Updates, advisories and surprises

 10:31p ET April 24, 2014 (MarketWatch)

By MarketWatch

SunPower sees 'strong demand' for rooftop solar business

SunPower Corp.(SPWR)said Thursday its first-quarter net profit was $65 million, versus a net loss of $55 million a year earlier. The solar power developer also reported an adjusted income of $75 million, compared with an adjusted net income of $27 million in the year-ago period. SunPower's adjusted earnings were 49 cents a share, compared with 22 cents a share in the first quarter of 2013. Adjusted revenues hit $683.7 million, up from $574.6 million in the year-ago period. The company benefited from "strong demand" for its residential rooftop solar products as well as "solid execution" of its power plant business, it said in a statement. Analysts polled by FactSet, citing adjusted earnings that exclude expenses with share options, had forecast earnings of 33 cents a share. Following the earnings release, shares of SunPower rose 0.7% to $32.25 in after-hours trading. The company's stock earlier Thursday got an upgrade to 'buy' from analysts at Deutsche Bank.

Baidu beats earnings forecasts, sales in line

Baidu Inc.(BIDU)said late Thursday that its operating profit for the first quarter was $38.1.8 million, or $1.16 a share, up 7.4% from the same period a year ago. Revenue for the Beijing, China-based web search engine was $1.53 billion, up 59.1% from last year, the company said. Adjusted income was $1.24 a share, ahead of the $1.04 forecast from analysts polled by FactSet. Sales had been expected to reach $1.53 billion. The company forecasted second-quarter sales of $1.9 billion to $1.95 billion, which would represent an increase of 56.3% to 60.2%. Baidu's U.S. shares ended trading Thursday up marginally to $159.74.

Starbucks posts 10% higher profit; boosts margin

Starbucks Inc.(SBUX)reported late Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 10% to $427 million, or 56 cents a share, from $390.4 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the three months ended March 30 rose 9% to $3.87 billion from $3.55 billion. Operating margin expanded to 16.6% from 15.3%. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the Seattle-based coffee chain to report earnings of 56 cents a share on $3.96 billion in revenue. Starbucks said comparable-store sales rose 6% in the latest quarter, and it ended the quarter with 335 new stores. The company said it expects to earn from 64 cents to 66 cents a share in its fiscal third quarter and reaffirmed its 2014 revenue growth target of 10%. Starbucks shares rose 1% in after-hours trade to $71.66.

Pandora narrows loss on better-than-forecast sales

Pandora Media Inc.(P)said late Thursday that it lost $28.9 million, or 14 cents a share, during the first quarter ended March 31. That compares with a loss of $38.7 million, or 22 cents a share for the same period a year ago. Sales for the Oakland, Calif.-based Internet radio provider were $194.3 million against last year's $115.1 million. Adjusted losses for the period were 13 cents a share, a penny ahead of the 14-cent loss estimate from analysts polled by FactSet. Sales had been expected to reach $177.7 million during the period. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast to a gain of 14 cents to 18 cents a share, up from 13 cents to 17 cents. It also upped its prediction on sales to a range of $880 million to $900 million, from $870 million to $890 million. Pandora shares ended trading Thursday up marginally to $28.20.

Amazon profit rises, results beat estimates

Amazon.com(AMZN)on Thursday reported a first-quarter profit of $108 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a profit of 82 million, or 18 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $19.74 billion from $16.07 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the online retailer to report a profit of 21 cents a share, on revenue of $19.42 billion. For the current quarter, Amazon expects sales of between $18.1 billion and $19.8 billion. Analysts were expecting sales of $19.42 billion. Amazon shares were up a fraction after hours.

Microsoft earnings slip, but top forecasts

Microsoft Corp.(MSFT)on Thursday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $5.66 billion, or 68 cents a share, on revenue of $20.4 billion, compared with earnings of $6.06 billion, or 72 cents a share, on $20.49 billion in sales in the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Microsoft to earn 63 cents a share on $20.39 billion in sales. Microsoft also said it expects to close its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business on Friday. Microsoft shares rose 2% in after-hours trading following the release of its results.

Apple bond prices slip after buyback announcement

Prices of bonds sold by Apple Inc.(AAPL)slipped Thursday after the company announced that it was increasing its share buyback program. The announcement came alongside the computer-maker's, which sent its stock 7.5% higher. Bondholders have been concerned in recent sessions that the company's pro-shareholder activities couldpush it to take on more debt, in turn cheapening the price of the bonds. Apple's 10-year note yielded 3.35% on Thursday, according to MarketAxess. The yield, which rises as prices fall, was up from 3.31% on Tuesday. The 10-year note yielded 64 basis points more than comparable Treasurys, versus a premium of 58 basis points on Tuesday. The notes were initially priced to yield 2.40%

Apple surges, Facebook also up to lead tech gains

Big gains from Apple Inc.(AAPL)helped push tech stocks north in early trading Thursday after the consumer-electronics giant surpassed expectations with its fiscal second-quarter results. Apple shares climbed 8%, to $566.06 following the company's late-Wednesday results. Apple also said it would enact a 7-for-1 stock split effective June 9. Facebook Inc.(FB)also did well, as its stock rose 3% following its better-than-expected first-quarter results. The Nasdaq Composite Index(RIXF)rose almost 40 points, or 1%, to 4,166.

American Airlines shares up on quarterly profit

American Airlines Group Inc.(AAL)said Thursday it swung to a first-quarter profit of $480 million, or 65 cents a share, from a year-ago loss of $341 million, or $1.37 a share. The quarter was the first to fully reflect the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Total operating revenue surged 64% to $10.00 billion. On a combined basis, total first-quarter revenue of $10 billion reflected a 5.6% increase from the year-ago quarter and first-quarter profit rose to $480 million from a year-earlier loss of $297 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected per-share earnings of 47 cents on revenue of $10.02 billion. The company didn't detail the impact of the severe winter weather on earnings. Combined consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile rose 2.9% to 13.67 cents. Shares rose 2.5% premarket.

General Motors shares rise as profit tops forecast

General Motors Co.(GM.XX)reported its first-quarter profit fell to $100 million, or 6 cents a share, from $900 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the company earned 29 cents per share last quarter. Revenue rose to $37.4 billion, from $36.9 billion a year earlier, the automaker said Thursday. Analysts had expected earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $37.44 billion, according to FactSet. The firm said strong operating performance were outweighed by special items of $400 million, including the changing exchange rate used by its Venezuelan subsidiaries. Shares in General Motors were up 3.1% in premarket trading.

UPS falls 2% after earnings, revenue miss expectations

UPS [s:UPS] shares fell 2% in premarket trade Thursday after reporting first-quarter results that missed analysts expectations. The company blamed unusually harsh weather for a $200 million operating-profit hit. UPS reported earnings-per-share of $0.98, down from $1.08 a year ago. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting an EPS of $1.09. Revenue was $13.78 billion, down from $13.43 a year ago. Average U.S. daily shipments climbed 4.2%, driven by large e-commerce shippers.

Verizon profit doubles on Wireless-related gain

Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ)said on Thursday net income attributable to the company's shareholders doubled in the first quarter, mainly due to profit related to the deal to take full ownership of Verizon Wireless. Net profit rose to $3.95 billion, or $1.15 per share, from $1.95 billion, or 68 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings rose to 84 cents a share from 68 cents last year. The company said the first-quarter results included an after-tax gain of about $1.9 billion, or 55 cents a share, related to the sale of its minority stake in Vodafone Omnitel as part of the transaction to acquire full ownership of Verizon Wireless. Revenue rose 5% to $30.82 billion, from $29.42 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 86 cents a share on revenue of $30.66 billion.

3M shares fall after first-quarter earnings

3M Co.(MMM)reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $1.71 billion or $1.79 per share from $1.64 billion or $1.63 per shares in the same quarter a year before. Revenue rose to $7.8 billion from $7.6 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.80 per share on sales of $7.97 billion, according to FactSet. The industrial conglomerate said it returned $2.3 billion to shareholders via dividends and gross share repurchases. The company maintained its full-year earnings expectation of $7.30 to $7.55 per share with organic local-currency sales growth of 3% to 6%. Shares in 3M were down 1.4% in premarket.

Caterpillar tops forecasts, boosts profit outlook

Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2014 22:31 ET (02:31 GMT)
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