About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2018)
CE BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Friday, October 26, 2018 Doing more with less RICHARD DREW I Associated Press The logo for Twitter is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Twitter user numbers fall but profit soars BY BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press NEW YORK — Twitter is doing more with less, at least when it comes to making money from a declining user base. The company is purging and block ing the creation of malicious accounts and spam, including those set up to try to influence U.S. and other elections. Twitter averaged 326 million monthly users in the third quarter, 2 percent fewer than the previous quarter. It was Twitter’s first quarter-to-quarter decline since it lost 1 million in the second quarter of 2017. But video advertising is strong, accounting for more than half of total ad sales in the quarter. Twitter said it saw solid revenue across nearly all geographic locations and types of ads. The San Francisco company’s stock is surging as investors are for giving the huge drop in subscribers and focusing instead on stronger- than-expected profit and revenue. In the past, investors paid more atten tion to user growth than ad revenue, but the company’s stated focus on the “health” of its service appears to have helped. CEO Jack Dorsey opened a conference call with ana lysts by saying the company was purg ing “spammy accounts.” “I think they did a great job explaining it, and it was smart to lead off the call by addressing the decline directly,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. In addition, Dorsey said that Twit ter’s daily usage declined among users who access the service only through the web. Pachter noted that it is “pretty clear” that bots use the web access and aren’t tweeting from smartphones. Twitter and other social-media com panies are under intense pressure to rid their services of trolls and malicious accounts ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. In Feb ruary, 13 Russians, including a busi nessman close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, were charged by U.S. special counsel Robert Muel ler in a plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections through social-media propaganda. Twitter and others have since faced congres sional questioning and have been trying to combat fake accounts, even as those behind them have gotten more sophisticated at skirting the blocking efforts. With its latest quarterly report, Twitter is proving that it can make more money even with fewer users. That makes sense if the decline is due to ridding its service of malicious bots that, at least for now, aren’t known for clicking on ads or buying shoes because they saw some advertised online. Even before Twit ter took an aggres sive stance on fake accounts, it had been struggling with user growth. Twitter is very well known, thanks largely to President Donald Trump’s headline making tweets nearly every day. But this has not translated to noticeable user growth for the company. Dorsey said Twitter has a “differ ent dynamic than a typical social net work,” though he didn’t name larger rivals such as Facebook or Instagram. He said people visit Twitter because they are interested in an event or topic such as sports — and the faster Twitter can show this to them, the better. Twitter is proving that it can make more money even with fewer users. That makes sense if the decline is due to ridding its service of malicious bots. SUSAN WALSH I Associated Press President Donald Trump talks about drug prices during a visit to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 25. Trump says new proposal will lower drug prices BY RICARDO AL0NS0-ZALDIVAR AND DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press WASHINGTON - Less than two weeks before the midterm elections, Presi dent Donald Trump on Thursday announced a plan that he said would stop unfair practices that force Americans to pay higher prices for prescriptions than people do for the same drugs in other countries. “We are taking aim at the global freeloading that forces American consum ers to subsidize lower prices in foreign countries through higher prices in our coun try,” Trump said during a brief speech at the Depart ment of Health and Human Services. “Same company. Same box. Same pill. Made in the exact same location, and you would go to some countries and it would be 20 percent of the cost of what we pay,” said Trump, who predicted the plan will save Americans billions of dol lars in drug costs. “We’re fixing it.” Trump has long promised sweeping action to attack drug prices, both as presi dent and when he was run ning for the White House. He made his announcement just ahead of the Nov. 6 elec tions. Health care is high among voters’ concerns. Under a proposal announced by the Depart ment of Health and Human Services, payment for cer tain drugs administered in doctors’ offices would shift to a level based on interna tional prices. Drugmakers are sure to push back, arguing it would be tantamount to price controls. And Trump is linking the prices Ameri cans complain about to one of his longstanding griev ances: foreign countries the president says are taking advantage of U.S. research breakthroughs. The department says overall savings to U.S. pro grams like Medicare and to patients would total $17.2 billion over five years. The proposal is struc tured as an experiment and would apply to half the country. Officials said they’re seeking input on how to select the areas of the country that will take part in the new pricing sys tem. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said politics would have nothing to do with it. “For decades, other coun tries have rigged the system so American patients are charged much more — in some cases much, much more — for the exact same drug,” Trump said. “In other words, Americans pay more so other countries can pay less. It’s wrong. It’s unfair.” Sears suppliers cautious, haunted by ghost of Toys R Us BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Associated Press NEW YORK - Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Sears Holdings Corp. has been trying to convince suppliers to keep ship ping merchandise by touting the $300 million in financing it has secured so that its business can con tinue operating through the holidays. But a growing number of manu facturers who themselves got hurt or watched others get burned by Toys R Us’ quick demise don’t want to take a chance. Many manufacturers have already been keeping Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears on a tight leash over the past few years as they watched its fortunes spiral downward. But their reluctance to work with the retailer heading into the holiday shopping season is a major blow to its survival. The fate of Sears, which also operates Kmart, depends on a critical flow of goods to its stores. Without a gen erous supply of merchandise, even the company’s dwindling base of customers may not shop there, hurt ing sales even more. Suppliers are still gun-shy after their experience with Toys R Us, which went out of business months after filing for Chapter 11 reorga nization in the fall of 2017, leaving them with millions of dollars in unpaid bills. Vendors recovered only about 20 cents on the dollar. As with Sears now, many suppli ers were encouraged to continue stocking Toys R Us’ shelves through the holidays, industry experts said. But Toys R Us announced it would liquidate its business in March after suffering a disastrous holiday season. “Toys R Us was a game changer,” said Kenneth Rosen, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, which represents several Sears’ vendors. “My clients want to work with Sears. They very much want to see Sears survive. At the same time, they don’t want to get burned twice.” He declined to name the suppliers, but he says he’s advising them to give Sears credit “a week at a time.” The big worry is that after Christ mas, Sears will either be a full liqui dation, or that Eddie Lampert, the company chairman and the largest shareholder, will buy back a group of stores and the balance will be shuttered. As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, Sears plans to close 142 stores, leaving the company with roughly 500 by year-end. The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights A NYSE | 12,118.85 +149.11 1 Nasdaq 7,318.34 +209.93 Gainers (S2 or more) Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg CrescPtE g 5.16 +.73+16.5 Twitter 31.80 +4.26 +15.5 Knowles 15.71 +1.99 +14.5 TAL Educ S 25.98 +3.24 +14.2 CVR Engy 40.50 +4.89 +13.7 Materion 57.33 +6.79 +13.4 MSA Safetyl 07.43+12.26 +12.9 SunCokeE 11.08 +1.25 +12.7 EmployH 44.96 +4.91 +12.3 GpSuprvi n 7.80 +.84 +12.1 Losers ($2 or more) ErytechP n 8.12 +1.49 +22.5 SleepNmbr 36.16 +5.59 +18.3 FateThera 13.51 +2.03 +17.7 PulseBio n 10.68 +1.60 +17.6 ImprimisP 4.22 +.59 +16.3 LaJollaPh 17.66 +2.43 +16.0 ZixCorp 6.53 +.86 +15.2 Xilinx 79.40 +10.36 +15.0 ATNIntl 81.30 +10.56 +14.9 ClearsBio n 5.78 +.74 +14.7 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg CURO Gp n15.18 -7.69 -33.6 Goldcrp g 8.49 -1.95 -18.7 Boo Latin 16.01 -3.38 -17.4 WPP pic 57.90 -12.11 -17.3 Veoneern 31.88 -6.43 -16.8 Equifax 98.31 -17.05 -14.8 NavMHpfH 8.18 -1.31 -13.8 DxGBull rs 13.49 -2.05 -13.2 EQTCorp 35.34 -5.12 -12.7 Trinity 29.29 -4.25 -12.7 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg FordM 903524 8.99 +.81 GenElec 879648 11.80 -.37 Twitter 789019 31.80 +4.26 AT&T Inc 767166 29.98 -.38 Ambev 765481 4.04 -.17 BkofAm 736219 26.59 +.40 Goldcrp g 493729 8.49 -1.95 Snaplnc A n428061 6.99 +.40 Pfizer 364999 43.41 +.93 FrptMcM 342709 11.25 +.55 Diary 2,063 768 66 2,897 10 286 4,589,392,224 BorqsTch 3.25 -1.00 -23.5 AlignTech 232.07 -58.76 -20.2 NovoCure n33.64 -7.88 -19.0 AquaBTcn 2.81 -.63 -18.3 AMD 19.27 -3.52 -15.4 SelectaB n 6.33 -1.03 -14.0 LiquidTch n 19.19 -2.93 -13.2 FrstCap 41.25 -6.15 -13.0 ASVHIdn 3.34 -.40 -10.7 TSRInc 5.81 -.68 -10.5 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg AMD 1884383 19.27 -3.52 Microsoft 615384 108.30 +5.98 Intel 469028 44.31 +1.89 MicronT 393798 36.78 +1.35 Comcast s 337814 35.84 +1.72 SiriusXM 302274 5.79 +.14 Apple Inc 289992 219.80 +4.71 Cisco 265847 45.47 +1.40 Ericsson 263033 8.72 -.08 CaesarsEnt238982 9.04 +.57 Diary 2,092 823 146 3,061 21 279 2,623,902,785 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Stocks of Local Interest YTD YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.5 13 42.19 -.51 0.0 HomeDp 4.12 2.3 23 179.07 +2.10 -5.5 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.7 6 29.98 -.38 -22.9 Intel 1.20 2.7 17 44.31 +1.89 -4.0 AbbottLab 1.12 1.7 29 67.67 +.73 +18.6 IBM 6.28 5.0 9 126.45 -.76 -17.6 AMD 19.27 -3.52 +87.5 JohnJn 3.60 2.6 19 138.47 +1.00 -.9 Altria 3.20 5.1 20 63.16 +.85 -11.6 Lowes 1.92 2.0 21 97.95 +1.42 +5.4 Apple Inc 2.92 1.3 26 219.80 +4.71 +29.9 McDnlds 4.64 2.6 27 175.31 -2.04 +1.9 ATMOS 1.94 2.0 18 95.63 -1.51 +11.3 Merck 2.20 3.1 26 69.96 -.58 +24.3 AutoZone 16 740.00+11.78 +4.0 MicronT 3 36.78 +1.35 -10.6 AveryD 2.26 2.5 25 89.00 +.07 -22.5 Microsoft 1.84 1.7 51 108.30 +5.98 +26.6 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.4 14 47.01 +.95 -5.5 MoSys rs .38 +.13 -65.7 BP PLC 2.38 5.7 22 41.59 +.60 -1.0 Nabors .24 4.7 5.12 +.12 -25.0 BkofAm .60 2.3 13 26.59 +.40 -9.9 NorflkSo 3.20 1.9 25 164.24 +4.05 +13.3 BarnesNob .60 9.3 6.45 -.02 -3.7 Nvidia .60 .3 39 207.84 +8.43 +7.4 BarrickG .12 1.0 70 12.57 -.54 -13.1 OfficeDpt .10 3.9 7 2.58 +.03 -27.1 Boeing 6.84 1.9 34 363.77 +9.12 +23.3 Penney 24 1.43 -54.7 BrMySq 1.60 3.3 49 49.21 +.38 -19.7 PepsiCo 3.71 3.3 33 112.85 -.11 -5.9 CSX .88 1.3 10 66.39 +.48 +20.7 Pfizer 1.36 3.1 17 43.41 +.93 +19.9 CaesarsEnt ... 9.04 +.57 -28.5 PhilipMor 4.56 5.0 22 90.63 +1.43 -14.2 CampSp 1.40 3.7 13 37.95 -.45 -21.1 Primerica 1.00 .9 13 108.27 +2.00 +6.6 Caterpillar 3.44 3.0 11 115.63 +3.29 -26.6 ProctGam 2.87 3.2 22 89.00 -.46 -3.1 ChesEng 7 4.00 +.08 +1.0 RegionsFn .56 3.5 14 16.06 +.60 -7.1 Chevron 4.48 4.0 50 111.58 +1.37 -10.9 SiriusXM .05 .8 32 5.79 +.14 +8.0 Cisco 1.32 2.9 23 45.47 +1.40 +18.7 Snaplnc An ... 6.99 +.40 -52.2 Citigroup 1.80 2.8 11 64.97 +1.17 -12.7 SouthnCo 2.40 5.3 21 45.27 -.75 -5.9 CocaCola 1.56 3.4 88 46.51 -.22 +1.4 StoneCo n 31.35 0.0 Comcast s .76 2.1 17 35.84 +1.72 -10.2 SunTrst 2.00 3.3 10 60.37 +1.54 -6.5 ConAgra .85 2.3 18 36.37 -.78 -3.5 SynovusFn 1.00 2.7 13 37.18 +.65 -22.4 Cummins 4.56 3.6 36 128.37 +.30 -27.3 3M Co 5.44 2.9 26 184.99 +.45 -21.4 Disney 1.68 1.5 15 114.16 +2.55 +6.2 TitanPh rs .42 -.09 -68.6 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.9 17 52.92 +.24 -25.7 Torchmark .64 .8 7 83.07 +2.14 -8.4 Equifax 1.56 1.6 17 98.31 17.05 -16.6 Twitter 31.80 +4.26 +32.4 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.2 17 78.31 +.69 -6.4 Tyson 1.20 1.9 11 61.68 -.03 -23.9 FordM .60 6.7 5 8.99 +.81 -28.0 UtdCmBks .60 2.5 14 23.79 +.49 -15.5 FrptMcM .20 1.8 7 11.25 +.55 -40.7 UPS B 3.64 3.4 18 107.82 -.11 -9.5 GenElec .48 4.1 11.80 -.37 -32.5 VerizonCm 2.41 4.3 7 56.43 -.99 +6.6 GenuPrt 2.88 2.9 22 100.60 +1.04 +5.9 Vodafone 1.82 9.6 18.91 +.02 -40.7 Goldcrp g .24 2.8 12 8.49 -1.95 -33.5 WalMart 2.08 2.1 24 99.18 +1.62 +.4 HP Inc .56 2.3 9 23.79 +.73 +13.2 Weathflntl 2.06 -.10 -50.6 Haverty .72 3.5 21 20.42 +.04 -9.8 WeisMk 1.20 2.7 21 44.24 +.37 +6.9 HeliosM rs .02 +.00-100.0 WellsFargo 1.72 3.3 13 51.86 +1.67 -14.5 Hershey 2.89 2.8 22 102.84 -5.33 -9.4 YumBrnds 1.44 1.7 31 86.92 -.14 +6.5 Stock Footnotes: g = Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars, h = Does not meet continued-listing standards. If = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks, pf = Preferred, rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year, rt = Right to buy security at a specified price, s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year, un = Units, vj = In bankruptcy or receivership, wd = When distributed, wi = When issued, wt = Warrants. Fund Footnotes: m - Multiple fees are charged, usually a marketing fee and either a sales or redemption fee. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial. Stock Market Indexes Dow Jones industrials Close: 24,984.55 Change: 401.13 (1.6%) 27,200 26,400 25,600 24,800 24,000 M J J A S 0 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 26,951.81 23,242.75 Dow Industrials 24,984.55 +401.13 +1.63 +1.07 +6.77 11,623.58 9,420.16 Dow Transportation 10,091.81 +186.68 +1.88 -4.90 +2.13 778.80 647.81 Dow Utilities 742.37 -11.28 -1.50 +2.63 -.57 13,637.02 11,957.13 NYSE Composite 12,118.85 +149.11 +1.25 -5.39 -1.89 8,133.30 6,517.93 Nasdaq Composite 7,318.34 +209.93 +2.95 +6.01 +11.61 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,211.11 +25.33 +2.14 +2.36 +7.42 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2,705.57 +49.47 +1.86 +1.20 +5.67 2,053.00 1,770.19 S&P MidCap 1,814.40 +25.38 +1.42 -4.53 -.81 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 27,897.46 +518.49 +1.89 +.37 +4.88 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,500.40 +31.70 +2.16 -2.29 +.20 10 DAYS Mutual Funds Name Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Pet Load Min Init Invt Vanguard 500ldxAdmrl LB 265,379 250.07 -7.1 +7.8/A +11.2/A NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 214,061 67.22 -7.8 +7.0/B +10.6/A NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxinv LB 135,625 67.20 -7.8 +6.9/B +10.5/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv FB 134,124 15.78 -9.7 -8.7/C +1.6/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 128,089 67.23 -7.8 +7.0/B +10.6/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 126,438 246.71 -7.1 +7.8/A +11.2/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard InsidxInsPlus LB 108,769 246.73 -7.1 +7.8/A +11.2/A NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 101,686 12.80 -9.2 +10.6/C +12.1 /B NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 100,878 105.57 -9.7 -8.6/C +1.7/B NL100,000,000 American Funds GrfAmrcA m LG 94,075 51.41 -9.2 +9.4/C +11.4/C 5.75 250 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 88,474 70.38 -4.8 +2.3/B +7.5/A NL 50,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,309 10.28 -0.2 -1.6/C +1.8/C NL 10,000 Cl -Intermediate-Term Bond, FB -Foreign Large Blend, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Momingstar.
