Western Union
Fourth-quarter profit rose 8 percent on an increase in global consumer-to-consumer transactions. The company announced a $1 billion share repurchase.
Net income was $242.6 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with $223.7 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier, the Douglas County-based company said Tuesday in a statement. The average estimate of 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 35 cents. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 3 percent to $1.36 billion.
Pfizer
Fourth-quarter profit nearly quadrupled from a year ago, when the company was weighed down by restructuring charges, as revenue rose 6 percent, thanks to the addition of products from fellow drugmaker Wyeth, acquired late in 2009.
Pfizer said its net income was $2.89 billion, or 36 cents a share, compared with $767 million, or 10 cents, a year earlier. The results narrowly beat Wall Street expectations.
Revenue totaled $17.56 billion, up from $16.54 billion in 2009’s fourth quarter.
United Parcel Service
Fourth-quarter net income jumped 48 percent as shipments increased across the globe during the critical holiday season. The Atlanta-based company earned $1.12 billion, or $1.11 a share, in the last three months of 2010. That compares with net income of $757 million, or 75 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $13.42 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research forecast a profit of $1.05 a share.
Archer Daniels Midland
Second-quarter profit jumped 29 percent as a recovery in the ethanol industry and growing demand for grains boosted revenue and profit margins. The company, whose operations range from raising crops to making ethanol and shipping food exports, said Tuesday that its net income was $732 million, or $1.14 a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That’s up from $567 million, or 88 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 31.6 percent to $20.93 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 78 cents a share.
