Check out Estee Lauder’s profit coming in well ahead of raised expectations.

Sure, we should have expected that.  After all, the cosmetics maker said two weeks ago that its fiscal first-quarter profit would be “significantly higher than previous guidance” due to a variety of factors.

Apparently Estee Lauder management, including CEO Fabrizio Freda, has a different understanding of “significantly” than Wall Street.

The company’s old forecast was 23 to 30 cents per share.  So, after the brighter tone came on Oct. 16, analysts’ average forecast ticked up from 25 cents to 34 cents, based on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.

How did Estee Lauder do?  Try 85 cents.  That’s what the company posted on Friday.

Also in the basket:

Simon Property Group third-quarter FFO rises

Horror video games scare up record sales

Walmart.com glitch keeps shoppers from checking out

Drop the Halloween Mask! You Might Scare Somebody (NY Times)

(Reuters photo)

Check out this morning’s lineup of quarterly results.

Hershey said price increases helped offset rising cocoa costs, but was silent on the biggest news in the chocolate world — will Cadbury be acquired?

Meanwhile, cigarette makers Philip Morris International and Reynolds American topped expectations and raised their full-year forecasts.

Who else did the same thing?  Kimberly-Clark.  It wasn’t sales of Kleenex tissues that drove its better than expected results.  The company got a boost from sales of face masks as H1N1 takes hold.

Hungry for more?  How about results from McDonald’s?  The fast food giant said sales rose in all regions, and it expects sales at existing locations to remain positive in October.

Still craving earnings?  Stay tuned this afternoon, when we’ll hear from Chipotle, Cheesecake Factory and Amazon.com.

Also in the basket:

Bunge posts lower profit, cuts outlook

Time to trim Fido’s “eco pawprint”, authors say

More Americans plan to delay retirement, surveys show

Procter & Gamble said to consider Sara Lee brands (Bloomberg)

Check out cost cuts at Tiffany.
 
it is (was?) a recession and people aren’t buying as much expensive jewelry. Sales at Tiffany fell 16 percent in the latest quarter.
 
But even though profit also fell almost 30 percent, Tiffany shares still rose.
 
Cost cuts helped Tiffany beat analyst expectations. The company said SG&A expenses fell 14 percent. It’s also slowing its pace of store openings because of the recession.
 
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s?” Right now, it might be an Egg McMuffin and coffee from the deli on the corner.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Consumer spending lifted by “cash-for-clunkers”
 
L’Oreal H1 beats forecasts, ready to make purchase

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out the Retail Metrics earnings snapshot.

About two-thirds of the way through the second-quarter earnings season, retailers are beating earnings expectations by 5.1 percent on average, the research firm said.

But those were pretty low expectations and earnings are still down 6.4 percent compared with a year earlier. It is even worse when Wal-Mart is excluded. Then earnings are down 9.8 percent, Retail Metrics said.

Revenue is also down 2 percent.

With 83 retailers reporting, 41 percent had year-over-year earnings gains and 57 percent had declines.

Auto parts, drug and apparel retailers were among the groups seeing earnings gains, while teen apparel, department stores and home building supply stores were among the worst performers, Retail Metrics said.

Also in the basket:

Chico’s profit rises,  meets street view

Staples profit falls; says won’t give outlook

Burger King profit rises

Borders posts wider-than-expected loss

(Reuters photo)

Check out the lack of interest in pens and purses.
 
Retailers as varied as Coach and Office Depot reported lower quarterly sales, continuing to show that despite some forecasts that the recession may be at an end, consumers are cutting back on just about everything.
 
Coach sales fell 1 percent and profit, excluding one-time items, dropped 21 percent.
 
Sales at Office Depot fell 22 percent and the company posted a wider than expected loss, sending its shares down 14 percent.
 
Oh, and it isn’t just office supplies and fancy bags consumers are cutting back on.
 
Grocery chain operator Supervalu reported a 4.5 percent drop in quarterly sales as it cut prices to try to keep consumers from going to stores like Walmart.
 
Economists are looking for “green shoots” everywhere these days, but the consumer still doesn’t seem to be buying it … or anything.
 
Also in the basket:
 
CIT courts creditors, plans large debt exchange
 
Under Armour posts surprise second-quarter profit
 
PepsiAmericas Q2 profit beats estimates, ups FY outlook
 
Italian group makes offer for Christian Lacroix (N.Y. Times)
 
(Reuters photo)

Check out the better-than-expected profits at Alberto Culver, Lorillard and RadioShack.

Alberto Culver, the maker of VO5 shampoo and Mrs. Dash seasoning, said its third-quarter profit, excluding one-time items was 30 cents a share, a penny above what analysts had expected, thanks to strong demand for its TRESemme shampoo.

Cigarette maker Lorillard earned $1.71 a share in its second quarter, easily topping the $1.43 Wall Street was expecting, as it boosted prices and its market-share. It also OK’ed a new $750 million stock-buyback plan.

Electronics retailer RadioShack’s second-quarter profit was 39 cents a share — 10 cents above forecasts — on lower costs and improved sales of netbooks, prepaid wireless handsets and digital TVs.

Nielsen said global consumer confidence remains subdued but has risen slightly since March, notably in Asia and Brazil, on the belief an economic recovery may be in sight, according to a survey by the firm. However, U.S. consumer sentiment was unchanged with those consumers ranking only 17th most confident among 28 markets surveyed.

Also in the basket:

THQ prevails in Jakks Pacific arbitration dispute

Wave of Store Closures Expected (WWD, subscription required)

(Reuters photo)

Check out the latest sales reports, which show that consumers are still cutting back on discretionary spending as they shift to discounters for the basics.  Granted, that’s not exactly news anymore, but some of this morning’s sales tell us that even the discounters are starting to feel the heat.

“Sales for the month of May were somewhat below our expectations,” chief executive officer of Target, Greg Steinhafel, said in a statement.

He’s not alone.

Big boxers such as Target and BJ’s Wholesale reported steeper than expected drops in same-store sales, suggesting that the recession may have depended further than the luxury market.

Speaking of which, upscale department stores, such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, saw sales slip while Macy’s fared slightly better than analysts had expected.  Abercrombie & Fitch, known for their strong hold on the younger markets saw same-store sales slide 28 percent, worse than the decline analysts had expected.  And teen/tween sensation Hot Topic, saw same-store sales fall 6.4 percent which were, again, steeper than analysts had predicted.

There were some bright spots, though: if you ignore gasoline sales, Costco Wholesale saw same-store sales rise one percent, and BJ’s Wholesale rose 4 percent.  And for apparel, Buckle Inc’s more casual teen market shopped the company’s same-store sales up 13.4 percent.

Even TJX, owner of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s among others, saw higher customer traffic translate into company gains even in the face of fluctuating international exchange rates.

With all of that in mind, it’s important to note that Wal-Mart ceased to report monthly sales as of April, giving some investors headaches, and others a chance to focus on smaller company’s sales data.

Also in the basket:

Signet profit up; Harry Winston beats view

L’Oreal sees 2009 market flat to slightly growing

(Reuters photo)

Check out sales of Spam staying strong in the recession, as consumers eat more meals at home rather than going to restaurants. 

Hormel Foods, maker of the iconic canned ham, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and sprinkled a bit more optimism on its full-year forecast.

Spam said it expects its full-year profit to be near the upper end of its previously announced range of $2.15 to $2.25 per share. In the second quarter, which ended April 26, the company earned 59 cents per share, topping analysts’ average estimate of 50 cents.

But the company did say it had some issues with exports, since the H1N1 flu virus prompted some countries to ban imports of U.S. pork products.

Also in the basket:

Barnes & Noble results beat view; outlook raised

Ross Stores Q1 profit rises; Q2 view tops market

Workers at Obama suit maker pin hopes on new offer (Forbes)

Giorgio Armani recovering from illness (WWD) — subscription required

(Reuters photo)

Check out Target maintaining retail margins.
 
That counts as a win in retail these days. The discounter was able to better manage markups and markdowns than last year, helping it keep gross margin steady, even though consumers are spending more on less profitable staples and less on discretionary items.
 
The company soundly beat analysts earnings estimates for the quarter. But profit still fell 13.3 percent in the quarter, not necessarily a good thing when you are in a proxy fight with an activist investor.
 
The story from Target was the same as the story from most retailers during this recession. Sales are sluggish or falling, they are controlling inventories and trying to rein in expenses.
 
AnnTaylor had the same story and reported a smaller-than-expected loss.
 
But it’s outlook was also cautious as the recession keeps women from buying work clothes and luxury apparel.
 
The question is, if consumers keep on the sidelines, how much more cost cutting can retailers do to limited the bleeding.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Tween brands posts narrower-than-expected Q1 loss
 
BJ’s Wholesale profit tops view; forecast raised
 
Sodas a tempting tax target (N.Y. Times)

(Reuters photo)

Check Out better-than-expected quarterly results from Home Depot and Saks, as retailers across the spectrum succeed in cutting costs. 

Home Depot, the top specialty home improvement retailer, said its quarterly profit was 35 cents per share in the first quarter, excluding items, topping Wall Street estimates for profit of 28 cents.

Aggressive cost cuts - such as closing its Expo Design Center chain and laying off about 7,000 workers - helped offset a 9.7 percent decline in sales.

The same phenomenon occurred at high-end retailer Saks, whose 3 cent-per-share loss, excluding items, blew away analysts’ average expectation for a loss of 26 cents per share.

Saks shares jumped nearly 13 percent in premarket trade, while Home Depot shares slumped 1.7 percent as the results, while still better than expectations, were not as good as those from rival Lowe’s, which reported better-than-expected profit on Monday due to strong sales of outdoor goods.

Saks raised its target for cost cuts, even as it expects sales to decline throughout the rest of the year.

Also in the basket:

American Apparel posts Q1 loss; may restate results

Dick’s Sporting Q1 beats Street

TIMELINE-Marks & Spencer’s profit decline

(Photo: Reuters)