Shares of FedEx Corp. FDX tumbled 5.71% to $171.06 in after-hours trading on Tuesday following the release of the results for the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
The Memphis, Tennessee-based international provider of integrated shipping and logistics services missed consensus estimates by 7 cents on non-GAAP earnings, having posted $3.03 per diluted share, which was 18.5% lower than the prior-year quarter.
GAAP earnings were $2.80 per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 which, compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2018, reflects a sharp decline of 63.11%.
GAAP and non-GAAP earnings were dropped by revenue of $17 billion or 3% higher than the prior-year quarter missing consensus estimates by $700 million.
Despite a 2.1% year-over-year increase in the adjusted operating income to $984 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, the operating margin was at 5.8%, flat compared to the prior-year quarter.
EVP and CFO Alan B. Graf, Jr. said that revenue from the international express business was affected by sluggish macroeconomic conditions and growth in the global trade.
Looking ahead to full fiscal 2019, FedEx expects earnings to range between $15.10 and 15.90 per diluted share versus consensus estimates for $15.97. In addition, capital spending is forecasted to be approximately $5.6 billion.
The share price of FedEx Corp. was around $181.4 at close on Tuesday following a 27% decrease for the 52 weeks through March 19. The share price is abundantly below the 200-day simple moving average line, slightly below the 100-day SMA line and almost in line with the 50-day SMA line. The 52-week range is $150.94 to $266.67 and the market capitalization is roughly $47.36 billion.
The 14-day Relative Strength Indicator of 54.48 suggests the stock is neither oversold nor overbought.
Wall Street issued a buy recommendation rating with an average target price of $221.91 per share of FedEx Corp.
Shares of General Mills Inc. (GIS) were up 4.23% to $49.24 in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the release of third quarter results for fiscal 2019.
The Minneapolis-based global producer and marketer of branded consumer foods beat consensus estimates by 14 cents on non-GAAP earnings of 83 cents per share or 6% higher than the prior-year quarter.
The GAAP earnings were 74 cents per share or 54% lower year-over-year.
Revenue was $4.2 billion or 8.2% higher than the prior-year quarter, missing expectations by $10 million.
Third quarter revenues were shared amid the following business segments, year over year: North America Retail sales were flat at $2.52 billion, convenience stores and foodservice sales jumped 3% to $472 million, Europe & Australia sales went 8% down to $433 million. Asia and Latin America sales declined 2% to $428 million.
General Mills also noted a 170 basis-point advance in the adjusted gross margin rate to 34.2% and 230 basis-point growth in the adjusted operating margin rate to 17.4% of total sales.
Looking ahead to full fiscal 2019, the company forecasts the following growth rates on a constant currency basis: Organic net sales are expected to be flat, net sales are predicted to grow by about 9%, adjusted operating margin is poised to increase about 9% and the adjusted earnings per share is not forecast to grow more than 1%.
The share price of General Mills Inc. was around $47.2 at close on Tuesday following a 4% increase for the 52 weeks through March 19. The share price is above the 200-, 100- and 50-day simple moving average lines. The 52-week range is $36.42 to $48.11 and the market capitalization is roughly $26.93 billion.
The 14-day Relative Strength Indicator of 70.09 suggests the stock is near to overbought levels.
Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating with an average target price of $46 per share of General Mills.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any security mentioned.
