Impressive Margins For Apple Retail Stores

By Stephen Rosenman:Amazon (AMZN) surprised, earning 28 cents, well-above the Street's 7 cent expectation, as sales grew 34%. Certainly an impressive beat, helping to send share prices up 14%. Well done, Mr. Bezos. However, a cautionary note: You've still have yeoman's work to be done when it comes to operating margins: Your 1.5% margins are razor-thin considering your sky-high 142 PE valuation.

By Miriam Metzinger: Stocks discussed on the in-depth session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Monday February 6.

By Stephen Rosenman:Online shopping has pummeled brick-and-mortar stores: Amazon (AMZN) has thrashed Best Buy (BBY) and Barnes and Noble (BKS); Priceline.com (PCLN) and Expedia (EXPE) has torc

By PowerOptions:"All the things that mommy needs to keep her preoccupied and satisfied, in a full range of essentials," describes Bed Bath and Beyond's (BBBY) four-store chain of concepts — now handling babies, cosmetics, anything for the qualified two-parent home, and bargain knick-knacks.

Apple's (AAPL) iconic retail stores have some of the best sales metrics in the industry.However, as retail has become a bigger percentage of the company's sales mix, the segment's lower margins have dragged corporate profit margins lower - a dynamic I highlighted back in February.The challenge of decelerating earnings growth lies more in the nature of thin retail margins than Apple's merchandising prowess.

ByJonathan Verenger:Coach, the maker of handbags, jewelry, footwear, and accessories, with over $4 billion in annual sales, has been in a funk for a year now. After topping out at around $80 in early 2012, the stock is down over 40%. What is the weakness in Coach's (COH) stock price telling us? It could be one of two things:(1) Consumer spending is getting weaker.(2) The Coach brand is losing popularity.

By Paul Price: The primary mantra of most growth stock investors is "Only buy shares of companies with rising earnings." The second rule is, "Sell at the first hint of decelerating or, heaven forbid, negative growth."

By Interactive Brokers: TIF – Tiffany & Co. – Shares in the high-end jeweler are up 0.70% at $69.24 today with one week to go before the New York, New York-based retailer reports fourth-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell next Tuesday. A sizable bullish options trade initiated on Tiffany & Co.