MOT, XOM, FSLR, LSI, AFL, ASMI, CERN, EQR Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks climbed Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.66% to 9924, the S&P 500 gained 1.84% to 1062 and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.60% to 2093.
The maker of communications equipment Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT, $8.78, +$0.82, 10.28%) reported an unexpected quarterly profit Thursday as losses in its mobile phone division narrowed. The company also forecast stronger-than-anticipated earnings for last three months of the year, sending its shares up 11 percent. In the three-month period that ended Oct. 3, Motorola earned $12 million, or a penny per share. That compares with a loss of $397 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM, $73.38, -$0.46, -0.62%), the world’s largest publicly-traded oil company, reported a profit of $4.73 billion, or 98 cents a share, down from $14.83 billion, or $2.85 a share, a year earlier. The prior year included a net $1.45 billion in gains. The company’s revenue fell 40.3% to $82.3 billion. Analysts forecasted earnings of $1.03 a share on revenue of $85.16 billion.
First Solar’s (NASDAQ:FSLR, $126.74, -$24.84, -16.39%) third-quarter profit jumped 54% as the thin-film solar-power modules maker posted higher revenue, but margins slumped on pricing pressures. Revenue badly missed expectations.
LSI Corp.’s (NYSE:LSI, $5.24, +$0.25, 5.01%) third-quarter profit surged as a $65 million tax benefit masked lower sales and margins. The storage-chip maker posted a rare profit and better-than-expected results.
Aflac Inc.’s (NYSE:AFL, $42.68, +$2.10, 5.17%) third-quarter profit nearly quadrupled on reduced investment losses and increased premiums, but the company cautioned it will miss its annual U.S. market sales target.
Shares in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International NV (NASDAQ:ASMI, $20.75, +$1.46, 7.57%) jumped Thursday after its third-quarter results beat expectations, as rising demand in the global chip industry helped to boost sales and order intake.
Cerner Corp.’s (NASDAQ:CERN, $78.66, +$1.80, 2.34%) third-quarter earnings rose 7.5% as the health-care information technology company saw a healthy increase in bookings. Cerner also projected fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates while putting its earnings view at the low end of consensus estimates.
Equity Residential’s (EQR, $28.71, +$1.15, 4.17%) third-quarter profit declined 23% as the real estate investment trust posted a lower occupancy and falling average rental rates.
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