2008-12-01 17:53:30 - SADIF-Investment Analytics SA has applied its StockMarks™ stock-rating system to Staples Inc and produced a research report, rating the company's attractiveness to long-term investors.

Mira, Portugal - December 1st, 2008 - SADIF Investment Analytics SA, today announced the release of a new equity research report covering Staples Inc (SPLS). The report utilizes SADIF's powerful StockMarks™ stock rating system and is required reading for any current or potential Staples Inc investor.

Report Summary: US-based office supply retailer Staples Inc has seen its share price drop 23%

since the end of September, declining at the same pace as the S&P500 index. The company's shares have been hit by investor fears of global recession impacting earnings in countries outside of the USA. The company's fiscal second quarter results released September 3rd indicate that the retailer's US businesses were already showing signs of weakness in the first half of the year. Comparable-store revenue from North American Retail declined seven percent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2007. Staples's European operations saw similar declines in revenues from comparable stores. Net income for the total company declined 16% during the period compared to the year earlier quarter. Nevertheless, the company saw substantial growth in its Chinese operations and opened its South American store in Argentina. However, the global economic climate has changed significantly since these results were achieved. A stream of bad news flowing from South America and China have raised questions regarding the ability of Staples's growth in emerging markets to offset shrinking North American and European sales and margins. Investors will see how the company has performed over the last three months when Staples reports Q3 earnings in December 2nd. Given the uncertainty of Staples's near-term performance, we should focus on the company's underlying long-term fundamentals when making any investment decision. We can assess Staples's long-term fundamentals through the use of the StockMarks framework. Staples currently has an overall long-term investment-attractiveness rating (Total StockMark or SMT) of 72, placing the company above the US market average. This rating ranks Staples fifth when compared to ten of its closest peers, selected on the basis of similarity of business and market positioning factors such as size.

The complete report breaks down the Total StockMark into its three components - Business, Management and Price, performing a thorough analysis of Staples Inc for long-term investors.

A summary of the StockMarks™ ratings for Staples Inc is available here:
sadifanalytics.com/stockmarks/company.php?ticker=SPLS&cod_countr ..

The report has been distributed to Reuters, and forwarded to Yahoo Finance and FT.com. It is available under 'Analyst Reports' from these websites, from multiple professional platforms including Reuters Knowledge, TheMarkets.com and Thomson Research or directly from SADIF-Investment Analytics SA at:
sadifanalytics.com/stockmarks/article/hist_article.php?cod_count ..


About SADIF-Investment Analytics SA
SADIF-Investment Analytics SA is an independent investment research company covering sixteen different markets and over 12,000 companies. Our StockMarks™ system is based on proven investment principles and is designed to drive long-term shareholder returns.