Sprint Springs to Life Despite Wider Loss

Updated from 10:24 a.m. EDT

Sprint Nextel(S Quote) shares were shooting higher Monday as investors found reason for hope in the telecom giant's first-quarter earnings report.

The Overland Park, Kan.-based firm posted a loss of 21 cents a share, or $594 million, compared to a loss of 18 cents a share, or $505 million, in the same period last year. Excluding charges, however, Sprint reported earnings of 3 cents a share, down from earnings of 4 cents a share in the year-ago quarter, but better than the 5-cent loss expected by analysts.

Sprint's revenue slumped year over year, and sales came in at $8.21 billion, down 12% from $9.3 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected sales $8.28 billion. ...