First Quarter Earnings | featured news

The first quarter was a sweet one for The Hershey Co. The candy maker said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose 24 percent as higher prices and cost cutting helped offset rising ingredient costs. The company raised its sales forecast for the year, which sent shares up 5.5 percent near an all-time high that was set nearly seven years ago.

While the company's new Lumia line of smartphones is gaining traction, those using the older Symbian operating system have lost their appeal.

Helped out by special items, Southwest Airlines reported a net income of $98 million last quarter to preserve its 21-year string of profitable first quarters. But excluding those gains, mostly from an increase in value of fuel hedges, the Dallas-based carrier said it lost $18 million.

EBay's first-quarter net income grew 20 percent thanks to higher revenue from its PayPal business and brisk sales at its e-commerce websites. The results beat Wall Street's expectations and investors sent the company's stock higher in after-hours trading.

Yahoo's first-quarter results showed signs of modest progress under recently hired CEO Scott Thompson.

Moody's ratings agency downgraded Nokia's debt grade to near junk status on Monday, citing a sharp decline in first-quarter cellphone sales that led to a 35 percent fall in revenue.

Since October, estimates for first-quarter earnings growth have tumbled while the S&P 500 has surged. With the earnings season starting next week, the outlook is not as sunny as in previous quarters.

Spending rose by the most in seven months, raising hopes that first quarter economic growth may have been stronger than expected.

FedEx scared markets in its first quarter earnings report, noting the global economy would slow and demand, particularly from Asia, would cool, putting downward pressure on the stock.

Bed Bath & Beyond posted fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday of $180.6 million, or 72 cents per share, compared to $137.6 million, or 52 cents per share, last year.