This morning, TSN reported Q2 ’14 EPS results of $0.60 per share, falling shy of consensus by $0.03 per share. Revenue, a less important metric given the volatility of the company’s margin structure, was +7.2% year on year, beating consensus
MRK’s economic returns to R&D spending (the relationship between Yr1 R&D spending and Yr10 adjusted earnings) have been slightly below the (falling) industry average since 2009. For reference, industry returns to current R&D spending appear to be below cost of
MA is aggressively buying back stock with the payout ratio in 2014Q1 rising to 2x as the firm repurchased $1.7bn funded in part by an inaugural debt issue of $1.5bn (taking the debt-to-equity ratio to 22%). The repurchase of 21mm
