Intel and Microsoft met their earnings. These guys are doing so well on their investments, buying their stock is like buying a mutual fund!
Intel said after the closing bell Tuesday that its net income excluding acquisition-related costs was $3.5 billion, or 50 cents a share on a post-split basis. Including the costs, Intel earned $1 a share, which is two cents above the First Call estimate of 98 cents, including gains and excluding goodwill. The year earlier, Intel earned $1.8 milion. Sales for the period reached $8.3 billion, a jump of 23 percent from the year-ago revenue of $6.7 billion.
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday said its profit rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter, topping Wall Street estimates as gains on the software giant's investments offset weaker operating income.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company said profits rose to $2.41 billion, or 44 cents a share in the quarter, compared to $2.20 billion, or 40 cents a share a year earlier. Microsoft was expected to earn 42 cents a share, according to the consensus analyst estimate from First Call/Thomson Financial.
Revenues also met expectations at $5.8 billion, compared to $5.76 billion a year earlier. Most analysts had trimmed their revenue forecasts for Microsoft after the company warned last quarter that business demand for personal computers looked weak.
However, before taxes, Microsoft also recorded $1.13 billion in income from gains on investments, meaning its net operating profit was 2.52 billion. A year earlier, investment gains were $485 million while operating income was $2.9 billion.
Shares in Microsoft rose to 79-3/32 in after-hours trading just after the company announced earnings. The stock closed at 78-1/2 in regular trading, up 5/16. |
