Google Inc.
The No. 1 Internet search engine said second-quarter profit rose fourfold as it drew more Web surfers than Yahoo Inc. and advertising sales surged. Net income rose to $342.8 million, or $1.19 a share, from $79.1 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier. Sales almost doubled to $1.38 billion, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said Thursday in a statement. Excluding fees passed on to other websites for displaying ads, sales were $890 million, topping the $842.5 million average estimate of 26 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Microsoft Corp.
The world’s biggest software maker said fourth-quarter profit increased 38 percent after a tax benefit. Sales rose at the highest rate in three quarters. Net income rose to $3.7 billion, or 34 cents a share, from $2.69 billion, or 25 cents, a year earlier, the company said Thursday in a statement. Sales rose 9.4 percent to $10.16 billion, in line with the $10.17 billion average estimate of 27 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Merck & Co.
Second-quarter profit plunged 59 percent on a huge one-time tax charge, slumping sales of its top drug and lost revenues from its shelved painkiller Vioxx. Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck on Thursday said its quarterly income declined to $720.6 million, or 33 cents per share, from $1.77 billion, or 79 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding a net tax charge of $640 million, or 29 cents per share, Merck reported a profit of $1.36 billion, or 62 cents per share. That matched the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue fell 9 percent to $5.47 billion from $6.02 billion last year, with 11 percent of the decrease coming from the lack of Vioxx sales.
McDonald’s Corp.
Second-quarter profits for the world’s largest restaurant company fell 10 percent on tax repatriation costs and its sales growth eased to its lowest level since the company began a resurgence in 2003. Despite losing some momentum, McDonald’s reported a modest gain in operating income Thursday and posted another solid showing at U.S. restaurants that have been key to its recovery. Net income was $530.4 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $590.7 million, or 47 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2004. Revenues increased to $5.1 billion from $4.7 billion.
Whirlpool Corp.
The appliancemaker on Thursday said its second-quarter profit slid 9 percent, weighed down by sharply higher prices for oil and other materials, and predicted oil-related costs would land near the high end of its forecast. Whirlpool, which Sunday submitted a surprise $1.37 billion bid to acquire rival Maytag Corp., reported earnings of $96 million, or $1.42 per share, compared with $106 million, or $1.53 per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 9 percent to $3.6 billion. The results topped Wall Street’s consensus forecast of earnings of $1.37 per share on revenue of $3.41 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
Union Pacific Corp.
The biggest U.S. railroad by sales said second-quarter net income rose 47 percent, the first quarterly increase since 2003, because of record price increases. Net income increased to $233 million, or 88 cents a share, from $158 million, or 60 cents, a year earlier, the company said Thursday. That topped the average estimate of 77 cents among analysts in a Thomson Financial survey. Sales grew 10 percent to $3.34 billion.
Caterpillar Inc.
The heavy-equipment maker posted record profits Thursday, beating Wall Street’s expectations amid a 2-year sales surge that analysts predict is far from over. Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar boosted its full-year forecast for the second time this year after profits rose 34 percent to $760 million for the quarter that ended June 30, up from $566 million a year ago. Net income for the quarter rose to $1.08 a share, up from 80 cents per share a year ago and well ahead of the target estimate of $1.01.
