U.S. initial jobless claims climbed last week. Philadelphia manufacturing activity index was better than expected. The three major U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday, ending the three-consecutive-day gains of the S&P 500 index. A group of giants released earnings reports on Tursday, but generally, not favorable.
Google (GOOG) published earnings report below the market estimates, resulting in a decline of 8.01% in its share price. Google’s third quarter total revenue was $14.1 billion, surging 45% from a year ago’s $9.72 billion; on the basis of the U.S. GAAP, the company’s third quarter earnings was $2.18 billion, down 20% from $2.73 billion for the third quarter of last year. GOOG stock price rallied 1.01% in the after-hours trading session today.
Microsoft (MSFT) today released its fiscal 2013 first quarter earnings results, showing that Microsoft’s first-quarter revenue of $16.008 billion, down 8% from $17.372 billion in the same period last year; net profit of $4.466 billion, down 22% from $ 5.738 billion a year ago. MSFT stock price retreated 0.32% in the regular trading session and slid 1.47% in the after-hours trading session on Thursday.
Nokia (NOK) published decline in its third quarter revenue and widened net loss. The company announced its fiscal 2012 third-quarter net sales of 7.2 billion euros (approximately $9.45 billion), down 19% from the same period last year; net loss of 969 million euros (approximately $1.27 billion), well above last year same period’s 68 million euros. NOK stock price plunged 4.76% in the regular trading session but regained 0.71% in the after-hours trading session.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) posted third-quarter profit topping the consensus estimates due to the strong performance of its wireless division. The third quarter profit margin increased to 50% from 49% in the previous quarter, beating the Wall Street’s estimate of 48.4%; net profit reached $1.59 billion on revenue of $29 billion. VZ shares climbed 2.37% in the regular trading session but gave up 0.31% in the after-hours trading session on Thursday.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) reported a third quarter net profit of $128.8 million, or 24 cents per unit versus a net loss of $274.6 million, or 56 cents per unit, for the third quarter of 2011. BX unit price surged 4.45% in the regular trading session but faded 0.06% in the after-hours trading session on Tursday.
Morgan Stanley (MS) on Thursday reported its third-quarter net loss of $1 billion, or 55 cents per share versus a net profit of $2.2 billion, or $1.14 per share; revenue fell to $5.3 billion from $9.89 billion in the same period last year. MS shares lost 3.79% in the regular trading session and kept the downward momentum in the after-hours trading session by losing 0.28% on Tursday.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) announced its third quarter net sales of $7.9 billion, down 5.3% from a year ago; cigarettes shipments declined 1.3% on a year-over-year basis; operating profit of $3.7 billion, down 1.5% from the same period last year; excluding the impact of exchange rates and acquisitions, Philip Morris realized adjusted operating profit of $3.6 billion, representing a decline of 1.5% compared to the third quarter of 2011. PM shares dropped 4.19% in the regular trading session but edged up 0.55% in the after-hours trading session on Tursday.