Stocks in the News: Apple, Visa, Morgan Stanley

Melly Alazraki
Updated

The following is a round-up of news likely to affect stock prices today:



Apple (AAPL) posted late Tuesday a 90% jump in quarterly profit on 49% revenue growth. Apple said its earnings per share were $3.33 on revenue of $13.5 billion for its fiscal second quarter. This far exceeded Wall Street's estimates for earnings of $2.43 per share on revenue of $12 billion. The unstoppable company reported hot sales across all of its major product lines. Shares jumped over 5.5% ahead of the bell.

Dow companies reporting:

  • Boeing Co. (BA) reported Wednesday its first-quarter earnings fell as sales declined too. Earnings beat estimates, but not revenue. For the full year, Boeing also lowered its earnings expectations due to the loss of the tax deduction.

  • AT&T Inc. (T) reported on Wednesday first-quarter profit fell 20% because of a large health-related expense, but beat estimates excluding the charge. Revenue rose and the company added a net 1.9 million wireless subscribers.

  • United Technologies (UTX) reported on Wednesday a 20% increase in first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders, or 93 cents per share, beating forecasts of 90 cents a share in the first quarter. Revenue, however, declined slightly.

  • McDonald's (MCD) reported its first-quarter profit climbed above analysts' expectations with revenue rising 10%, as customers looking to stretch their dollars chowed down on its value menu items.

Financials:

  • Morgan Stanley (MS) said Wednesday its first-quarter profit surged to $1.41 billion on strong results from its trading operations, easily toppping analysts' expectations. Shares rose 3.4% ahead of the bell.

  • Wells Fargo (WFC) reported Wednesday its first-quarter earnings fell 1% to $2.37 billion as the bank dealt with continuing losses on consumer loans. Shares declined over 1.5% in premarket trading.

Visa Inc. (V) announced it's acquiring CyberSource Corporation (CYBS), a provider of electronic payment, risk management and payment security solutions to online merchants at a price of $26.00 per share, The deal is worth some $2 billion. CYBS closed Tuesday at $19.44 and is soaring over 32% in premarket trading.

Infineon (IFNNY) shares rose on Wednesday after traders' rumors regarding takeover talks, which mentioned Intel (INTC) as a potential acquirer. Apple's strong results also boosted the stock.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) reported on Wednesday an 18% decline in its first-quarter earnings after it was hit from a big charge due to the recent U.S. health care overhaul. Revenue rose 3%. Adjusted results beat estimates. Lockheed lowered its 2010 net income outlook by 15 cents per share because of the health care reform.

Reporting today after the closing bell are Starbucks (SBUX) and eBay (EBAY).

Altria Group Inc. (MO) posted a jump in quarterly profit, helped by cost cuts and price increases. Excluding one-time items, earnings were 42 cents a share, 2 cents above analysts' estimates. Shipments were down 0.7% in the quarter.

Yahoo (YHOO) reported first quarter results late Tuesday that soundly beat estimates, but its revenue fell short of expectations. Yahoo got a boost in cost savings from its Microsoft (MSFT) search deal, as well as tax rate benefits. Revenue generated from display advertising on its sites grew 20%, but revenue from paid search ads fell 14% in the quarter. Shares fell over 4% before the bell.

Reporting late Tuesday were: Altera Corp. (ALTR), Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD), Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR), Seagate Technology (STX) and VMware Inc. (VMW) -- all of which exceeded earnings estimates. ALTR shares rose 4.3%, STX nearly 5% and VMW's almost 3%. But GILD shares are down over 6% because it lowered outlook and JNPR shares also dropped over 6% in premarket trades.

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