Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Deals, Rumors, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Ford Motor (F), Hansen Natural (HANS), Viacom (VIA), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Gap Inc (GPS), Kohl’s Corp (KSS)
Before the bell: Futures lower ahead of GDP data; as earnings come in
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) COO Tim Cook, speaking at a Goldman Sachs investment conference, backed Apple’s goal of selling 10 million iPhones in fiscal 2008. AAPL shares are up over 2.6% in premarket trading. Cook also said Apple is open to exploring new ways of selling its iPhone including offering it with other networks. Next week, he stated, Apple will show developers how to create software for the iPhone. An event is scheduled for March 6.
Reporting today:
- Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is expected to report earnings of 33 cents a share in the fourth quarter.
- Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is expected to report earnings of $1.34 a share in the fourth-quarter .
- Hansen Natural Corp. (NASDAQ: HANS) is expected to report earnings of 39 cents a share in the fourth-quarter.
- Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) is expected to report earnings of 83 cents a share in the fourth-quarter.
Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) aims to return to profitability in its core operations by 2009, meaning that Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. could be compensated for his work in 2008 and future years after foregoing salary and bonus payments since 2005.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), internet search leader, is now aiming to become the go-to place for creating Web sites too as it keeps on adding functionality to the array of Office-like products it is offering. This day the company will debut a free service designed for those looking for a simple way to share information with other people working in the same company or attending the same class in school. Still, both Oppenheimer and Stifel Nicolaus cut their target prices on GOOG, from $715 to $600 and from $675 to $610 respectively.
Meanwhile, TechCrunch blogs on rumors regarding Google and Microsoft-Yahoo! bid. TechCrunch sources say Google not only hired a veteran M&A expert from Credit Suisse the day after the Microsoft bid was made, but that Google might acquire just under 20% of Yahoo’s stock at an inflated price. These are rumors.
Staying on the subject, it appears, according to FORTUNE, that late Wednesday afternoon, Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has submitted a Securities and Exchange report that called Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) attempt to purchase the company a “significant distraction for our management and employees.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) had its earnings estimates cut by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (to $3.30 from $3.44) and Merrill Lynch & Co. (to $3.83 from $4.07) on expectations of writedowns in the value of its home-equity loans.
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