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Investor Beat, Jan. 22, 2014

By Chris Hill – Jan 22, 2014 at 11:55PM

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The top business stories for today's Foolish investor.

In this video from Wednesday's edition of Investor Beat, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool analysts Matt Koppenheffer and Mike Olsen dig into the biggest investing stories from the market today.

The Dow index was singlehandedly dragged down by one stock today, as IBM reported fourth-quarter earnings. Despite growing profits by 6%, overall revenue fell by more than 5%, which sent the stock tumbling. In the lead story from today's Investor Beat, Matt and Mike discuss just how bad this quarter was for Big Blue, and whether investors should be optimistic about the company's turnaround plan.

Then the guys take a look at four stocks making moves on the market today. Coach fell after disappointing second-quarter results, stating that foot traffic at North American stores was "substantially lower." Norfolk Southern rose after reporting strong Q4 earnings, with increases for the railroad company in most of its shipping categories. AMD was the most traded stock on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares trading down after the chipmaker lowered guidance for the first quarter. And The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon.com is in discussions with media companies to distribute their channels online.

And finally, there are two stocks our analysts will be watching closely this week. Mike talks about LKQ, and why the largest operator of junkyards has turned its scale into an incredibly well-run business, and Matt looks into McDonald's, which reports earnings tomorrow. After a rough period for McDonald's as the competitive landscape shifts toward fast-casual dining options such as Panera and Chipotle, Matt will be looking for signs in the earnings report that the strategy at McDonald's to adapt and shift its business focuses is coming to fruition.

Chris Hill owns shares of Amazon.com and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Amazon.com and McDonald's. Michael Olsen, CFA owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Coach, LKQ, McDonald's, and Panera Bread and owns shares of Amazon.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Coach, IBM, McDonald's, Microsoft, and Panera Bread. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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