U.S. Stocks Lifted by Apple’s Earnings; Coca-Cola Reports Mixed Earnings

U.S. stocks gained steam Wednesday, buoyed by upbeat quarterly results from Apple (AAPL) - Get Report . The tech giant posted fiscal third quarter earnings of $1.42 a share, beating estimates of $1.38. Revenue of $42.4 billion, topped estimates of $42.09 billion. The company sold 40.4 million iPhones during the quarter, ahead of the 39.9 million analysts were looking for. 'The beat is going to take the stock higher on the U.S. [market] open, but what we're looking at a second quarterly decline in iPhone sales and a second quarterly decline in profits and revenues and it's a concerning environment for Apple,' said Jasper Lawler, a market analyst with CMC Markets, based in London. Coca-Cola (KO) - Get Report shares fell after currency headwinds dinged second quarter results. Profit of $0.60 a share topped estimates of $0.58, while revenue of $11.54 billion missed forecasts of $11.63 billion. Boeing (BA) - Get Report posted a narrower-than-expected loss in its most recent quarter of $0.44 a share, while analysts had expected a $0.92 per share loss. Revenue of $24.8 billion beat estimates of $24.11 billion. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.