10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Shake Shack crushed earnings. The burger chain announced adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, outpacing the $0.03 loss that was anticipated. Revenues surged 56.3% to $37.8 million, easily topping the $33.96 million Wall Street was expecting. The closely followed Same-Shack Sales metric jumped 11.7% for the first quarter, and the company announced it expects full-year revenues of $161-$165 million with same-store sales growth in the low- to mid-single digits.
John Chambers left Cisco with a bang. The departing CEO led Cisco Systems to a top and bottom line beat in his final quarter. Cisco announced revenues rose 5.1% to $12.1 billion, slightly outpacing the $12.07 billion that was expected. On the bottom line, the company earned an adjusted $0.54 per share, topping the Wall Street estimate of $0.53. Chambers will become executive chairman in July after spending the last 20 years as CEO.
J.C. Penney posted a mixed quarter. The retailer lost $0.55 per share, easily beating the $0.77 loss that was anticipated. Revenues edged up 2.0% to 2.857 billion, which was just shy of the $2.86 billion analysts were expecting. The company raised the lower end of its same-store sales forecast to an increase of 4% to 5%, up from its previous guidance of 3% to 5%.
India's wholesale prices fell for a sixth straight month. India's Wholesale Price Index fell 2.65% year-over-year, which was faster than the 2.2% YoY drop that was expected. The number was largely impacted by the 13% drop in oil prices versus a year ago. The rate of food price growth slowed to up 5.73% YoY from the 6.31% rise in March. India's rupee is up 0.5% at 63.7012 per dollar.
The Philippines' central bank kept policy unchanged. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas held its benchmark interest rate at 4.00%, as expected. The central bank upped its inflation forecast for 2015 to 2.3% as a result of the weaker peso and unseasonal weather. The Phillipines' peso strengthened 0.2% to 44.591 per dollar.
Saudi Arabia says its plan to hurt US shale is working. Saudi Arabia's production hit a record high 10.3 million barrels per day in April. A Saudi official told FT, "There is no doubt about it, the price fall of the last several months has deterred investors away from expensive oil including US shale, deep offshore and heavy oils." West Texas Intermediate crude oil is trading higher by 0.2% at $60.62 per barrel.
Wal-Mart is testing an unlimited shipping service. The world's largest retailer is testing an unlimited shipping service that will compete with Amazon Prime. The service will cost $50 per a year, and deliver items purchased on-line in three days or less.
Sharp is in a fight for its survival. The electronics maker will announce a $1.68 billion loss for its fiscal year, and thousands of layoffs, as it struggles to survive. Japanese Newspaper Nikkei suggests as much as 10% of Sharp's labor force could be out of work.
Global stock markets are mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei (-1.0%) led the way lower in Asia while France's CAC (-0.1%) slips in European trade. S&P 500 futures are up 9.25 points at 2103.75.
US economic data flows. Initial and continuing claims and PPI will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. while natural gas inventories are scheduled to cross the wires at 10:30 a.m. ET. US Treasury will auction $16 billion 30-year bonds at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 4 basis points at 2.25%.