Fourth Quarter Earnings | featured news

Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. says its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 69 percent, boosted in part by a gain from the sale of its pharmacy benefits management business.

The economy grew more quickly than previously estimated in the fourth quarter as businesses maintained fairly solid spending and restocked shelves to meet rising demand.

The economy grew slower than initially estimated in the fourth quarter as government investment contracted more sharply and consumer spending was less robust, a government report showed on Friday.

The online travel website has seen better quarters, with higher taxes, increased spending on technology and content, and a push and pull between airlines and global distribution systems that took a toll in the last quarter of 2010. The stock was down more than 18% Friday at $21.06.

Time Warner posted strong fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday as the company capitalized on the continued success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, growth in networks stemming from advertising and subscription growth in HBO and TVS, and improved productivity in its publishing unit, Time Inc. The company thus decided to revamp its share buyback program and hike its quarterly dividend, to the joy of investors who propped the stock up more than 7% in early trading.

Exxon Mobil Corp reported a better-than-expected 53 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by a lower tax rate and a surge in natural gas production in the United States and Qatar.

An optimistic Chrysler narrowed its net loss significantly in the fourth quarter and forecast a net profit for 2011 as it continued a comeback from bankruptcy protection.

Amazon.com posted quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts' estimates on Thursday and its shares fell almost 10 percent.

Microsoft Corp is set to report a dip in earnings on Thursday, a year after the launch of its Windows 7 operating system blew away Wall Street estimates, as sales of personal computers lag expectations and Apple Inc's iPad eats away at the fringes of its core market.

Boeing Co on Wednesday said its quarterly profit slipped after the company made fewer commercial airplane deliveries than a year ago, and the company predicted a hit to earnings partly from delays to the 787 Dreamliner program.