American Greetings drops 20% on bleak earnings report

American Greetings Corporation (NYSE:AM) plunged more than 20% in midday trading Wednesday after the company reported sharply lower earnings for the quarter ended May 30. The Cleveland, Ohio-based greeting card maker had a first-quarter net income of $13.3 million, or $0.27 per share, down from $30.1 million, or $0.54 per share, a year ago. Net income plummeted 56% because of increased operating costs linked with the launch of a card line in Canada, the company said.

American Greetings traded at $14.52, down 20.6%. Volume soared to more than 1.2 million, well above the company’s average of about 412,000 shares.

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