Companies Delay Earnings Reports Due To Hurricane Sandy

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), financial data and news provider Thomson Reuters Corporation (NYSE: TRI) and power companies Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) and NRG Energy Inc (NYSE: NRG) said they would delay their earnings reports as Hurricane Sandy barrels its way up the Northeast.

New York-based Pfizer, which had been due to report its third-quarter results on Tuesday, rescheduled the release of its results and its conference call with analysts until Thursday, citing “the expected severe weather conditions associated with Hurricane Sandy.”

New Orleans-based Entergy pushed its conference call back to Nov. 5 from Tuesday.

“With many of our shareholders, financial analysts, employees and others living in and around the storm's projected path, rescheduling our earnings call was an easy decision to make," said J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.

Princeton, N.J.-based NRG moved its earnings announcement to Friday from Wednesday. Meanwhile, New York-based Thomson Reuters postponed its earnings report to Friday from Tuesday.

"I have taken this decision in light of the exceptional circumstances due to Hurricane Sandy,” said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters, in a statement. “It is best that our employees, shareholders and other stakeholders focus on staying safe during the impending storm.”

A couple of smaller companies have also decided to delay their earnings release. Biotechnology company Acorda Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq: ACOR) pushed its announcement back one day to Wednesday. Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG), a provider of marine transportation of petroleum products worldwide, moved its announcement from Monday to a yet to be determined date this week. Mortgage insurer Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) moved its scheduled release to Thursday from Tuesday, while metalworking supplier MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (NYSE: MSM) moved its release to Wednesday from Tuesday.

Among the companies that reported as planned Monday were Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE: BKW), Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) and CNA Financial Corp (NYSE: CNA).

The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and CME Group in Chicago will remain closed Monday and possibly Tuesday. Duncan Niederauer, CEO of the NYSE Euronext, told CNBC Monday morning that it was “hard to imagine” that the exchange would open on Tuesday.

Trading on the NYSE was last closed on Sept. 11, 2001, and last closed for a weather-related event in 1985 for Hurricane Gloria. If the exchange remains close Tuesday, it would be the first consecutive-day closing since 1888, when a blizzard dumped as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas and killed more than 400 people. Only 30 people out of 1,000 were able to make it to the NYSE for work, and Wall Street was forced to close for three straight days.

Here’s a list provided by NYSE of all special closings dating back to 1885.