Earnings & Sales Reports, Profit | featured news

Verizon's third-quarter profit more than doubled as the telecommunications giant reported improved margins and wireless-subscriber growth.

JPMorgan Chase reported a $3.3 billion profit for the first quarter Wednesday, even as its results were tempered by ongoing losses in consumer loan portfolios.

Revenue and profit were up at Wal-Mart, but sales fell 0.4 percent at stores open at least a year.

Cost-cutting at drug maker Pfizer helps it to increase third-quarter profits despite falling sales of its medicines.

Dell Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, showing it was better able to cut costs and protect prices on its products than analysts, or its own executives, had predicted.

Wal-Mart's earnings were flat on lower same-store sales. The retail giant raised the low end of its fiscal-year outlook and plans to speed up cost-cutting measures.

Freddie Mac reported a surprising profit in the second quarter, but the profit turned to a loss for shareholders after the company paid the U.S. government a $1.1 billion dividend.

The company, reporting its first profit since 2007, said quarterly net income was $1.8 billion.

Stocks rallied Thursday to their highest levels in at least 8 months, as investors eyed the latest batch of better-than-expected profit reports or forecasts and a report that suggested the labor market is starting to stabilize.

One-time restructuring gains gave Ford a quarterly profit of $2.3 billion, despite a loss at its automotive operations.