Merrill Lynch(MER Quote) posted third-quarter income of $422 million, or 44 cents a share. Analysts were looking for income of 41 cents. Merrill earned 94 cents a share in the equivalent period last year.
Earnings, Warnings & Reports
Boeing(BA Quote) said its third-quarter earnings totaled $713 million, or 88 cents a share, excluding charges in the third quarter. Analysts were looking for 87 cents a share, a figure that was reduced from 93 cents a share. In the same period last year the company earned $623 million, or 72 cents a share. Revenue came in at $13.7 billion, up from the $11.9 billion in the year-ago period. The jet maker said that revenue in 2002 would lag because of the reduced orders from the struggling airliners.
Check Point Software(CHKP Quote) said it earned $74.3 million, or 29 cents a share, which is in line with Wall Street's estimates for the third quarter. A year ago it earned $61.6 million, or 23 cents a share. Revenue totaled $118 million, up from $116 million in the year-earlier period. The company also said it expects its fourth-quarter results to be in line with expectations.
Coca-Cola(KO Quote) earned 41 cents a share in the third quarter, excluding a 2-cent gain. In the year-ago period its income totaled $1.06 billion, or 43 cents a share. Analysts were looking for earnings of 40 cents a share. Revenue slipped slightly to $5.40 billion, down from $5.41 billion.
Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) said it matched the consensus estimate of 66 cents a share in the third quarter, before adjustments. The company's income was $779 million, or 71 cents per share, a year ago. The company said it expects single-digit sales growth in 2001 and 2002.
General Motors(GM Quote) said it earned $385 million, or 85 cents a share, in the third quarter, excluding charges. That figure beat the Street's consensus estimate of 80 cents a share. The company earned $829 million, or $1.55 a share, in the third quarter of last year. Revenue fell to $42.48 billion from $42.69 billion. Including charges, the company lost $368 million, or 41 cents a share.
McDonald's(MCD Quote) said it beat analysts' expectations for the third quarter, posting income of $545.5 million, or 42 cents a share. That's down from $548.5 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. The consensus estimate was 39 cents a share. Sales, including company-owned and franchised restaurants, were $10.63 billion, from $10.51 billion a year earlier.
Merck(MRK Quote) said it earned $1.95 billion, or 84 cents a share, in the second quarter. The figure is in line with analysts' expectations and topped the $1.84 billion, or 78 cents a share, it earned last year. The company also said sales of its blockbuster drug Vioxx will be less than previously thought for the full year.
Earnings After The Closing Bell On Thursday
After the closing bell a number of tech heavyweights are slated to report quarterly earnings. Among them are Microsoft(MSFT Quote) and Sun Microsystems(SUNW Quote). Also reporting will be Gateway(GTW Quote), Corning(GLW Quote), Conexant Systems(CNXT Quote), Guidant(GDT Quote), KLA-Tencor(KLAC Quote), PMC Sierra(PMCS Quote), Xilinx(XLNX Quote), and eBay(EBAY Quote).
After Wednesday's Close
Advanced Micro Devices(AMD Quote) said it lost $97.4 million, or 28 cents a share, excluding charges, in the third quarter. The loss was in line with the Wall Street consensus estimate. Sales dropped to $765.9 million, down from $1.21 billion. AMD said it expects to report an operating loss in the fourth quarter. Analysts are already calling for a loss of 21 cents a share in the fourth quarter.
Alpha Industries(AHAA Quote) said it lost $2.6 million, or 6 cents a share, for the second quarter, matching the consensus estimate. The company earned $10.6 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-ago period. However, Alpha said it expects to lose 2 cents to 4 cents a share in the third quarter, while Wall Street is looking for a loss of a penny.
Apple Computer(AAPL Quote) said income in the fourth quarter totaled $65 million, or 18 cents a share, topping the consensus estimate by 2 cents. The company earned $108 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales for the quarter fell to $1.45 billion from $1.87 billion.
Broadcom(BRCM Quote) said it lost $34 million, or 13 cents a share, in the third quarter. Twenty analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting a loss of 15 cents a share in the period. Broadcom earned $78.7 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Commerce One(CMRC Quote), a B2B Software company, said it lost 24 cents a share, excluding charges, which was in line with the Thomson Financial/First Call consensus. Revenue totaled $81 million. The company warned last week that its results would fall a penny to two cents short of the consensus at the time.
Handspring(HAND Quote), maker of handheld computers, reported a loss of $32.7 million, or 28 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter. The company lost $16.3 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue in the period fell to $61.4 million from $70.5 million last year.
Siebel Systems(SEBL Quote) earned $32.5 million, or 7 cents a share, in the third quarter. Income came in 2 cents short of the consensus estimate. In the year-ago period, Siebel earned $67.5 million, or 13 cents a share. Revenue fell to $428.5 million from $496.5 million in the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $490.8 million.
Symantec(SYMC Quote), a computer security provider, said it earned $42.3 million, or 56 cents a share, excluding certain charges in the latest quarter. Wall Street was expecting 43 cents a share. The company earned 61 cents a year ago. Revenue totaled $242.4 million, up from $226.4 million last year.
Texas Instruments(TXN Quote) posted a loss, excluding items, of $57 million, or 3 cents a share, in the third quarter. The company also said it expects revenue to decline 10% in the fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting a loss of 4 cents in the quarter. The company earned $589 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped to $1.85 billion from $3.13 billion in the same period last year.
