Wells Fargo & Co.
The San Francisco-based bank reported a 19 percent increase in its third-quarter income Wednesday as losses from bad loans declined, a hopeful sign that American businesses and consumers are becoming more financially stable.
Wells Fargo earned $3.15 billion, or 60 cents per share, in the three months ending in September, beating analysts’ expectations by 5 cents per share. The bank earned $2.64 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Wells Fargo’s losses from bad loans were $4.1 billion in the third quarter, down 20 percent from the third quarter of 2009. The number of bad loans fell in almost all of Wells Fargo’s business lines: down 26 percent in commercial loans, down 39 percent in commercial real estate and down 13 percent in credit cards.
Morgan Stanley
The investment bank reported weaker results Wednesday from a trading slowdown during the summer.
The bank’s net loss applicable to common shareholders was $91 million, or 7 cents per share, during the quarter, compared with earnings of $498 million, or 38 cents per share, during the same quarter last year. Morgan Stanley’s overall revenue fell 20 percent to $6.8 billion.
EBay Inc.
The online marketplace operator on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit climbed 22 percent, helped by cost-cutting and its growing PayPal business.
EBay earned $432 million, or 33 cents per share, in the July- September period, compared with a profit of $350 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 1 percent to $2.25 billion.
Excluding one-time items, eBay earned 40 cents per share, beating the average expectation of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters by 3 cents.
Boeing
The airplane maker posted an $837 million third- quarter profit Wednesday and raised its profit guidance for the full year as it sold more commercial airplanes.
Boeing has already made plans to raise production rates on the 737, its best-selling plane. The improved 2010 guidance reflects a strong outlook for commercial planes.
Boeing’s revenue for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 rose 2 percent to $16.97 billion. Net income worked out to $1.12 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of $1.06 per share.
Netflix Inc.
The mail-order and online movie-rental service on Wednesday said its third-quarter net income grew as it continued to attract subscribers, particularly to its Internet streaming service.
In the July-to-September period, Netflix earned $38 million, or 70 cents per share. That’s up 26 percent from $30.1 million, or 52 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding the cost of stock options, earnings were 78 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ expectations. Revenue jumped 31 percent to $553.2 million.
