Hostess Brands Inc (NASDAQ:TWNK) was far from being “the hostess with the mostest” in pre-market trading after it slashed full-year guidance.
The shares lost around one-sixth of their value after the Twinkies maker said it expected full-year underlying earnings (EBITDA) would likely be in the range of US$190mln to US$200mln – US$30mln lower at both ends of the range from the company's previous guidance.
Full-year earnings per share (EPS) are expected to fall within the range of 52 to 58 cents; previous guidance was for EPS of 65 to 70 cents.
Second quarter EPS of 14 cents was two cents below the consensus forecast while revenue of US$215.85mln, although 6.2% higher year-on-year, was US$5.46mln lower than analysts had been expecting.
Traders also took a large slice out of the share price of Papa John's Int'l Inc (NASDAQ:PZZA), the pizza chain operator.
Founder and former chief executive officer John Schnatter has caused more than a few to observe that when he opens his mouth he would be better off putting a slice of pizza in it rather than mouthing off, and it appears his admission in July that he had used a racial slur in a conference call with a marketing agency hit sales at the pizza chain hard.
READ Papa John's apologises after CEO blames NFL for sluggish pizza sales
Second-quarter earnings per share of 49 cents were five cents short of expectations and revenue, at US$408mln, was US$18mln light.
The company sent analysts scurrying to revise their full-year forecasts – the consensus estimate was for full-year EPS of US$2.05 – by indicating EPS in 2018 would fall somewhere in the range of US$1.30 to US$1.80.
Papa John's second quarter same store sales down 6.1% in North America.
Company now projects sales will be down 7-10% for 2018 based on negativity associated with founder John Schnatter's fallout.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 7, 2018
Pharmacies operator CVS Health Corp's (NYSE:CVS) business appears to be in rude health, judging by its second-quarter results.
Revenue from CVS's retail pharmacy division rose 5.7% to US$20.7bn from the second-quarter of 2017, thanks largely to an 8.3% increase in pharmacy revenue. Revenue from non-pharmaceutical goods – front-end goods, as the company calls them - rose just 0.2% from a year earlier.
Same-store prescription volume was up 9.5% while like-for-like front-end sales fell 1% from a year earlier.
CVS Health’s Q2 net revenues increased 2.2% to $46.7 billion $CVS
— CVS Health IR (@CVSHealthIR) August 8, 2018
Adjusted earnings of US$1.69 per share were eight cents higher than analysts had been expecting.
Shares in CVS were 2.8% higher at US$67.25 in screen-based trading.
Also on the up was Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS), the fashion firm, after its fiscal first-quarter earnings topped analysts' forecasts.
The stock was hot-to-trot, rising 2.4% to US$67.16, after earnings per share came in at US$1.32, well ahead of the 94 cents the market had been expecting.
The company's chairman and chief executive officer, who rejoices in a name that is ideal for the fashion industry – John Idol – said the global fashion luxury group growth strategy continues to be driven by both the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands.
“Looking ahead we remain optimistic about our business for the remainder of fiscal 2019 and beyond,” Idol said.