will be a transition year for our company, as we focus on laying the foundation for the future by executing on our strategic plan."
Dean Foods earnings leave investors hungry
Meanwhile, Dean Foods stock plummeted 20.8% today after the food and beverage company announced weaker-than-expected second-quarter 2017 results. Revenue climbed 4.2% year over year to $1.93 billion, but adjusted net income simultaneously plummeted 43% to $19.6 million, or $0.21 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting Dean Foods to post a significantly higher adjusted profit of $0.31 per share on revenue of $1.94 billion.
CEO Ralph Scozzafava explained that the company is facing a "challenging and rapidly evolving retail environment" in which volumes are pressured by competition and macroeconomic headwinds.
"Our financial results came in well below our expectations," Scozzafava concluded. "We are not satisfied with our performance and are determined to improve our execution."
More specifically, Dean Foods remains on track for its cost productivity program to deliver an estimated $80 million to $100 million in annual expense reductions. But the company is now expanding that program to target incremental annual cost reductions of $40 million to $50 million, with the process expected to be complete by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Dean Foods now forecasts 2017 adjusted earnings per share of $0.80 to $0.95, a reduction from previous guidance for earnings per share of $1.35 to $1.55.
