#PreMarket Primer: Tuesday, September 9: Apple Inc. Product Reveal Finally Arrives

Apple Inc. AAPL will finally unveil its latest product line on Tuesday, rumored to include a new, larger iPhone and a smartwatch. Skeptics say the company is becoming less innovative, but the buzz around the latest round of Apple offerings has expectations running high.

The new products are expected to be accompanied by a new line of software that will allow users to measure health metrics and automate their homes, among other things. The release will be CEO Tim Cook’s first chance to prove to investors that Apple’s “ahead of the curve” image didn’t leave the company with the departure of founder Steve Jobs.

• On Monday, Home Depot HD announced that its security system had been breached, and that more than 2,000 stores were affected. The company is working through an investigation into how far back the attack began, but has estimated that malware was present in the system as far back as April. Because of the length of the attack, it is possible that tens of millions of customer credit cards may have been affected.
• General Mills GIS has inked a deal to acquire Annies Inc. BNNY for $820 billion in an effort to beef up its organic food offerings. General Mills has been suffering from depressed consumer spending and changing dietary habits among Americans, so the acquisition of a natural foods brand will likely help counteract waning demand for big-name cereals.
• On Monday, Federal prosecutors celebrated the end of a three-year trial against Mathew Martoma, a former SAC capital fund manager, for his role in an insider trading scandal at the firm. Martoma was sentenced to nine years in prison for using insider knowledge in order to avoid a $275 million dollar loss for the company, and will give up his $9.38 million bonus as part of his penalty.
• The White House said that Baghdad has made major progress in forming a new government that will combat ISIS by including representation from all of the nation’s political parties. On a phone call with President Obama, the Iraqi Prime Minister agreed that the nation would need to work together with the many Iraqi communities to create a government system that is more inclusive. By uniting the country’s many ethnic communities, much of the support for radical groups like ISIS will be diverted.

Asian Markets

• Campbell Soup Company CPB reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $1.85 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.45 on revenue of $1.82 billion.
• Pep Boys- Manny, Moe & Jack PBY reported third quarter EPS of $0.00 on revenue of $525.80 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.18 on revenue of $527.62 million.
• Caseys General Stores, Inc. CASY reported first quarter EPS of $1.34 on revenue of $2.29 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.43 on revenue of $2.11 billion.

Pre-Market Movers

• Lockheed Martin Corp LMT was up 2.42 percent in premarket trade after choppy trading took the stock up 0.56 percent last week.
• Apple Inc. AAPL gained 0.89 percent with its new product launch set to take place later in the day.
• EOG Resources Inc. EOG was up 0.83 percent in premarket trade after losing 3.58 percent on Monday.
• EMC Corp EMC fell 0.96 percent in premarket trade after gaining 0.86 percent on Monday.

Earnings

• Leidos Holdings LDOS is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.62 on revenue of $1.26 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.19 on revenue of $2.47 billion.
• HD Supply Holdings HDS is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.47 on revenue of $2.41 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.23 on revenue of $2.26 billion.
• Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS is expected to report a first quarter loss of $0.63 on revenue of $1.26 billion, compared to last year’s loss of $0.86 on revenue of $1.33 billion.
• Oxford Industries, Inc. OXM is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.90 on revenue of $252.73 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.01 on revenue of $235.02 million.

Economics