Starbucks’s Earnings Disappoint, But Schultz Vows a Transformation

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- As Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced its financial results for its fiscal first quarter that ended on December 30, 2007, the news machine started brewing up speculation about the company’s future prospects.

The company posted anemic earnings for the period.

Specifically, net earnings increased a mere 2 percent from the same period a year ago, totaling $208.1 million versus $205.0 million; earnings per share for the quarter rose 8 percent to $0.28 from $0.26 in the prior year period, according to a company statement.

But Starbucks isn’t being complacent about these figures.  Indeed, the company is embarking upon an aggressive program of transformation.

For example, it plans to slow the pace of store growth in the U.S. to approximately 1,175 stores for this fiscal year, which is revised downward from the original target of 1,600 stores.  At the same time, it will increase the store opening target in International markets to approximately 975 stores, the company said.

Amazon’s Q4 Net Income Swings Up 112 Percent

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Despite the pervasive fears of a looming recession among economic pundits, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced on Wednesday that its fourth-quarter 2006 net sales of $3.99 billion increased 42% to $5.67 billion in the fourth-quarter 2007 and that it Q4 2006 operating cash flow of $0.70 billion increased to $1.41 billion in Q4 2007, the company said in a statement.

This means that for investors net income increase in Q4 2007 112 percent: net income increased from $98 million in Q4 2006 to $207 million in Q4 2007; or it increased from $0.23 per diluted share in Q4 2006 to $0.48 per diluted share in Q4 2007.

Likewise, the company reported that for the full-year 2007 net income increase 150 percent: net income increased from $190 million in 2006 to $476 million in 2007; or it increased $0.45 per diluted share in 2006 to $1.12 per diluted share in 2007.

Lee Equity Partners Nabs Experienced GE Vice Chair Wright as Senior Advisor

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) Vice Chairman Robert C Wright is moving on to Lee Equity Partners, lending his experience as the private equity firm’s newest Senior Advisor.

Lee Equity Partners was created by Thomas H Lee after leaving his namesake firm in 2006. In addition to Wright, other prominent figures that have joined the new firm include former JC Penney CEO Allen Questrom and former Mercer Management Consulting CEO David Morrison.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of Wright’s experience as a high-level corporate executive in order to identify what be brings to Lee Equity. In addition to his role as the Vice Chairman of GE, Wright is shown to have previously been the former Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, stepping down from the company only last year. Prior to joining GE and NBC, he was the President of Cox Cable Communications. Wright is also currently a Director at Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.

Rite Aid Appears to have Successfully Reversed December Sales Slump with January Increase

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Although Rite Aid Corp (NYSE: RAD) had a rocky December with poor sales figures, the company could be experiencing a turnaround, since it announced on Thursday morning a 2 percent increase in same-store sales over the prior-year four-week period that ended January 26, 2008, the company reported in a press release. 

The newly acquired Brooks Eckerd stores are excluded from the same-store calculations, the company said.

While total drugstore sales for the period amounted to $1.99 billion, the main driver for those numbers was prescription revenue, which comprised 68.9 percent of drugstore sales.

In terms of year-to-date sales for the 47-week period that ended on January 26, 2008, the company also said that same-store sales increased 1.2 percent, with a 1.7 percent increase in same-store pharmacy sales and a 0.5 percent increase in same-store front-end sales.

UPDATE: GE’s Share Price Shows Very Slight Increase over Last Two Weeks

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- The general sense of cluelessness as to where the American economy was headed seemed to be reflected in the anemic fluctuations in the stock price of General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) over the last two weeks.

When NewsVisual last reported on the company on Jan 18, GE had just reported fourth-quarter 2007 earnings of $6.8 billion, which was up 15 percent from the fourth-quarter 2006.  In addition, its Q4 earnings increase was largely driven by a 27 percent increase in global revenues.

On Jan 18, the markets appeared to relish GE’s earnings news, sending its share price up from the previous day’s close of $33.21 to $34.33 in early afternoon trading (12:14pm ET).

Since then on Jan 30, however, the stock price was only modestly higher at $34.76 in after-the-bell trading (5:31pm ET).

Labor Contract Settlement Hobbles UPS’s Q4 Earnings Growth

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Largely due to the expense incurred from a five-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labor union, United Parcel Services Inc (NYSE: UPS) reported on Wednesday that during fourth-quarter 2007 diluted earnings per share fell to a loss of $2.46.

The company paid $6.1 billion to convert 45,000 UPS employees from a pension plan during the quarter.

Absent that cost, the company’s adjusted figures show that there would have been 8.7 percent increase over Q4 2006 in diluted earnings per share $1.13 for its fourth-quarter 2007. 

Indeed, revenue improved 6.1% driven by a double-digit increase in international export volume, growth and firm pricing in the U.S. package business and market-leading shipment gains at UPS Freight.

The company sought to blunt the negative impact of its Q4 earnings news by pointing out that it performed well given the economic context in which it was operating.

"In 2007, UPS delivered on its forecast in an economic environment that became increasingly challenging over the year," said UPS CEO/Chairman Scott Davis in the statement.

Common Ties May Give BHP Billiton Options While Pursuing Rio Tinto

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) may have rejected BHP Billiton’s (Public, LON: BLT) initial takeover bid, but that doesn’t mean that the deal is dead.

Advisors for Rio have reportedly suggested that BHP could actually stand to increase its share offer for the coveted mining company by at least 42 percent, bringing the value of the deal up to a staggering $157 billion. Whether BHP would actually be willing to pay this hefty sum has yet to be seen.

In order to determine if any significant relationships exist between BHP and Rio Tinto that could facilitate negotiations, we created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that visually maps the ties through the Executives and Directors at either company. The results suggest that BHP may need more than connections to secure Rio.

Boeing Reports Positive Earnings and Record Backlog for 2007

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- During a year when American companies in the financial sector were sustaining billions of dollars in record losses, The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) had an increase in full-year net income of 84 percent to $4.1 billion, the company said in a statement.

The company’s fourth-quarter revenue grew to $17.5 billion that resulted in $1.36 in earnings per share, while the stock garnered $5.28 per share for 2007.

It also reported that its backlog reached a record $327 billion.

In addition, Boeing also took several steps during the fourth-quarter to shore up its share price: it repurchased 9.4 million shares for a price of $890 million; it also decreased consolidated debt by 5 percent.

“Our 2007 results demonstrate the kind of quality financial performance we can achieve through our simultaneous focus on growth and productivity,” said CEO/President/Chairman Jim McNerney in the statement.

UPDATE: Tiffany & Co’s Share Value Climbs During Two-Week Interim

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- As NewsVisual took a look back at some of the companies that we reported on a few weeks ago, we noted that Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) was performing well in the market.

And although it’s not our policy to project how a stock will perform in the future, NewsVisual did pose the following question in the article’s headline:  “Can Tiffany’s Directors Help the Company to Weather a Stormy Stock Market?”

Based upon the stock’s recent performance, the question’s answer appears to be an emphatic “Yes!”  Or, at least, that’s been the case so far.

Here are the article's specifics:

At the time that we reported on Tiffany on Jan 11, the company’s share price was at $34.93 in late morning trading (11:47am ET).  However, the share price reached $38.80 in after the bell trading on Jan 29 (4:17pm ET), proving that investors view the company as a resilient performer.

American Express Co’s Q4 2007 Earnings Decline Slightly from Year Ago

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Although American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) reported on Monday that its full-year 2007 earnings per share rose 16 percent, it also said that its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings fell 3 percent from $0.73 in Q4 2006 to $0.71.

The company’s Q4 2007 net income was down 10 percent from $922 million a year ago to $831 million.

Even so, the company’s 4Q earnings were in line with the new projections it issued in early January; and perhaps, given the fact that it was a surprise-free report, the markets greeted its Q4 results with a mild rebuke.

The company’s stock was trading down slightly from the previous close of $47.40 to $47.36 in noon trading (12:56pm ET).

For the full-year 2007, the company posted much healthier numbers:

Icahn Makes a Move on Biogen’s Board

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace)-- Biogen Idec Inc (NYSE: BIIB) may be facing a takeover if billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has anything to say about it.

Yesterday Icahn pushed for the appointment of three new directors and claimed that Biogen isn’t doing enough to promote a sale. Using his 4.2% stake in the company as leverage, the New York investor could be well on his way to controlling the board if his director nominations are successful, according to The Wall Street Journal. Icahn is convinced that Biogen is a hot takeover target for Big Pharma, though Biogen’s board isn’t so sure.

NewsVisual created and IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the Directors that may or may not choose to back Icahn’s nominees and his plans for a quick sale of the company.

Nearly every Director at Biogen is shown to currently hold significant leadership positions at other corporate entities, especially in health and science related sectors. Biogen President and CEO James C Mullen is a Director at PerkinElmer Inc, and fellow Director William Young has notable past and current board and senior executive ties to Theravance, Genetech and Monogram Biosciences, where he is the Chaiman/CEO. Marijin E Dekkers is the President and CEO of ThermoFisher Scientific and Lawrence C Best has senior leadership experience with Boston Scientific, Ernst & Young and Haemonetics.

McDonald’s Says it Will Continue to Offer Investors Good Value in 2008

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) --McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) announced on Monday that its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings chalked up its eighth consecutive quarter with positive results.

Specifically, the company’s Q4 consolidated operating income increased 22 percent, which resulted in earnings per share of $1.06; and currency conversion added approximately $0.04 per share, the company said in a statement.

The company also announced that it repurchased over $1.3 billion of its own stock.  Hence, for the full-year 2007, it returned $5.7 billion to shareholders through dividends paid and through its repurchase program.

"We remain committed to maintaining fiscal discipline and enhancing shareholder value,” said CEO Jim Skinner in the company’s statement.

Update: AT&T Stock Price Slightly Increases Despite iPhone Unlocking Rumors

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) --Despite reports that purchases of the iPhone were unlocking the device in order to use another carrier beside AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), the telecom giant’s share price remained unaffected by the negative buzz.

In fact, NewsVisual last covered AT&T on Jan 24, when the company’s share price was then at $36.33 in late morning trading (11:54am ET).  Since then, its share price has shown a modest increase on Jan 28 to $36.40 after the bell (6:20pm ET).

Apple Corp’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) makes the iPhone, and the company has made AT&T the exclusive service provider for the phone.  If consumers unlock the device, both companies would loose revenues.

The story was reported by MarketWatch on Monday (read the MarketWatch article by Rex Crum).

Update: IBM Continues its Upward Trend During Two-Week Period

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Since NewsVisual reported on IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) on Jan 14, the company’s share value continues to increase.

We reported that its stock was trading at $103.31 in the late morning (11:35am ET) of Jan 14.  On Monday Jan 8, IBM’s share price was at $105.00 after the bell (4:31pm ET).

The IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that NewsVisual created on Jan 14 shows that four of IBM’s current Directors also serve as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for other major corporations. 

They include the following: Director Kenneth I Chenault is the CEO/Chairman of the American Express Co; Director Michael L Eskew is the CEO/Chairman of United Parcel Service Inc; Director James W Owens is the CEO/Chairman of Caterpillar Inc; and Director Sidney Taurel is the CEO/Chairman of Eli Lilly & Co.

Bruce Johnson Becomes Sears Interim CEO as Aylwin Lewis Steps Down

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- In a continuing effort to realign performance strategies at struggling Sears Holdings Corp (NYSE: SHLD), financier Edward Lampert moved to replace company CEO Aylin Lewis with Executive Vice President W Bruce Johnson.

The executive change comes soon after an announcement by Sears of the company’s plans for reorganization. Facing lagging sales and customer service related complaints, the outlook for 2008 remains grim. Famed billionaire hedge-fund manager Lampert now looks to be aggressively working towards strategizing cost-cutting practices to help keep Sears above water.

NewsVisual created IntellectSpace Maps of both Lewis and Johnson’s connections in order to compare their past and present leadership experience. As illustrated here, Lewis clearly has the more impressive ties in the corporate world, having served as CEO/President of Kmart, a Senior Executive at YUM! Brands and Pepsico, and a Director with both Halliburton and The Walt Disney Company.

Still Leading Wireless Sector, Verizon Expects Strong Growth in All Areas in 2008

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- On Monday morning, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) reported that it “continued strong quarterly financial and operational results,” where its fourth-quarter 2007 revenues were up 5.5 percent to $23.5 billion.

While the company’s fourth-quarter 2007 earnings per share declined to $0.37 from $0.48 in Q4 2006, in adjusted terms its Q4 2007 earnings were up $0.62 from $0.52 in Q4 2006, the company explained in its statement.

The company’s earnings adjustments are based on costs relating to workforce reductions, taxes relating to its Vodafone Omnitel N.V. investment, merger integration costs, and costs relating to the spinoff of its wireline access lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Countrywide CEO Mozilo Gives up $37.5 Million Severance

(NewsVisual, powered by Intellectspace) -- Facing harsh criticism surrounding the credit crisis, Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) CEO Angelo R Mozilo has agreed to forgo $37.5 million in severance pay and other fees that would reaped as a result of the mortgage lender’s impending sale to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Losses, defaults and lawsuits have Countrywide struggling, though the company’s fall hasn’t stopped Mozilo from being ranked as one of the highest paid US executives. The dismal status of Countrywide has led many in the political realm, including US presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to publicly question Mozilo’s hefty salary.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map offers insight into Mozilo’s past and present, through his noteworthy roles as a corporate executive and his ties to non-corporate entities. In addition to the success he has reaped at Countrywide, which he founded in 1969 and has since built to become a major global enterprise, Mozilo was the President and Vice Chairman of Indymac Bancorp, and until recently he was a Director for Home Depot Inc.

The After the Bell Weekly Roundup: (NYSE: T), (NYSE: PFE), (NYSE: JNJ)

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) --The fears of recession and the White House’s stimulus package helped to create a rollercoaster performance on the world’s trading floors this week, from Hong Kong to South America to New York. 

Here’s a brief summary of a few of the companies we covered:

(NYSE: T): When we reported on Jan 24 in our article “AT&T, Allied with Apple, Vanquishes Rival Sprint in Battle for Wireless Marketshare”,the AT&T share price was $36.33 in late morning trading (11:54am ET), but it was down on Friday on to 35.26 after the bell (4:01 ET).

(NYSE: PFE): When we reported on Jan 23 in our article "Pfizer Weathers Setbacks and Posts Modest Revenue Growth for Q4 2007", the Pfizer share price was $22.36 in early noon exchanges (12:29pm ET), but it was up slightly on Friday to $22.61 after the bell (4:01 ET).

Caterpillar Issues Earthshaking Profit Projections for 2008

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Optimism abounded in the Friday morning financial statement of Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT), which projected phenomenal profits for this year in the range of five to 15 percent, the company said.

At the same time, the company reported record sales and revenues for the full-year 2007, with a four percent increase of profit from the previous year.

Caterpillar clearly believes its recent past of four straight years of record profits are a solid indicator of its future performance.

According to the company’s report of its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings, sales and revenues were up ten percent from the same period in 2006 to $12.144 billion, with an astounding 14 percent profit-per-share increase of $1.50.

The company attributed its excellent performance to its strong position in the global marketplace as an offset to softness in the U.S. economy.

Can E*Trade Make Good On Its Turnaround Plan After Q4 Losses?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace)—In an effort to return to positive earnings in 2008, E*Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ: ETFC) announced on Thursday the details of its “turnaround plan.”

After receiving a $2.55 billion cash infusion in November from Citadel Investment Group, E*Trade's strategy includes the disposal of certain non-core assets, cutting costs, and raising funds through capital markets transactions.

After reporting fourth-losses of over $1.7 billion, which far exceeded analyst expectations, the company is clearly desperate for a change. E*Trade acting CEO Jarrett Lillian said that he expects the turnaround plan to bring profitability back to the company by the second half of 2008.

Lillian will be under quite a bit of pressure to make good on his promises. NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the current Senior Executive and Board connections of the company’s Directors, who are likely also feeling the pressure to satisfy the shareholders in this time of crisis. Strong corporate leadership experience and industry connections will go far for E*Trade as it engages in its turnaround plan.

AT&T, Allied with Apple, Vanquishes Rival Sprint in Battle for Wireless Marketshare

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- As if to complete the symmetry of last week’s bad-news announcement from Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S), AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) issued its own good-news fourth-quarter earnings announcement on Thursday that made clear to investors that it is the winner against its rival in the competitive struggle for wireless-telecom marketshare

Specifically, it claimed a record 2.7 million new customers in the quarter, the company said in the statement.

While AT&T's reported fourth-quarter revenues totaled $30.3 billion, the company reported net income for the fourth quarter totaled $3.1 billion in 2007 compared with $1.9 billion in 2006, or $0.51 per diluted share compared to $0.50 per diluted share, respectively.

AT&T’s positive earnings statement reflected the uptick in new wireless subscribers, with a 16.3 percent increase in total wireless revenues.

Board Experience and Strategy Leads to Strong Fourth-Quarter Results for Xerox

Xerox Corp (NYSE: XRX) announced today very strong results from its fourth financial quarter with a net income rise of 79 percent, leading to promising performance for 2008 despite the current unstable condition of the US economy.

Earnings per share reached 41 cents, up from 22 cents the year before, which included a restructuring charge of 16 cents per share for an 8 percent per share earnings increase. Xerox Chairman/CEO Anne M Mulcahy said of the results, “Our growing annuity revenue and strong cash generation, along with our disciplined approach to controlling costs, result in consistent delivery of solid performance year after year.”

Also essential to consistent company growth is the backing of an experienced leadership team, backed by the corporate network to help spark new ideas, strategies and alliances.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to illustrate the current corporate connections of Xerox’s Board of Directors. The results suggest not only a high amount of corporate leadership experience but also links to multiple industries that could be valuable to the company’s future performance.

Nearly all of Xerox’s Directors are current Senior Executives or Board Members at other major corporate entities. Anne Mulcahy, Anne N Reese, Ursula M Burns and Vernon E Jordan are each Directors at notable companies within the financial services industry, including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Lazard and American Express.

Pfizer Weathers Setbacks and Posts Modest Revenue Growth for Q4 2007

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Despite having to endure certain setbacks, Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) experienced a four percent increase in revenues to $13.1 billion from the $12.6 billion of the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

The increase occurred despite the fact that the company lost revenues of $667 million from its drug Norvasc as a result of its losing its exclusive sales privileges.

The company’s report on its net income was a bit more complicated to explain:

Although its fourth-quarter 2007 net income declined by 70 percent to $2.9 billion from the same period last year when it was $9.4 billion, the reason for the dramatic decline was not attributable to a fall off in sales: the 2006 figures were higher because they reflect Pfizer’s one-time after-tax gain of $7.9 billion from the sale of its Consumer Healthcare Business to Johnson & Johnson.

ConocoPhillips Gets a Boost from Rising Oil Prices and Solid Network

A slowing economy and the crisis of the financial markets has sent Wall Street on edge, but the negative outlook hasn’t stopped ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) from experiencing a strong fourth-quarter.

The Houston oil company has been doing very well in the midst of rising energy prices, leading to an income growth of 37 percent. With a reported net income of $4.37 billion and $2.71 a share, up from last year’s $3.2 billion and $1.91 a share, ConocoPhillips anticipates another successful year.

In an effort to get to know the leadership team behind the success of ConocoPhillips, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the noteworthy past and current corporate connections of the company’s Board of Directors.

As illustrated in this Knowledge Map, the Directors of ConocoPhillips are tied as past and present board members and senior executives to a number of major public companies. William R Rhodes is the Senior Vice Chairman of Citigroup and Citibank’s Chairman and CEO, and Harold McGraw III is the President and Chairman/CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Johnson & Johnson Issues a Positive Q4 Statement, but Share Price Still Mauled by Bearish Market

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- On a Tuesday morning that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average vacillate frenetically between various low points, the health-care products company Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) issued a positive fourth-quarter 2007 earnings statement.

In particular, net earnings increased 9.5 percent to $2.4 billion and diluted earnings per share increased 10.8 percent to $0.82 compared to the fourth-quarter 2006, the company said in the statement.

In addition, it also reported record sales increase of 16.6 percent to $16.0 billion for the quarter. 

Specifically, domestic sales increased 9.1 percent and international sales increased 25.8 percent. 

In the latter case, however, the operational growth was 15.3 percent, but there was a currency impact of 10.5 percent.

“Despite challenges in certain markets, our broad base of businesses allowed us to achieve solid results in 2007, building on our foundation of long-term profitable growth,” said CEO/Chairman William C Weldon in the press release.

Can History With eBay CEO Whitman Help Donahoe Land The Top Spot?

Is eBay Inc (NYSE: EBAY) CEO Margaret C. "Meg" Whitman preparing to step down? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Whitman is preparing to retire from her position as Chief Executive, with final word of the decision to be announced within weeks.

During the past decade since joining eBay, she led the company through its 1998 IPO and saw annual revenue increase from $86 million that year to nearly $6 billion in 2007. Despite the company’s success, analysts and investors are concerned that the rate of revenue growth has slowed in recent years. In this case, new leadership may be a good option for sparking new ideas and subsequent growth.

Willis Eyes Marsh & McLennan With Corporate Connections

The rumor mill was in full force on Friday as buzz circulated that insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd (NYSE: WSH) had approached bigger rival Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) about a potential takeover.

Though a sale of Marsh & McLennan has been brought up before on Wall Street, analysts are hesitant to believe that Willis may seriously be interested in an acquisition, given that the company’s market cap is far less than that of its target (see article from Reuters). Aggressive strategy and a goal to be at the top of the industry, however, may have Willis attempting the impossible.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the common ties shared between Willis and Marsh & McLennan, in order to understand how their corporate network may motivate a deal.

Can the Business Experience of Sprint’s Directors Influence a Turnaround?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- While the markets were closed on Monday for the holiday, speculation began to mount that Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S) was on the verge of launching a price war against its competitors in an effort to win back its customers (see TheStreet.com’s article by Scott Moritz).

The depth of Sprint’s troubles became apparent on Friday when the company issued a statement that announced major layoffs of 4,000 positions and approximately 125 store closings in order to cut cost by $700-$800 million per year. 

The company deemed these harsh streamlining measures necessary because of its loss of approximately 885,000 subscribers, the company said in its January 18 press release.

Sprint has a limited amount of latitude in terms of how it attempts to reverse its downward trend.  Analysts see the cell phone market as an already mature market, where there are few opportunities for a carrier to acquire new subscribers of first-time cell phone users, since everyone already has a cell phone these days.

Market Slowdowns Are No Match for Johnson Controls as Company Reports Substantial Earnings

Despite the downturn of the economy and housing demands, Johnson Controls Inc (NYSE: JCI), the Milwaukee-based building systems and automotive parts maker, announced today that it had experienced record sales and income in the first fiscal quarter of 2008.

Earnings were up 39 percent, according to a press release issued by the company (see press release). Prior to the news, investors had been worried that the housing market slowdown would have a big negative impact on sales, though as evidence of the results, the company was fortunate to have been spared of the damage from the turbulent market environment. Johnson Controls relied on its building efficiency services to promote growth, as the demand for green building,