Chipotle Mexican Grill
The Denver-based fast- casual restaurant chain said Thursday that its net income jumped 62 percent in the fourth quarter, crediting an 11 percent boost in sales, although the results missed Wall Street’s expectations.
Its stock fell as much as 14 percent in after-hours trading Thursday.
For the quarter ending Dec. 31, the company reported net income of $17.5 million, or 53 cents a share, compared with net income of $10.8 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue totaled $288.9 million, up from $219.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast 55 cents a share on revenue of $288.9 million.
Sales at restaurants at least a year old rose 10.6 percent, chief executive Steve Ells said.
Comcast
The cable-television company, pressured by investors to boost returns, said it will buy back $6.9 billion of its stock over two years and pay its first dividend in almost a decade, sending the shares up the most since 2002.
Fourth-quarter net income rose 54 percent to $602 million, or 20 cents a share, from $390 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier, Philadelphia-based Comcast said Thursday in a statement. Profit beat the 17-cent average of 17 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Sales gained 14 percent to $8.01 billion.
EnCana
Canada’s largest natural-gas producer and the largest driller on Colorado’s Western Slope said fourth- quarter profit rose 63 percent on increased production and contributions from a new refining venture. The company doubled its dividend.
Net income rose to $1.08 billion, or $1.33 a share, from $663 million, or 80 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary- based company said Thursday in a statement. Excluding one-time items, the results of $1.12 a share missed by 15 cents the average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 58 percent to $5.8 billion.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber
The largest U.S. tiremaker posted a fourth-quarter profit of $52 million, rebounding from a $358 million loss a year earlier, as it sold higher-margin tires and won more business overseas.
Net income was 23 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.02 a year earlier, Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear said in a statement.
