Earnings reports for July 24

Major local employers: Capital One

Capital One Financial Corp., one of the nation's largest credit-card issuers, reported a second-quarter loss of $275.5 million as the amount of uncollectible debt grew.

But the McLean-based company, a major local employer, noted that delinquencies slowed in the quarter.

The company, which also owns banks, lost 65 cents per share in the quarter compared with a profit of $452.9 million, or $1.21 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding $461.7 million the company paid to redeem preferred shares the government had purchased as part of the TARP bailout program, Capital One said it earned $224.2 million, or 53 cents per share.

Revenue fell to $3.18 billion from $3.35 billion last year.

The bottom line beat the 73-cents-per-share loss expected by analysts, but Capital One's revenue fell short of their forecast.

Capital One reported results after the market closed. Shares rose $1.36, or 5.1 percent, to close at $27.83.

-- The Associated Press

UPS

UPS Inc. said its second-quarter profit plunged 49 percent and cautioned that its near-term outlook probably won't improve.

Atlanta-based UPS, also known as United Parcel Service, reported a profit of $445 million, or 44 cents a share, on revenue of $10.83 billion, compared to a year-ago profit of $873 million, or 85 cents a share, on revenue of $13 billion.

Adjusted earnings in the latest quarter were 49 cents a share. Analysts expected earnings of 49 cents a share on revenue of $11.02 billion.

If demand doesn't improve, that could mean more job cuts at UPS. The company, a major local employer, has about 410,000 workers.

UPS shares rose $1.21, or 2.3 percent, to close at $53.51.

-- The Associated Press

Wyeth

Drugmaker Wyeth posted a 13 percent jump in second-quarter profit, trouncing Wall Street forecasts, as cost cuts overcame lower sales because of generics competition and the strong dollar.

Wyeth is being bought by No. 1 drugmaker Pfizer Inc. for $68 billion -- the industry's biggest acquisition this year.

Wyeth said its net income amounted to $1.27 billion, or 94 cents per share. That's up from $1.12 billion, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier.

Without $44.9 million in restructuring costs and $21.2 million in costs for the acquisition, profit would have been 98 cents a share. That was 13 cents more than analysts expected.

Revenue was down 4 percent, to $5.7 billion from $5.95 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $5.58 billion.

Wyeth shares rose 24 cents to close at $47.10.

-- The Associated Press

Dow industrial firms: Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. profit last quarter plunged 29 percent because of weak computer sales, ending a fiscal year in which the software maker's revenue fell for the first time since the company went public in 1986.

Microsoft's revenue in the quarter was well short of analysts' expectations, and its shares plummeted $1.94, or 7.6 percent, to $23.62 in after-hours trading. Before the earnings report, the stock had closed regular trading up 3.1 percent at $25.56.

Microsoft's earnings sank to $3.05 billion, or 34 cents per share, from $4.3 billion, or 46 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Microsoft's sales dropped 17 percent to $13.1 billion.

For the full fiscal year, which ended June 30, the company's profit fell 17 percent to $14.6 billion, or $1.62 per share, from $17.7 billion, or $1.87 per share in the year-ago quarter. Sales sank 3 percent to $58.4 billion.

-- The Associated Press

3M Co.

Manufacturing conglomerate 3M Co. said second-quarter profit fell 17 percent as the global recession cut sales, but results still beat estimates.

The company said net income attributable to common shareholders for the three months ended in June slipped to $783 million, or $1.12 per share, from $945 million, or $1.33 per share, in the same period in 2008.

Excluding special items, 3M had profit of $843 million or $1.20 per share. Analysts expected 94 cents per share.

Revenue fell 15 percent to $5.72 billion from $6.74 billion, better than Wall Street's expectation of $5.41 billion.

Shares rose $4.76, or 7.4 percent, to close at $69.43.

-- The Associated Press

AT&T

AT&T Inc.'s earnings fell 15 percent in the second quarter as it subsidized a record-setting launch of the newest iPhone.

The country's largest telecommunications provider said it earned $3.20 billion, or 54 cents per share, in the April-to-June period. That was down from $3.77 billion, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 51 cents per share.

AT&T's revenue fell 0.6 percent to $30.7 billion, matching analysts' expectations.

Shares rose 64 cents, or 2.58 percent, to close at $25.48.

-- The Associated Press

Xerox

Xerox Corp. said second-quarter profit tumbled 35 percent but topped Wall Street forecasts, as cost cutting helped offset weak sales.

The company posted earnings of $140 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with $215 million, or 24 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts expected 11 cents per share, and the company itself had projected a range of 10 cents to 12 cents.

Sales fell slightly less than expected, down 18 percent to $3.73 billion, while analysts were looking for $3.72 billion.

Shares rose 73 cents, or 10.4 percent, to $7.73.

-- The Associated Press

McDonald's

McDonald's Corp. said net income fell 8 percent to $1.09 billion, or 98 cents per share, from $1.19 billion, or $1.04 per share in last year's quarter.

Excluding a 10-cent-pershare gain a year ago from the sale of its minority interest in Pret A Manger, it earned 94 cents per share in the 2008 quarter. Analysts expected profit of 97 cents per share.

Overall revenue fell 7 percent to $5.65 billion because of translating foreign currency into dollars. Analysts predicted revenue of $5.72 billion.

Shares fell $2.73, or 4.6 percent, to close at $56.09.

-- The Associated Press

American Express

American Express Co. said earnings fell 48 percent in the second quarter, but the credit-card lender says there are glimmers that recent trends of lower card use and slow repayment may be improving.

The company said it earned $337 million, or 9 cents per share. That compares with earnings of $653 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier.

The results included an 18 cents per share cost of buying back preferred shares from the U.S. Treasury. Excluding that cost, earnings were 27 cents per share.

Revenue fell 18 percent to $6.09 billion from $7.46 billion a year ago. Analysts expected 26 cents a share on revenue of $6.29 billion.

In after-hours trading, shares fell $1.19, or 4 percent, to $28.26, after rising 2.4 percent, or 69 cents, to close at $29.45 in the regular session.

-- The Associated Press