- HanesBrands, Sealed Air and Cardinal rallied into the close Thursday shrugging off the slump in the broader market.
Consumer products manufacturer Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) rallied 19% after its fourth-quarter results beat on both the top and bottom lines.
Fourth-quarter earnings of $0.48 a share on revenue of $1.77 billion was well above 's expectations for earnings of $0.46 on revenue of $1.71 billion.
The consumer goods manufacturer touted optimism for 2019, forecasting sales of about $6.9 billion for the full year and earnings in a range of $1.72 to $1.80 a share.
But the company's above-consensus earnings and guidance was not well received by all on Wall Street amid concerns that rising competition from the Walmart (NYSE:WMT) poses a threat to long term growth.
"We see long-term challenges (to HanesBrands) as WalMart and Target ramp up innerwear private labels and tighten HBI assortments," said CFRA, an independent research provider.
Packaging products maker Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) was rewarded for delivering fourth-quarter results that topped 's expectations as the company's turnaround program begins to take shape. Its rose 8.7%.
The company's turnaround program, "Reinvent SEE," helped offset a stronger dollar and higher input costs, underpinning bottom-line growth.
Sealed Air reported earnings of $0.75 a share on revenue of $1.26 billion, well above estimates for $0.67 a share on revenue of $1.04 billion.
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), meanwhile, also topped 's fourth-quarter earnings and revenue consensus, sending its shares 7% higher.
Lower sales pricing and rising input costs, however, weighed on gross margins, which fell 70 basis points year-on-year.
Still, the company offered a bullish outlook on growth, raising its guidance on earnings to the range of $4.97 to $5.17 from the previous range of $4.90 to $5.15.
