Alcoa Sets the Tone for Eanings Season

In a year where estimates for U.S. industrial production growth have turned negative and global GDP growth expectations reduced, it's increasingly important to discern which sectors of the industrial economy are outperforming and underperforming. Step forward, Alcoa Inc.  a company whose outlook gives great color on which sectors and stocks might be hot in the coming earnings season. Let's look at the key conclusions from management's commentary.

Alcoa Inc. management's outlook

The following table shows how Alcoa's full-year 2016 growth outlook has changed through the course of the year. The figures in bold represent changes in outlook.

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Is Deere & Company a Good Investment?

Deere & Company's end markets (agricultural and construction machinery) haven't improved in 2016, and its EPS is down 16% in the first nine months of its fiscal 2016. However, the stock is up 13% year to date, having outperformed the S&P 500 and peers like AGCO Corporation  and CNH Industrial N.V. Most of the move took place immediately after the company trumped estimates with its third-quarter results.

So, does this mean the company is now through the worst, and the stock can take off from here?

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Time to Buy Rockwell Automation Stock?

It's been a curious sort of year for investors in Rockwell Automation As the year has progressed, management has been lowering sales and earnings expectations on the back of a worsening economic outlook, and meanwhile the stock is up nearly 18% as I write -- significantly outperforming the S&P 500 and its peers. What's going on, and is the stock still a good value?

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What FedEx Earnings Mean to UPS Investors

FedEx Corporation's recent first-quarter earnings were warmly received by the market, but does that mean United Parcel Service, Inc will also report a good set of results in a month's time? The rivals report in the middle of each others' quarters, so UPS stockholders should keep a close eye out for anything FedEx's management says. That said, here are five key things for investors to note.

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AZZ Incorporated Earnings Review

The oil and gas industry claimed its latest victim when galvanizing and electrical products company AZZ Incorporated (NYSE:AZZ) disappointed the market with its second-quarter results. Let's take a closer look at what went on in the quarter.

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McCormick Earnings Review

The third-quarter earnings report from McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) , released Sept. 30, saw the spices and seasonings specialist raise its full-year financial forecast on the back of a good set of numbers. McCormick is always going to have a lot of moving parts in its earnings, so it's a good idea to look at the numbers behind the headlines.

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FedEx and UPS are Increasing Prices

Prices are going up. Around the time of the company's first-quarter 2017 results in late September, FedEx Corporation followed rival United Parcel Service, Inc  in hiking selected shipping rates by 4.9% -- a rate far in excess of inflation. What's going on? What does it mean for investors in both stocks? And what can customers expect from pricing in the future?

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Time to Buy Ingersoll-Rand Stock?

It's been a pretty good year so far for companies with significant exposure to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) markets. Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE:IR) has risen 20%, pure play Lennox International, Inc (NYSE:LII) is up nearly 26%, and Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) (which also has substantive automotive operations, and is busy integrating Tyco International this year) is up 35%. 
With the smallest stock price increase of the three, is Ingersoll-Rand still a good value for investors?

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FedEx Corporation Earnings Review

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) kicked off its fiscal year 2017 with a bumper set of first-quarter earnings. All three of its ongoing segments (express, ground, and freight) reported revenue and operating-income increases. Looking ahead, management outlined expectations for the integration of TNT Express, and announced pricing increases and a change to the company's fuel surcharge pricing. Let's take a look at the earnings report and what it all means.

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Will General Electric Company Hit its Growth Targets?

It's been a disappointing couple of months for shareholders in General Electric Company. Since the release of its second-quarter results on July 22, the stock price has started to notably underperform the S&P 500. One explanation sees the market doubting the company can hit its organic revenue growth target of 2% to 4% for 2016, especially since organic revenue actually declined 1% in the first half. Here's why the doubters are wrong

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3M Company Stock Buy Backs: A Good Thing?

At the time of its second-quarter results, 3M Company announced that the company had made $2.1 billion worth of share repurchases in the first half of 2016, with a total of $4 billion to $6 billion planned for the full year. In addition, at 3M Company's investor-day presentation in March management announced plans to boost EPS by making stock buybacks in the 2016-2020 period. Frankly, I don't think this is a positive development for the stock, and here's why.

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Is United Technologies a Good Value Stock?

With United Technologies  in 2016, the aim is take short-term pain to generate long-term gain. The company is in a year of transition in three of its four segments, and if you can ignore the short-term negative impacts, the stock looks like a good value. However, the company needs to execute, so let's look at what's going on and what's in store.

United Technologies' transitional year

General Electric Company outperformed the S&P 500 in the past couple of years, largely because of the successful execution of its strategy to refocus on the industrial sector while developing new industrial technologies that are set to generate strong long-term recurring revenue for the company. Is United Technologies about to similarly reward investors?

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Honeywell International Stock: Time to Sell?

Following an underwhelming set of second-quarter results that saw the company lower its full year revenue guidance, investors in Honeywell International (NYSE:HON) will be wondering if now is the time to dump the stock. Let's take a look at the trends in the company's earnings and guidance and what they say about the stock's prospects.

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Advance Auto Parts Recovery Plan

No one said it was going to be easy, but even the most ardent admirers of Advance Auto Parts Inc. must acknowledge that its ongoing integration of the Carquest and Worldpac stores (acquired in the 2014 purchase of General Parts International) hasn't gone to plan so far. The second-quarter earnings revealed even more integration difficulties, while management candidly prepared investors for more bad news ahead. What's going on, and what should investors make of it all?

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