CenturyLink Inc.
The telecommunications provider’s first- quarter profit slid 16 percent, while revenue dropped, as it continues to suffer from declines in its traditional phone business.
The latest results didn’t include CenturyLink’s acquisition of Denver-based Qwest, a $10.6 billion deal that closed at the beginning of April.
On Thursday, CenturyLink reported a profit of $211.1 million, or 69 cents a share, down from $252.6 million, or 84 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue decreased 5.8 percent to $1.7 billion.
Excluding integration and severance-related costs and other impacts, adjusted per-share earnings fell to 76 cents from 93 cents.
Analysts expected a profit of 70 cents a share on revenue of $1.7 billion.
General Motors
The automaker’s profit more than tripled in a blockbuster first quarter as it reeled in $3.2 billion from improving U.S. sales.
In its fifth-straight profitable quarter, the nation’s largest automaker saw net income boom to $1.77 a share from 55 cents a share, or $900 million, in the first quarter of last year. Revenue spiked to $36.2 billion, up $4.7 billion from the same period in 2010, GM said before the market opened Thursday.
The company also reported one-time gains of $1.9 billion after selling its stakes in parts supplier Delphi Automotive and Ally Financial.
American International Group Inc.
Repayment of bailout aid and losses from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami that ravaged Japan’s northeast coast led to a first-quarter loss at the global insurance company.
AIG on Thursday reported a loss, after paying preferred dividends, of $543 million, or 35 cents a share. That compared with net income of $359 million, or $2.66 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell to $17.44 billion from $18.56 billion last year.
Cigna Corp.
The health insurer’s first-quarter net income jumped 52 percent as medical claims fell, the international business grew again, and it raised its 2011 profit forecast.
Cigna earned $429 million, or $1.57 a share, in the three months that ended March 31. That’s up from $283 million, or $1.02 a share, last year. Revenue climbed 4 percent to $5.41 billion from $5.21 billion.
Adjusted income from operations, which excludes some one-time items, totaled $1.37 a share. Analyst surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.09 a share.
DirecTV Group Inc.
The nation’s largest satellite-TV operator said Thursday that its profit rose 21 percent in the first quarter as it continued to grow faster than rival Dish Network.
DirecTV said its net income rose to $674 million, or 85 cents a share, from $558 million, or 59 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue grew 13 percent to $6.32 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 71 cents a share, on average.
Estee Lauder
Strong overseas sales and continuing cost- cutting helped more than double third-quarter net income, the cosmetics seller said Thursday.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Estee Lauder reported net income of $125 million, or 62 cents a share, for the quarter that ended in March. That’s more than double the $58 million, or 28 cents a share, it reported a year earlier.
Revenue rose 16 percent to $2.17 billion.
