Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc., Tennessee’s second biggest bank headquartered within the state, boosted its third quarter profits by nearly 46 percent over a year ago and exceeded earnings projections for the summer quarter.
The Nashville-based bank, which acquired the former CapitalMark Bank in Chattanooga in 2015, said Tuesday it earned $93.7 million in the third quarter, or $1.21 per share, up from 83 cents per share a year earlier.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.20 per share.
The regional bank operator posted revenue of $299.6 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $240.9 million, which also beat Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $236.7 million.
“We continue to experience extremely strong earnings momentum,” said M. Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and chief executive officer. “We are reporting nearly 35 percent earnings growth so far this year (in the first nine months of 2018) after adjusting for merger-related charges, which showcases our associates’ ability to integrate a sizable merger while maintaining our intense focus on growing the core earnings of our firm. There is great energy and optimism within our associate base, and I anticipate this will contribute to continued growth given the markets we serve.”
Despite such gains, Pinnacle Financial shares have dropped 17 percent since the beginning of the year.
CSX nearly doubles third quarter profits
CSX Corp. hauled in nearly double the profits it reported in last year’s third quarter when the railroad was struggling with service problems as it implemented its new operating model.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based company said Tuesday it earned $894 million, or $1.05 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from $459 million, or 51 cents per share, last year.
CSX CEO Jim Foote says the results show the railroad is continuing to become more efficient. Since early last year, CSX has been reforming its operations to handle more volume with fewer locomotives and employees by running trains on a tighter schedule.
The Wall Street analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected earnings of 94 cents per share.
The railroad’s revenue grew 14 percent to $3.13 billion in the quarter. That also topped the $3.04 billion that the analysts surveyed by Zacks expected.
CSX said its third-quarter expenses declined 2 percent to $1.84 billion even though fuel prices were higher and the railroad delivered 4 percent more carloads of freight.
Edward Jones analyst Dan Sherman said CSX is doing an excellent job of using its assets more efficiently. For instance, the railroad handled more freight this quarter with fewer workers.
Foote said CSX now expects revenue for the full year to be up by 6 percent to 8 percent because of its strong results. Previously, the railroad had predicted revenue would grow by a mid-single-digit rate.
CSX operates more than 21,000 miles of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces.
Walmart cuts outlook after buying Flipkart
Walmart trimmed its profit outlook citing this year’s $16 billion acquisition of the Indian online retailer Flipkart, its biggest deal ever.
The company also said on Tuesday that U.S. online sales growth would slow to 35 percent, from last quarter’s 40 percent growth.
Since buying Jet.com for more than $3 billion two years ago, Walmart has been bulking up online, buying companies such as Bonobos and ModCloth. It’s also tried to speed up deliveries while expanding same-day grocery delivery.
The company says its online grocery pickup service is attracting new customers and shoppers are adding more items to their cart because of it.
Walmart also announced a partnership with Advance Auto Parts, which will create an automotive specialty store on Walmart.com. The online store is expected to be rolled out in the first half of next year. In a joint release, the companies said they plan to work together to explore such services as home delivery and same-day pickup in a Walmart or Advance store. The Roanoke, Virginia-based Advance Auto Parts operates nearly 6,400 stores.
Walmart Inc. now expects 2019 adjusted earnings of between $4.65 and $4.80 per share, down from $4.90 to $5.05.
Johnson & Johnson earnings up more than forecast
A jump in prescription drug sales and a sharply reduced tax bill boosted Johnson & Johnson’s third-quarter sales and profit, which beat Wall Street expectations.
The world’s biggest maker of health care products on Tuesday also slightly raised its profit forecast for the year.
The maker of baby products, biotech drugs and medical devices reported net income of $3.93 billion, or $1.44 per share, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier.
Earnings, excluding $1.7 billion in one-time gains and costs, came to $2.05 per share, or 2 cents better than analysts expected.
Revenue was $20.35 billion, up 3.6 percent, which also exceeded analyst forecasts for $19.91 billion.
J&J’s prescription drug business posted sales of $10.35 billion, up 6.7 percent, mainly due to higher sales of its cancer drugs, including Darzalex, Imbruvica and Zytiga.
During the quarter, Imbruvica won U.S. regulatory approval for a new use, treating a rare cancer called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, and the Food and Drug Administration also approved a three-drug combination pill for treating HIV, Symtuza. Sales of consumer health products such as Tylenol and Band-Aids edged up 1.8 percent to $3.42 billion.
The medical devices and diagnostics business, which is being restructured, reported a 0.2 percent sales dip to $6.59 billion. Sales were driven by Acuvue contact lenses, surgical implements and wound-closure products.