Exxon Mobil
The largest U.S. oil company had a simple formula for success last quarter: It sold oil at higher prices.
Everything else was a struggle. Production fell, its refineries suffered from high costs and falling fuel demand, and it made less money on chemicals. Even its big investment in natural gas hasn’t paid off.
Net income totaled $9.4 billion, or $1.97 per share, compared with $9.25 billion, or $1.85 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose nearly 16 percent to $121.6 billion.
Mattel
Strong holiday demand for toys including Barbie and Monster High dolls helped push fourth-quarter profit up a better-than-expected 14 percent.
The toymaker reported Tuesday that its net income rose to $370.6 million, or $1.07 per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That’s up from $325.2 million, or 89 cents per share, a year ago. Mattel’s quarterly revenue edged up 1 percent to $2.15 billion.
The results beat the $1 per share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.
Amazon
Fourth-quarter net income dropped sharply, weighed down by higher operating expenses even as its revenue grew. Investors punished the online retailer’s stock in after-hours trading, as the company also gave a disappointing forecast for the current period.
Amazon said Tuesday that its net income was $177 million, or 38 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That’s down 57 percent from $416 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 35 percent to $17.4 billion.
UPS
For the better part of two years, earnings were powered by a strong international performance, particularly in Asia. Now UPS’s results are being driven by an economic “uplift” here at home.
United Parcel Service earned $725 million, or 74 cents per share, compared with $1.3 billion, or $1.02 per share a year earlier. Excluding a charge tied to how it accounts for pensions and retirement plans, UPS earned $1.28 per share in the latest quarter. Analysts expected an adjusted profit of $1.27 per share. Revenue rose 6 percent to $14.17 billion.
U.S. Steel
Higher prices and better demand are coming after a rocky year that ended in a fourth-quarter loss.
In the October-December quarter, U.S. Steel reported a net loss of $226 million, or $1.57 per share, compared with a loss of $249 million, or $1.74 per share, in the same quarter in 2010. Revenue rose 12 percent to $4.82 billion.
Pfizer
Fourth-quarter profit fell by half because it sold less Lipitor, the cholesterol fighter that’s the biggest drug ever to go off patent, and took some one-time charges. Results still beat analysts’ expectations.
The maker of Viagra said net income was $1.44 billion, or 19 cents per share, down from $2.89 billion, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 4 percent to $16.75 billion.
