Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS), a leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean, reported strong third-quarter earnings of 59 cents per share, compared to 41 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding the one-time non-recurring items, earnings for the quarter came at 54 cents per share versus 45 cents in the year-ago period.   Bottler case sales volume increased 4% during the quarter year over year with carbonated soft drinks growing 5% and non-carbonated beverage sales up marginally. On a geographic basis, volume sales increased 4% in North America and 9% in Latin America.   Net sales of Beverage Concentrates increased 14% during the quarter due to extensive distribution of Crush-brand. Segment operating profit increased 25% year over year. In the Packaged Beverages segment, net sales decreased 1% with a 1% dip in sales volume. However, segment operating profit increased 42% due to lower ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 6, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (DTV), AT&T (T), Comcast Corporation (CMCSA), Dish Network Corp. (DISH) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s AnalystBlog:

DIRECTV Falls Short of Estimates

The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (DTV) reported revenues of $5.47 billion in the third quarter of 2009.

On a geographical basis, revenues from United States grew 9% to $4.7 billion due to solid subscriber and average revenue per unit (ARPU)

...

The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (DTV) reported revenues of $5.47 billion in the third quarter of 2009. On a geographical basis, revenues from United States grew 9% to $4.7 billion due to solid subscriber and average revenue per unit (ARPU) growth. The company added 136,000 net subscribers to its customer base in the United States primarily due to the addition of AT&T (T) as a marketing partner and record demand for company’s premium services. ARPU of $85.32 increased 2.1% as programming package price increases, as well as higher service fees for certain services, were partially offset by more competitive promotions for both new and existing customers. The company’s business in Latin America also demonstrated solid performance, posting a 16% increase in revenues and expanding its customer base to 162,000. This was driven by continued subscriber growth throughout the region, which more than offset the unfavorable impact ...

News Corp. (NWS) recently reported its first quarter results. Earnings of 22 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents and climbed 10% from 20 cents posted in the prior-year quarter.   Total revenues tumbled 4.1% year on year to $7,199 million due to fall in Television (down 7.7%), Direct Broadcast Satellite Television (down 4.3%), Newspapers and Information Services (down 17.7%), Book Publishing (down 1.6%) and Other (down 44.4%) segments, offset by rise in Filmed Entertainment (up 20.8%), Cable Network Programming (up 10.5%) and Integrated Marketing Services (up 3.1%) segments.   However, significant cost-cutting initiatives taken by management and robust performance at Filmed Entertainment and Cable Network Programming segments have boosted the operating income by 9.3% to $1,042 million. Management expects fiscal 2010 operating income to increase within a high-single digit to low double-digit percentage range.   Filmed Entertainment posted a record first quarter operating ...

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) reported earnings of 89 cents in the third quarter of 2009, up 16% from the year-ago period and a cent above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Strong sales of Copaxone and in the respiratory business helped drive earnings in the reported quarter. Net sales increased 25% to $3.55 billion, with the Barr acquisition contributing to sales across different geographical segments. The strengthening U.S. dollar adversely impacted net sales by $160 million or 6%. Revenue performance across key business segments was mixed. While the Pharmaceuticals Sales segment posted growth of 27% with revenues coming in at $3.4 billion, the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) segment reported an 8% decline in growth with sales coming in at $136 million. Pharmaceutical segment sales were driven by strong performances in the North American, European and International segments. The launch of generic versions of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo ...

SAP AG (SAP) reported third quarter of 2009 net income from continuing operations of 60 cents per share, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents. U.S. GAAP software and software-related service revenues were €1.94 billion (previous year: €1.99 billion), a decrease of 3%. U.S. GAAP total revenues were €2.51 billion (€2.76 billion), a decrease of 9%. U.S. GAAP software revenues were €525 million (€763 million), a decrease of 31% (30% at constant currencies). In the third quarter of 2009, SAP closed major contracts in several key regions including Dagrofa/SuperGros, Prada S.p.A., SeverStal OAO, Surgutneftegaz OAO, Swiss Life AG, and Telefonica, S.A. (TEF) in EMEA; Banco Industrial S.A., ConocoPhillips (COP), Dolby Laboratories (DLB), Fairfax County, Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) and Valero Services Inc. in Americas; and APL Co. Pte. Ltd, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia, HDFC Standard Life ...

As the world economy begins its journey back, there are emerging market opportunities that were present before the collapse and still remain. The consumer is perhaps the largest opportunity in this regard. As one considers this investing rout, looking at the United States model may well be advised as one considers options and other developing countries follow suit. Consumer spending has largely driven the US model in the past and is likely to drive international opportunity going forward, albeit in a differing form.

Consider leading investment advisors statistics that state, over the past 10 years, 80% of the best investments were outside of the US. Depending upon which segment one is interested in investing in, this indicates that keeping investments confined to the US is less than profitable. The question however remains, where to invest in? Answering the question is questionable in of itself but can easily be answered what

...

Ingram Micro (IM) reported third-quarter EPS of 25 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents.   Revenues   The company reported third-quarter revenues of $7.38 billion, down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis and up 12% on a sequential basis. The year-over-year decline in revenue can be attributed to the negative economic environment that prevailed throughout the last one year. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted the year-over-year comparison by approximately 3.0%, but had a positive impact on quarterly comparisons.

The geographic distribution of revenues was as follows. North America reported third-quarter sales of $3.22 billion, down 10.3% year over year but up17.0% sequentially. Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region reported revenues of $2.15 billion, down 16% year over year. There is a 6% negative impact of foreign currencies on EMEA revenues on a year-over-year basis. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region were $1.64 billion, down 3.5% from $1.70 billion

...

The Clorox Company (CLX) reported strong results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 with earnings of $1.11 per share. Earnings were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents and up 23.3% year-over-year. Net sales for the quarter were almost flat year-over-year, declining marginally by 0.8%. The decline was primarily attributable to unfavorable foreign exchange rates, unfavorable product mix and higher trade-promotion spending. These factors were partially offset by the benefit of price increases, especially in the International segment. Total volume increased 1%, primarily due to higher shipments of disinfecting wipes and bottled salad dressing, which were largely offset by lower shipments of trash bags and the company's exit from its private-label food bags business. Segment-wise In the Cleaning segment, sales increased 3% and volumes grew 4%. Volume increase was driven by increased shipments of disinfecting products to meet demand associated with ...

Polymer Group, Inc. reports completion of its transaction to purchase a 40 percent minority stake in Dominion Nonwovens Sudamericana, S.A. (PGI Argentina) from its partner, Guillermo E. Kraves with terms of the transaction undisclosed.

PGI Argentina has been operating as a joint venture since 1997. The company is located near Buenos Aires, Argentina and began operations with multi-beam spunmelt lines which serve the hygiene and industrial markets of the Mercosur region. PGI then purchased a majority share of the business in 1999 with a focus on growing business in the Mercosur region as part of its overall hygiene leadership strategy in Latin America. In 2003, PGI added an extrusion line and most recently installed new wide-width, multi-beam line which features the latest spunbond technology and has a capacity of over 15,000 metric tonnes per year.

PGI’s chief executive officer, Veronica (Ronee) Hagen, commented on the purchase saying, “This investment is

...