Bank of America Corp. began the year with a much larger profit than expected, as the company benefited from its purchase of Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said Friday that it earned $3.2 billion, or 28 cents a share, in the first three months of 2010. Analysts had estimated earnings of 18 cents a share.
BofA’s robust performance relied heavily on its investment banking and securities trading units, large parts of which were acquired when the bank bought Merrill Lynch at the end of 2008.
General Electric Co. said Friday that its first-quarter earnings fell 32 percent, but the industrial and financial bellwether said it saw signs of improvement in its own results and the broader economy. Results exceeded analyst expectations.
GE said it earned $1.87 billion, or 17 cents a share, after deducting preferred dividends in the January-March period, down from $2.75 billion, or 26 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 5 percent to $36.6 billion from $38.4 billion a year ago.
Gannett Co., the owner of USA Today and KUSA-Channel 9, offered more evidence Friday that 2010 will not be quite as painful for newspapers as 2009, when the recession compounded the industry’s problems.
Cost cutting and a less severe drop in advertising revenue boosted first-quarter results for the company. Gannett’s net income jumped 51 percent despite a 4 percent decline in revenue.
Gannett posted a net income of $117.2 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with $77.4 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. Gannett’s overall revenue fell 4 percent in the first quarter to $1.32 billion.
Mattel Inc. got a boost from new toy lines like Thomas and Friends and World Wrestling Entertainment, and such standbys as Barbie also performed well, leading the toymaker to post a surprise profit.
Mattel, the No. 1 U.S. toymaker, earned $24.8 million, or 7 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31. That compares with a loss of $51 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, had expected a loss of 3 cents a share.
Revenue rose 12 percent to $880.1 million.
