First Data: The credit-card processor, which agreed earlier this month to a $27 billion takeover, said Thursday its net income dropped 59 percent in the first quarter, reflecting the spinoff of Western Union. The company reported earnings of $175.2 million, or 23 cents per share, from $430.1 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Union Pacific Corp.: The nation’s largest rail line reported a 24 percent jump in first-quarter net income Thursday as revenue rose 4 percent behind strong improvement in revenue for shipping chemical and agricultural products. Union Pacific, a major shipper of Wyoming coal, said it earned $386 million, or $1.41 per share, during the quarter that ended March 31. That’s up from the same period a year ago, when the railroad made $311 million, or $1.15 per share.
Google Inc.: The online search leader’s first-quarter profit rose 69 percent, maintaining its penchant for obliterating analyst estimates. The stellar results released Thursday left little doubt that Google has widened its lead over its closest rival in Internet search and advertising, Yahoo Inc., whose first-quarter earnings eroded.
In the latest demonstration of its clout, Google earned $1 billion, or $3.18 per share, during the first three months of the year. That compared with net income of $592.3 million, or $1.95 per share, in the same period last year. It was also the second consecutive quarter in which Google earned $1 billion – nearly as much money as the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, Gannett Co., made all of last year.
Gannett Co., Tribune Co., New York Times Co. and Media General Inc.: Media companies announced lackluster earnings during their latest quarter as declining revenue, profit and circulation figures dealt the newspaper industry its latest financial blow.
The four media companies reported lower earnings Thursday, as classified advertising dwindled and overall online revenue growth began to slow, analysts said. At Chicago-based Tribune, interactive revenue grew 17 percent to $60 million. That segment grew 30 percent during the first quarter in 2006.
Capital One Financial Corp.: The nation’s biggest independent credit-card issuer said first- quarter profit plunged 24 percent because customers missed debt payments and its mortgage business had a loss. The company also cut its full-year earnings forecast by as much as 5.4 percent.
Net income declined to $675.1 million, or $1.62 a share, missing the $1.99 average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Capital One now expects full-year earnings of $7 to $7.40 a share, down from $7.40 to $7.80 in January, the McLean, Va.-based company said Thursday in a statement.
Merrill Lynch & Co.: The retail brokerage’s first-quarter profit soared more than 30 percent thanks to strong revenue from investments and takeover activity. The results surpassed expectations, and cemented the notion that major financial companies have emerged unscathed from the stock market’s turbulent first quarter, the cooling U.S. economy and troubles in subprime lending. Excluding a charge incurred last year related to a change in accounting and retirement policies, Merrill Lynch’s profit climbed 31 percent in the first quarter from the same period a year ago.
