First Quarter | 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.

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.

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.