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.
The stock market today should get off to a solid start. According to stock index futures as of 7:50 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.02%) will rise by 30 points at the opening bell.
World markets ticked higher overnight in advance of the Federal Open Market Committee's rate-setting report. The Fed is expected to announce no changes to its stimulus program when it releases its policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT. Still, markets tend to swing whenever the Fed speaks, so investors should expect to see increased volatility today.
With that bigger picture in mind, here are a few individual stock stories to watch for in today's market.
Comcast (CMCSA -0.64%) this morning reported solid third-quarter earnings results. Profit came in at $0.65 a share, $0.04 better than analysts expected and 41.3% higher than in the year-ago quarter. Comcast lost 129,000 cable subscribers in the quarter, which was worse than the 117,000 it lost over the same period last year. However, gains in the high-speed Internet and voice businesses more than made up for those cord-cutters, and Comcast's total subscriber base ticked up by 3.2% to 52.4 million. Stripping out the boost from last year's Olympics, TV revenue climbed 2.6% as ad revenue improved. Comcast stock is down 0.9% in premarket trading.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) shares are on the move after the restaurant operator reported surprisingly strong earnings last night. New store openings combined with a 4.8% jump in sales at existing locations to drive revenue higher by 27.9% to $315.8 million. B-Dubs also saw its chicken-wing prices dip, which helped power a 66.9% boost in earnings to $0.95 a share. The company is expecting more of the same level of performance next quarter as football season gets into full swing. B-Dubs' shares are up more than 7% in premarket trading.
Finally, DreamWorks Animation (DWA) might just make some money off of the film Turbo after all. Management told investors after the bell last night, "Based on the information we have today, we believe Turbo is a profitable movie." A strong showing at the international box office looks to have saved the film from the huge writedown that befell Rise of the Guardians last year. With Turbo kicking in a positive contribution, sales in the quarter were $154 million, and profit was $0.12 per share. DreamWorks can now look forward to releasing three feature films next year, where a much less crowded box office could set the stage for success with each movie. The stock is up 9% in premarket trading.
