Motorola Jumps on Sunny Outlook

SHAUMBURG, Ill. -- (TheStreet) -- Motorola (MOT) delivered solid third-quarter numbers and an upbeat profit forecast based on cost cuts and the predicted success of its new Google (GOOG) Android-powered phones.

The wireless tech shop posted adjusted earnings of 2 cents a share, which exclude a one-time charge. This small profit is a big improvement from the 18-cent loss in the year-ago period, and it beat the breakeven target that analysts expected, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Sales for the third quarter ended last month were $5.45 billion, a 27% decline from the $7.5 billion level last year and slightly below the $5.54 billion analysts were looking for.

Droid Is Here: First Look

Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted earnings to be within the 7 cent and 9-cent range. The 8-cent midpoint is above the 6 cents analysts were expecting.

Motorola unveiled its Droid phone for Verizon (VZ), the nation's largest wireless telco. The phone uses the most recent version of Google's Android software and has made favorable impressions in early reviews. Wireless chief Sanjay Jha has aligned Motorola's phone unit turnaround strategy on the Android operating system. The bold bet on a still emerging software has shown some promise as Android becomes more widely accepted.

The Droid smartphone.

Jha said Wednesday during a Droid press conference that Motorola would have more than 20 smartphones next year, with the majority of those phones running on Android.

"The introductions of our new products powered by Android are important milestones as we begin to address the mobilization of the Internet and the growing demand for modern smartphones," Jha said in a press release. "Next year, we will continue to expand our smartphone portfolio and deliver improved financial results."