Shares of Walmart on Tuesday fell more than 11% after a rare earnings miss was reported along with concerns about a deteriorating retail environment, marking the company's largest single-day loss since the infamous Black Monday in 1987. The discount store operator heads into the weekend having lost around 20% of its market value in just four days. Operating income contracted by 23% last quarter despite sales growing a modest 2%, reflecting unexpectedly high costs that pressured the company's profit margins.

With oil prices more than doubling since the beginning of 2021 to over $100 a barrel, Exxon has used its surging cash flow to repay practically all of the debt it took on during the pandemic. As a result, the integrated oil giant's debt to capital ratio, or gearing, has fallen from a peak of 29.2% in 2020 to 21.2%. Gearing measures the proportion of a company's financing that is from debt rather than equity. Exxon's gearing now sits at the low end of management's 20% to 25% target range and near its pre-pandemic level of 19.1%.

Target's stock price dropped a staggering 25% after reporting earnings this week, marking the company's largest single-day loss since the infamous Black Monday in 1987. Almost one-third of the company's market value has been wiped out this week. Adjusted earnings contracted a staggering 40% last quarter despite sales growing a modest 3%, reflecting unexpectedly high costs that pressured the company's profit margins. Other retailers have similarly reported sudden margin declines, leading to the worst week for retailers since the early days of the pandemic.

Since the start of 2021, oil has surged from $50 per barrel – around the price Chevron needs to cover both its dividend and capital expenditures – to over $100. Oil and gas producers have enjoyed swelling profits over this period, enabling many of them to significantly improve their financial strength following a historically difficult year in 2020. Chevron is no exception. The oil major's net debt to capital ratio, or gearing, has improved from 22.5% a year ago to just 10.8% today. Gearing measures the proportion of a company's financing that is from debt (net of cash) rather than equity.

Cisco will be the latest battered tech stock when the market opens Thursday. Shares of the networking giant slumped as much as 15% in after-market trading following the firm's disappointing earnings results and guidance.At the midpoint of guidance, Cisco expects sales in the current quarter to fall roughly 3% year-over-year, missing analyst estimates calling for nearly 6% growth. Adjusted earnings are also projected to miss consensus by about 13%. On its conference call, Cisco blamed the shortfall on the war in Ukraine (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine account for 1% of total sales) and Covid-related lockdowns in China creating supply problems, emphasizing that the company has not seen a slowdown in demand. Cisco has primarily faced challenges sourcing enough power supplies from [...]

Leggett & Platt is now trading with one of the highest yields offered by a Dividend King at over 4.5%, as fragile economic conditions have weighed on the company's stock.Stubbornly high inflation and continued supply chain disruptions have led to lower sales volumes for the manufacturer of engineered components such as mattress springs and foams, recliner mechanisms, adjustable beds, steel wire, seat frames, carpet cushioning, and armrests.  However, Leggett & Platt has successfully passed inflated costs on to customers, resulting in modest earnings growth. This profit stability has been a testament to the firm's strong market positioning, where it boasts a No. 1 or No. 2 market share in most of its operating categories.

McDonald's on Monday announced intentions to sell its Russian business, two months after temporarily suspending operations in the country due to the war in Ukraine. While the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is tragic and the headlines about McDonald's exit of Russia may create some anxiety for conservative income investors, these issues should not impact the firm's dividend policy. The fast-food chain operates in over 100 countries, and its restaurants in Russia and Ukraine represented only about 2% of system-wide sales in 2021. Maintaining the infrastructure of these locations costs McDonald's about $55 million per month, but that is a very manageable sum until the properties are sold given that the firm generates over $10 billion of operating income annually.

As inflation weighs heavy on consumers' pocketbooks, shares of apparel retailers have fallen nearly 30% this year, almost double the broader market decline.On top of shoppers' stretched budgets, clothing retailers continue to battle shipping and supply challenges exasperated by this year's Covid-related lockdowns in China, the world's largest textile producer.These economic headwinds have pushed shares of V.F. Corp back down to levels last seen during the depths of the pandemic in 2020, when it was unclear if retailers would survive the shuttered economy.

Philip Morris on Wednesday announced plans to acquire Swedish Match in a $16 billion all-cash transaction, marking a major step in the international Marlboro maker's transition to a smoke-free company. While this deal will increase Philip Morris's leverage ratio from about 2x to 3x, its highest level in at least a decade, management reassured investors that they have "an unwavering commitment" to growing the dividend annually. Philip Morris seeks to reduce its payout ratio to around 75% compared to a projected level of 90% in the year ahead, but management does not "put any pressure on when we get there, it's a kind of a long-term vision."

Shares of T. Rowe Price have slumped nearly 50% since late 2021, sending the stock's dividend yield to levels not seen since the depths of the pandemic and the 2007-09 financial crisis. As one of the world's largest money managers, T. Rowe generates most of its revenue from investment advisory fees charged for managing clients' portfolios. Fees are typically assessed as a percentage of assets under management (AUM).