Foot Locker (STAR)
Making Foot Locker sales staff dress up like referees is a nice touch. But for the full game-like experience, why not make them raise their hands in the air and yell “touchdown” whenever they make a sale? Shares of the athletic footwear retailer were putting lots of points on the board after the company reported same-store sales growth of 2.9 per cent in the third quarter – its best result of the year – as earnings beat estimates. “Need some socks with that? The extra-point attempt … is good!”
FL (NYSE), US$52.97, up US$2.08 or 4.1% over week
L Brands (DOG)
Business quiz! Shares of L Brands slumped after the owner of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works: a) unveiled a new line of doggy lingerie that sparked complaints of exploitation from animal-rights groups; b) took a US$300-million inventory writedown on a line of lacy underwear that accidentally had three leg holes instead of two; c) cut its dividend in half and replaced the CEO of struggling Victoria’s Secret, signalling that it doesn’t see an imminent turnaround in the chain’s falling sales. Answer: c.
LB (NYSE), US$29.97, down US$5.31 or 15.1% over week
Target (DOG)
Black Friday? For Target, it was more like Blue Tuesday. Even as the discount retailer posted healthy same-store sales growth of 5.1 per cent in the third quarter – helped by its surging online business – the stock suffered a double-digit tumble on Tuesday after earnings missed analysts’ estimates. With Target pouring money into e-commerce initiatives such as free shipping and same-day delivery to compete with Walmart and Amazon, its profit margins have taken a hit. Investors are heading for the exits.
TGT (NYSE), US$67.35, down US$12.33 or 15.5% over week
Apple (DOG)
For years, Apple could do no wrong. Now, it can’t do anything right. As worries grow that iPhone demand has crested – stoked by disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter sales numbers and reports that suppliers are shipping fewer iPhone components – Apple’s shares have fallen for eight-consecutive weeks and have shed more than US$100-billion of market value. With Apple recently announcing that it will no longer break out iPhone sales separately, investors suspect the tech giant may be trying to cover up bad news. Now, when would a company ever do something like that?
AAPL (Nasdaq), US$172.29, down US$21.24 or 11% over week
Crude oil (DOG)
There once was a substance called crude
Whose losses were really quite rude
As supplies kept on growing
Demand kept on slowing
And folks who were long were, well, screwed.
WTI, US$50.39, down US$6.29 or 11.1% over week
John Heinzl