Bank of Nova Scotia (DOG)
BNS - TSX
Dear Scotiabank Shareholders: It is with a great deal of shame and sadness that we reflect on our earnings of just $2.59-billion or $2.10 a share for the fiscal third quarter. As you are aware, this was an egregious three cents lower than analysts had expected, and investors were swift to punish our share price – a beating richly deserved for letting them down in such inexcusable fashion. The depth of our embarrassment is such that executives will not be showing our faces at the usual high-end dining establishments for the foreseeable future as we engage in a company-wide soul-searching exercise. Please, we beg your forgiveness.
Farmers Edge (DOG)
FDGE - TSX
Farmers Edge provides digital tools such as satellite imagery and weather data to help farmers grow food more efficiently. Unfortunately, the stock looks like it was attacked by a plague of locusts. Hurt by a string of weak results, including a second-quarter loss of $23.5-million, the agriculture technology company’s shares have tumbled more than 90 per cent since it went public in 2021. “We remain concerned about the long-term viability of the company, but we could see a scenario where [controlling shareholder] Fairfax takes the company private,” CIBC analyst Jacob Bout said in a note. Investors are hitting the food bank.
Zoom Video Communications (DOG)
ZM - Nasdaq
Things nobody misses about the pandemic: 1) toilet paper shortages; 2) mask fights; 3) endless Zoom meetings. Well, Zoom investors might disagree. The formerly high-flying shares of the video conferencing company sank to their lowest since January, 2020, as investors reacted to Zoom’s disappointing second-quarter results and reduced full-year revenue guidance. With offices reopening and competition from Microsoft Teams intensifying, Zoom said it expects online sales to consumers and small businesses to fall by 7 per cent to 8 per cent this year, even as enterprise sales rise. There’s much doom and gloom in Zoom land.
Cameco (STAR)
CCO - TSX
Fukushima, meet Fumio Kishida. More than a decade after the Fukushima accident in Japan prompted the country to dramatically scale back nuclear power, Japan’s Prime Minister said the nation plans to restart idled nuclear plants and is exploring next-generation reactors to battle soaring energy costs and climate change. With other countries, including Germany and Belgium, also reassessing plans to reduce or phase out nuclear power, shares of uranium producers such as Cameco jumped this week on expectations of growing demand for the reactor fuel. Apparently, investors who missed out are having a meltdown.
Nordstrom (DOG)
JWN - NYSE
So bricks-and-mortar stores are thriving again? I guess Nordstrom didn’t get the memo. Shares of the luxury department store retailer sank after the company trimmed its full-year sales and earnings outlooks, citing a slowdown at its off-price Rack business that caters to less affluent consumers. Now that Nordstrom is marking down merchandise at Rack to clear excess inventory, the company expects a US$200-million hit to gross profit in the second quarter. With analysts slashing their price targets on the stock, the shares have been priced to clear.
Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.
John Heinzl