Shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) climbed in Wednesday’s pre-market session, after the bookseller reported it swung to a higher-than-expected fiscal Q3 profit, with sales matching analysts’ estimates. In addition, Chief Executive Michael P. Huseby said the company is “actively engaged in discussions with several world-class hardware partners related to device development as well as content packaging and distribution,” and plans to launch a new NOOK color device in early fiscal 2015. BKS was up 3.8% at $18.39 in recent pre-market trading. It has a 52-week range of $12.59 to $23.71. For the quarter ended Jan. 25, the company posted net income of $63.2 million, or $0.86 per share, compared with a prior-year loss of $3.7 million, or $0.14 per share.
The year-earlier period included $74 million in inventory-related charges for its NOOK e-reader. The mean estimate of three analysts polled by Capital IQ was for earnings of $0.58 per share in the latest quarter. Sales slipped 10% to $2 billion, matching the three analysts’ mean estimate. Gross profit margin improved to 30.2% from 24.9%. Revenue in the company’s retail segment fell 6.3%, reflecting a 4.9% drop in same-store sales as well as store closures and lower online sales.
Sales in its college segment declined 6%, with same-store sales down 4%. NOOK sales dropped 50% as device and accessories sales plunged 58% and digital-content sales declined 27%. The company reaffirmed its previously issued full-year guidance for retail comparable-store sales to decline in the high single digits, core retail comparable-bookstore sales to decline in the low- to mid-single digits, and college comparable-store sales to decline in the low single digits.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) today reported Q4 net income of $113 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared to $134 million, or $0.31 per diluted share the previous year. That’s below the $0.28 expected by analysts if comparable. Revenue rose to $2.18 billion from $2.13 billion. Revenue in the gas distribution business rose to $902 million from $767 million.
TJX (NYSE:TJX) reported Q4 sales of $7.80 billion, up 1% over year ago levels but in line to just shy of the Street view of $7.87 billion. Earnings were $0.81, up from adjusted earnings of $0.74 per share last year. The analyst consensus called for EPS of $0.83 per share, according to Capital IQ. Consolidated comparable store sales increased 3% over the prior year on a 13-week comparable basis.
The company also approved a new $2 billion stock buyback plan and increased its quarterly dividend by 21%. For the full year ending Jan. 31, 2015, the company expects EPS of $3.05 to $3.19, below Street estimates of $3.25 per share. For Q1, the company is targeting EPS of $0.65 to $0.66 per share, vs. expectations of $0.73 per share.
Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) was higher more than 3% in pre-market trade after reporting Q4 earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates while the top end of its sales guidance range for 2014 was in line with the consensus. The maker of aircrafts said its Q4 earnings per share more than doubled to $1.45 per share from $0.68 the year earlier, topping the $1.17 average estimate from analysts.
Revenue rose to $2.3 billion from $1.9 billion a year ago and exceeded the $2.2 billion consensus estimate. For 2014, Embraer expects sales of $6.0 billion to $6.5 billion compared to the $6.5 billion analyst estimate.