New Money

Tiffany's Rings are Shiny, but its Stock...Not so Much

By Katy Marquardt

Posted: January 14, 2009

As Clusterstock points out today, Tiffany's fourth-quarter report is super important because it reflects the company's business in November and December--typically prime time for jewelry purchases (85 percent of its business comes from these two months.)

It seems like a given that the luxury market wouldn't fare well during the recession (even millionaires are getting the blues.) But analysts and executives were slow to adjust their expectations for that all-important fourth quarter, Clusterstock says. But here's something worth noting: the blogger perused a store in October and found that prices were up and sales were nowhere to be found.

After lowering its earnings guidance in November, Tif just lowered its annual forecast and reported that holiday sales were down 21 percent. The stock is down 2.7 percent so far today (trading around $21). That's a long way from the $48 it was trading at last summer.

 

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New Money

Katy Marquardt, a senior editor at U.S.News & World Report, takes a contemporary look at happenings in the financial world and aims to help young investors get going with their portfolios--or just sound cool at cocktail parties. Have a question? E-mail Katy at newmoney@usnews.com

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