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Stocks to watch Friday
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October 21, 1999: 8:24 p.m. ET
Lam Research, Halliburton beat Street; Salon delivers, Inktomi slips after bell
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A major semiconductor exceeded Wall Street's earning expectations after the bell Thursday, while an Internet search engine company lost ground in after hours trading.
Lam Research Corp.
Semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) wasn't sheepish as its first quarter revenues jumped 70 percent.
The Fremont, Calif.-based company reported revenue of $241.6 million. Net income was $24.7 million or 58 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $26.8 million or 70 cents per share in the year ago period for the prior year's quarter.
Analysts polled by First Call Corp. had expected the company post a profit of 48 cents per share.
"Industry fundamentals have improved, resulting in the positive revision of capital spending plans by many of the world's largest semiconductor makers," said James W. Bagley, chairman and chief executive officer.
Inktomi Corp.
Internet search engine Inktomi Corp. (INKT) inked a 217 percent increase in fourth quarter revenues and turning in a smaller-than-expected loss.
However, the Foster City, Calif.-based company was down 2-1/2 to 118 in after-hours trading.
Inktomi posted a net loss of $4.9 million or 9 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $8.5 million or 18 cents per share in the fourth quarter of the previous year. First Call had expected the company to post a loss of 10 cents per share.
Revenue for the quarter was $26.2 million, a 217 percent increase over the year-ago period.
"The year 1999 was a historical milestone for Inktomi as we completed our first fiscal year as a public company and moved closer to becoming synonymous with the Internet infrastructure," David Peterschmidt, president and CEO, said in a news release.
For the 1999 fiscal year Inktomi scored revenue of $71.2 million, a 248 percent increase over the 1998 fiscal year. The net loss for the year was $24.2 million or 48 cents per share compared to a net loss of $24.5 million or 63 cents per share in the prior fiscal year.
Halliburton Co.
Halliburton Co. (HAL) was gushing with news as the world's No. 1 provider of oil field services beat Wall Street's earnings expectations by a penny.
The Dallas-based company posted third quarter net income of $58 million or 13 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $527 million or $1.20 per diluted share in the 1998 third quarter.
Analysts polled by First Call Corp. had expected Halliburton to post a profit of 12 cents per share. Consolidated revenues totaled $3.5 billion, about 16 percent below the year-ago quarter.
Reduced worldwide spending by energy industry customers, which accounted for about 85 percent of Halliburton's 1998 revenue, was the principal factor in the reduced revenue and income, the company said.
The year ago quarter was affected by an after-tax special charge of $722 million or $1.64 per diluted share, related to the company's merger with Dresser Industries and other restructuring activities.
Salon.com
Online media company Salon.com (SALN) beat Wall Street expectations, posting a net loss of $3.8 million or 34 cents per share, excluding non-cash charges, compared to a net loss of $1.3 million or 35 cents per share in the year ago period. Analysts polled by First Call had expected the San Francisco-based operation to post a loss of 49 cents per share.
Revenue for the quarter jumped 123 percent to $1.4 million. Unique users for September 1999 were 1.9 million, a 90 percent increase from September 1998 and a 46 percent gain from June.
Revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2000 was $2.4 million, up 132 percent from $1 million for the same period a year ago. The net loss for the first six months was $7.5 million or 75 cents per share, compared to $2.6 million or 68 cents per share for the year-ago period.
Thursday's rewind
The Dow Jones industrial average recovered from a loss of more than 200 points to close 94.67 points lower at 10,297.69. The Nasdaq composite index overcame its morning slide and managed to finish 13.82 points higher at 2,801.95. The S&P 500 index lost 5.82 points to 1,283.61
Treasury bonds fell Thursday, as a sinking stock market failed to draw buyers to government securities. The price of the benchmark 30-year bond fell 11/32 to 96-27/32. Its yield, which moves inversely to the price, rose to 6.36 percent form 6.33 percent Wednesday.
The dollar slipped to105.85 yen from 106.37 Wednesday, a 0.49 percent drop in the dollar's value. It cost $1.0820 to buy one euro, up from $1.0763 Wednesday, a 0.52 percent fall in the dollar's value.
London's FTSE 100 fell as low as 5,888.10 before recovering in late afternoon to close down 67.4 points, or 1.12 percent, at 5,939.30. Market volume was heavy with almost 1.3 billion shares changing hands.
In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax closed 50 points shy of its session high at 5,246.49, a loss of 44.7 points, or 0.85 percent. Zurich's SMI ended down 1.1 percent lower at 6,783. The FTSE Eurotop 300, a pan-European gauge of the wider market mood, ended 0.6 percent lower. Tobacco stocks slumped 5 percent after a legal setback for the industry in a U.S. court.
After rising initially on the back of a 1.8 percent rally in the Dow Jones industrials overnight, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average reversed course and fell 86.44 points, or 0.5 percent, to end at 17,448.27
Check S&P futures trading in Globex
Friday's outlook
Investors will be watching Gillette Co. (G), which warned after the bell Thursday that fourth-quarter sales will decline in the "mid-single digits" and profits will decrease in the "middle to high teens" as it tries to balance razor blade inventories in Europe.
IBM (IBM) was on a downslide following a warning late Wednesday that fourth-quarter and fiscal 2000 first-quarter results will fall well below analysts' estimates.
Also, Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche Holding AG set plans for a secondary public offering of a portion of its stake in Genentech Inc. (DNA)
Earnings season also continues Friday. Among the companies scheduled to release quarterly results are Asarco Inc. (AR), US West (USW), the Washington Post Co. (WPO) and Yellow Corp. (YELL).
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