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Updates, advisories and surprises

Ryder cuts earnings outlook, shares tumble

(5:05 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ryder System Inc.(R) lowered its fiscal second-quarter and full-year earnings outlooks Thursday, citing a slowdown in commercial vehicle rentals and efforts to downsize its fleet of cars and trucks. Pointing to disappointing May results, the company said it expects "a slower demand environment to continue through 2012." The company revised its second-quarter earnings expectations to 90 cents to 95 cents a share from $1.07 to $1.12 a share. For fiscal 2012, Ryder said it now expects to earn $3.65 to $3.85 a share, down from its previous estimate of $4.02 to $4.12. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for second-quarter earnings of $1.10 a share and $4.09 for the full year. Ryder shares fell as much as 9% to $37 in after-hours trade.

Red Hat shares fall 7% as forecast disappoints

(9:42 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Red Hat Inc.(RHT) shares fell $4.08, or more than 7% to $52.53 Thursday as investors reacted negatively to the open-source software company's business outlook. Late Wednesday, Red Hat said that for its fiscal second-quarter it expects to earn 28 cents to 29 cents a share on between $320 million and $322 million in revenue. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had previously forecast Red Hat to earn 29 cents a share on $331 million in revenue for the quarter.

Chesapeake names chairman, board members

(9:19 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chesapeake Energy Corp.(CHK) on Thursday named Archie Dunham, 73, as the company's new independent, non-executive chairman. Dunham formerly served as chairman of ConocoPhillips(COP) and as chief executive officer of Conoco. The board also appointed four new directors including three proposed by Southeastern Asset Management, its largest shareholder, and Carl Icahn, the company's second-largest shareholder. Southeastern Asset Management named Bob Alexander, Brad Martin and Frederic Poses as board members. Vincent Intrieri was proposed by Icahn for the board. A review by the company audit committee of CEO Aubrey McClendon's loans continues. Icahn said Chesapeake "is now heading in the right direction."

CarMax profit drops, misses analyst estimate

(7:51 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Carmax Inc.(KMX) said Thursday its first-quarter profit dropped to $120.75 million, or 52 cents a share, from $125.5 million, or 54 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The car retailer's revenue rose to $2.78 billion, from $2.68 billion. Wall Street analysts expected CarMax to earn 53 cents a share on revenue of $2.82 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research. Looking ahead, CarMax plans to open 10 superstores in fiscal 2013, up from five store openings in 2012.