LargeCap Stocks to Watch Today

Tomahawk, WI 4/16/2012 -- Citigroup (C) reported lower first-quarter profit on Monday as the bank worked to contain expenses in the face of volatile capital markets and the need to finish overhauling its business portfolio after the financial crisis.

Mattel (MAT), the toy company, said Monday that first-quarter net income declined 53%.

Mattel posted profit of $7.8 million, or 2 cents a share, down from year-earlier earnings of $16.6 million, or 5 cents. Adjusted earnings in the latest quarter were 6 cents a share.

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed fining Google (GOOG) $25,000 for obstructing an investigation into the company's collection of data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in 2010, according to a published media report.

Meanwhile, Oracle's (ORCL) case against Google over smartphone technology begins Monday in San Francisco with jury selection.

Oracle claims that Google's Android operating system infringes patents and copyrights associated with the Java programming language, which Oracle obtained through its purchase of Sun Microsystems.

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Mattel (Nasdaq: MAT) 1Q net income falls, Barbie sales down

Palm Beach, FL 4/16/12 (StreetBeat) -- Mattel's (Nasdaq: MAT) first-quarter profit dropped 53 percent, pulled down by costs tied to an acquisition and lower sales for Barbie and Hot Wheels.

The largest U.S. toy maker reported on Monday that its net income fell to $7.8 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31. That's down from $16.6 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding costs related to the $680 million HIT Entertainment acquisition, adjusted earnings were 6 cents per share. That was a penny below what analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

HIT Entertainment is the company behind Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder. Mattel announced the deal in October.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $928.4 million from $951.9 million a year ago as the currency exchange rate dragged on the El Segundo, Calif., company. Analysts expected revenue of $986 million.

Mattel's stock dipped 1 cent to $34.12 in premarket trading.

Worldwide gross sales for Barbie slipped 6 percent in the quarter, while sales of other girls brands — which includes Monster High — rose 22 percent. The Wheels segment — which includes Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco R/C — reported a 6 percent sales decline. Sales for the entertainment unit — which includes Radica and games — fell 17 percent mostly because of declines in the Cars property. Fisher Price sales were essentially flat at $310.2 million, while sales of American Girl climbed 4 percent on strong sales of the 2012 Girls of the Year, McKenna. The Fisher Price division makes pre-school toys such as Power Wheels

"As is often the case this time of year, we have work to do in certain areas across our portfolio of brands, countries and customers as we prepare to successfully execute the all-important holiday season," CEO Bryan Stockton said in a statement.

Mattel Inc. declared a second-quarter dividend of 31 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on June 15 to shareholders of record on May 23.

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Some LargeCap Stocks to Keep an Eye on Today

Time Warner, the media giant, said fourth-quarter net income rose 22% to $769 million, or 68 cents a share, from $631 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings in the quarter were 67 cents a share. Revenue rose about 8% to $7.81 billion from $7.21 billion. The Wall Street consensus called for earnings of 62 cents a share on revenue of $7.48 billion. The stock was up 3.5% to $33.45.

Hershey Foods said fourth-quarter net income increased about 7% to $135.5 million, or 59 cents a share, from $126.8 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings were 61 cents a share. Net sales increased about 5% to $1.48 billion from $1.41 billion the year before. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 61 cents a share on revenue of $1.48 billion. Shares of the company were unchanged at $47.14 in premarket trading Wednesday.

Mattel said fourth-quarter net income fell about 1% to $325.2 million, or 89 cents a share, from $328.4 million, or 89 cents, a year earlier. Net sales rose 9% to $2.12 billion from $1.96 billion. Analysts, on average, expected Mattel to report earnings of 86 cents a share on revenue of $2.09 billion. Mattel shares rose 1.5% to $24.50 in early trading.

Whirlpool, the appliance maker, said fourth-quarter earnings jumped 80% despite a dip in sales in North America. Whirlpool shares fell 4.5% to $81.61 in premarket trading Wednesday.

Borders Group could file for bankruptcy protection as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg. Shares of Borders were falling 14.9% to 40 cents in premarket trading Wednesday.

NaviSite agreed to be acquired by Time Warner Cable for $230 million. NaviSite shares surged 32.5% to $5.47 in premarket trading Wednesday. Time Warner cable finished the previous trading session at $68.73, up 1.3%.

GlaxoSmithKline said Wednesday it sold its entire stake in Quest Diagnostics for $1.7 billion. Quest Diagnostics was flat at $56.95 in premarket trading. GlaxoSmithKline was down 1% to $37 early Wednesday.

Yum! Brands is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the markets close Wednesday. The company is expected to have a difficult conference call because of the recent Taco Bell lawsuit claiming its taco beef is only 35% beef and the rest is fillers. Yum! stock was up 0.9% to $47.83 in premarket trading.

Visa reports its quarterly results after the closing bell. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for a profit of $1.21 a share on revenue of $2.23 billion in the December period. The credit card issuer has beat Wall Street's profit expectations in the past eight quarters. The stock was up 0.4% to $71 in premarket trading.

Amazon is working towards a film streaming service that would put it in direct competition with Netflix, according to the Financial Times. Shares of Amazon were down 0.2% to $171.80 during premarket trading, while Netflix fell 1.3% to $210.20.

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