Shop Talk

Check out the latest raft of earnings and outlooks kicking off the holiday-shortened week in the consumer world.

Kraft Foods, which makes Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese, posted quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations, but said its recent acquisition of British chocolatier Cadbury would accelerate long-term growth.

Abercrombie & Fitch posted a lower profit as the retailer of casual yet trendy clothes for teens and college-age youth grappled with a prolonged U.S. sales slump.

Fossil, which sells watches, jewelry, leather goods, sunglasses and apparel, posted a better-than-expected profit and offered a full-year outlook above analysts’ expectations.

Darden Restaurants, owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, raised its profit outlook for the year, citing improving consumer traffic.

“The signs of sales and traffic improvement we began to see late in the second quarter and discussed during our December conference call with investors continued into January and February,” Chief Executive Officer Clarence Otis said in a statement.

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(Photo: Reuters)