The Labor Department said that Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) owed employees $4.8 million in back wages for denying overtime payments to thousands of employees working as vision center managers and asset-protection coordinators.Though the monetary amount is pocket change for the company, it represents another embarrassing mishap at a firm whose public image is already blemished.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reported Q1 EPS of $0.45, topping estimates by $0.03.Revenues in the quarter came in at $14.88 billion, vs. estimates of $14.45 billion.The company said total Q1 customer adds were 565,000.The company also reported Q1 operating cash flow of $4.69 billion, vs. estimates of $4.68 billion.
It was a down day on Wall Street as the positive news from the Labor Department was overshadowed by a disappointing ISM non-manufacturing report. The Labor Department reported that 365,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 27,000, which marks the biggest decline in almost a year.
This morning, Goldman Sachs increased its price target on shares of Visa (V) to $142 as international expansion and strong consumer spending should continue to benefit the company. With the higher price target, Goldman raised its EPS estimates and reiterated its buy rating.
Time Warner reported its first quarter results before the bell this morning, posting an EPS of $0.67, above analyst estimates of $0.65. Revenues for the quarter rose 4% to $7 billion, also above consensus estimates of $6.81 billion.The company also announced in its release that it repurchased 24 million shares of its stock for almost $900 million through the first quarter per the plan authorized by the company’s board of directors back in January. Although earnings did beat estimates, the media company’s profits were down 11% from the prior quarter due to restructuring costs and other items.
Viacom (VIAB) reported strong earnings this morning of $585 million on $3.33 billion of revenue. As the company has been buying back its own stock, earnings per share climbed to $1.07 in the quarter, or 98 cents per share excluding special items.
The Verge reported that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will debut next week the Xbox 360, Kinect bundle for $99 with contract.The console package will include a monthly 2-year subscription, which will include early termination fee.Microsoft is positioning its console package to compete against Apple TV (NASDAQ:AAPL), Roku and Playstation 3 (NYSE:SNY). Microsoft is currently trading down $3.21 at $452.69.
According to reports, private equity firm Carlyle Group is planning on pricing its IPO in a range of $22 – $23.The company had previously given a range of $23 – $25.The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Carlyle was working to convince investors their case would be different from its competitors whose shares have struggled since having their IPO.The WSJ said that Carlyle was emphasizing the prospect for shares to rise over time rather than on pricing shares at a high when it launches its IPO.
Shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) are trading 0.3% higher after the company announced SAP (NYSE:SAP) chose it to host its Afaria mobile offering on the internet, which will provide its customers with a cheaper way of managing employees’ smartphones and tablet computers.
No good news when it comes to new jobs this morning. Automatic Data Processing Inc., or the ADP, reported private-employment gains in April of 119,000. This is the lowest result since September, a very grim outlook considering the average private sector growth comes in at 200,000 jobs in the month.These results usually provide an outlook to what the April jobs report from the Labor Department will be. Economists are expecting the Friday report to say U.S. nonfarm-payroll employment rose by 163,000 in April. That is compared to a 120,000 rise in March. Economists anticipate the unemployment rate to remain at 8.2%
