WD-40 Company (WDFC) announced its first quarter earnings on Monday, January 9. The company reported decreased sales for the quarter.

The company's net sales for the first quarter totaled $124.9 million. This was down 7% from sales of $134.7 million during the same quarter last year and below the $140.7 million in revenue that analysts expected.

"Though sales volumes were soft in some regions due to disruptions in the market linked to the pricing actions we recently executed, underlying volumes remain in line with our expectations," said WD-40 Company CEO, Steve Brass. "We shared with investors last quarter that we expected much of our topline growth in fiscal year 2023 would be weighted toward the second half of the fiscal year. We expect volume performance to improve in the second half of the fiscal year as price-related disruptions abate, and accordingly, today we are reiterating our guidance for the full fiscal year."

WD-40 reported net income of $14.0 million or $1.02 per adjusted share for the quarter. This is a 25% decrease from earnings during the same quarter last year of $18.6 million or $1.34 per adjusted share.

WD-40's Americas segment net sales increased by 3% reaching $58.0 million for the quarter. This increase was attributed to higher sales of maintenance products in the U.S. The Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India segment reported a decrease of sales of 29% year-over-year for $40.8 million. Sales in the Asia-Pacific segment rose by 25% due to an increase in sales of maintenance products in the Asia-Pacific distributor markets and China. WD-40 Company's board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share payable on January 31, 2023 to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 13, 2023.

WD-40 Company (WDFC) shares ended the week at $174.64, up 8% for the week.

Albertsons Posts Quarterly Earnings

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) posted its third quarter earnings report on Tuesday, January 10. The grocery chain topped analyst expectations causing shares to rise by almost 3% following the earnings release.

The company reported third quarter net sales of $18.2 billion. This is up 9.0% from $16.7 billion reported in the same quarter last year and exceeded analysts' estimates of $17.6 billion.

"Our investments in digital transformation, differentiation in Own Brands and Fresh offerings, and the modernization of our operational capabilities contributed to these results," said Albertsons' CEO, Vivek Sankaran. "As we look ahead to the balance of the year and into fiscal 2023, we believe that all of these initiatives position us well to continue to drive top-line growth and deepen our customer and community engagement both online and in-store. At the same time, our ongoing productivity engine is expected to continue to support our investments and partially offset anticipated inflationary cost increases, declines in COVID-19 vaccination and at-home test kit revenue, and macro-consumer headwinds."

The company reported net income of $375.5 million or $0.20 per adjusted share. This was an increase from the same quarter last year when Albertsons reported net income of $424.5 million or $0.74 per adjusted share.

Albertsons' increase in net sales was driven by the company's 7.9% increase in identical sales and higher fuel sales, primarily due to retail price inflation. During the quarter, digital sales grew by 33% and the number of loyalty members increased 16% to 33 million members. The company announced a regular cash dividend of $0.12 per share payable on February 10, 2023 to stockholders of record on January 26, 2023. In October, Albertsons announced a $4 billion plan to distribute a special dividend of $6.85 per share to stockholders of record on October 24, 2022 which is currently being contested in state court proceedings.

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) shares ended the week at $21.34, up 2% for the week.

Bed Bath & Beyond's Third Quarter Results

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) announced quarterly earnings on Tuesday, January 10. The home goods retailer's stock surged more than 27% following release of the report as the company teeters on the verge of bankruptcy.

Revenue for the third quarter reached $1.26 billion. This was down 33% from $1.88 billion reported during the same quarter last year and below the $1.31 billion in revenue that analysts expected.

"At the beginning of the third quarter, we initiated a turnaround plan anchored on serving our loyal customers, following a period when our merchandise and strategy had veered away from their preferences," said Bed Bath & Beyond CEO, Sue Gove. "Although we moved quickly and effectively to change the assortment and other merchandising and marketing strategies, inventory was constrained and we did not achieve our goals."

Bed Bath & Beyond reported a quarterly net loss of $393 million or $4.33 per adjusted share. During the same quarter last year, the company had a net loss of $276 million or $2.78 per adjusted share.

Comparable in-store sales and digital sales declined 31% and 33%, respectively. The buybuy BABY segment posted a low-twenties percentage drop in comparable sales for the quarter. The company's loyalty program, Welcome Rewards, gained more than 6 million members since the end of the second quarter, reaching 16 million members since it launched. The company reported negative cash flow of $307.6 million and plans to close 150 stores by the end of the fiscal year 2022 to decrease expenses.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares ended the week at $3.66, up 135%.

The Dow started the week of 1/9 at 33,664 and closed at 34,303 on 1/13. The S&P 500 started the week at 3,911 and closed at 3,999. The NASDAQ started the week at 10,662 and closed at 11,079.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries edged up earlier in the week following the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials. Yields declined later in the week as markets reacted to the latest inflation and unemployment numbers.

On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the cost of dozens of everyday consumer goods, shrank 0.1% in December. This was in line with economists' expectations. CPI reached 6.5% year-over-year, the smallest 12-month increase since October 2021.

"Inflation is quickly moderating," said Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, Mark Zandi. "Obviously, it's still painfully high, but it's quickly moving in the right direction. I see nothing but good news in the report except for the top-line number: 6.5% is way too high."

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of January 9 at 3.56% and traded as high as 3.64% on Tuesday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 3.69% and traded as high as 3.77% on Tuesday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased 1,000 to 205,000 for the week ending January 7. Continuing unemployment claims decreased 63,000, reaching 1.6 million.

"Initial claims data are still noisier than usual because of seasonal adjustment around year-end, but the low level of new claims is a reminder that employers overall still aren't laying off large numbers of workers," said lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, Nancy Vanden Houten. "Continued claims have come off their recent high, although seasonal factors may have been a factor in the latest week's sharp decline."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 1/13 at 3.51%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 3.62%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, January 12. Mortgage rates continue to decline.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.33%, down from last week's average of 6.48%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.45%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.52% this week, down from 5.73% last week. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.62%.

"While mortgage rates have resumed their decline, the market remains hypersensitive to rate movements, with purchase demand experiencing large swings relative to small changes in rates," said Freddie Mac's Chief Economist, Sam Khater. "Over the last few weeks latent demand has been on display with buyers jumping in and out of the market as rates move."

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.30% as of 12/19. The one-year CD averaged 1.07%.

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