Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
Dell Inc.’s quarterly earnings and margins blew past Wall Street’s expectations as component costs slid and corporations replaced aging technology, propelling its shares 6 percent higher.
Dell, which is trying to shed a reputation for specializing in low-margin computers, still pulls in most of its revenue from personal computers. It has benefited from a surge in spending as businesses of all sizes buy equipment after two years of recession. Get the full story »
Industrial maintenance and safety products supplier WW Grainger Inc. reported January daily sales growth of 10 percent, mainly driven by strong sales at its heavy manufacturing and reseller end markets in the United States.
The United States, which is the Lake Forest-based company’s largest market, posted sales growth of 6 percent, while sales in Canada were up 24 percent. Get the full story »
Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings down 24 percent to $540 million. The company’s operating earnings, at 46 cents per share was in line with Wall Street expectations, but full-year earnings per share of $2.02 missed expectations by a penny.
The company’s shares fell 2.1 percent to $30.45 in after-hours trading. Get the full story »
MillerCoors, the second-largest brewer in the United States, posted a 38 percent rise in fourth-quarter net income, as cost savings and better trends for its premium light brands offset soft industry volumes. Get the full story »
Agricultural processor Bunge Ltd. reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue on strength in grain merchandising.
Bunge’s grain marketing, storage and transportation operations benefited from rising global demand for food amid thinning stocks, and the company said it was able to withstand highly volatile commodities markets with favorable futures hedge positions. Get the full story »
Circuit protection products maker Littelfuse Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, mainly helped by growth in its electronics segment, and forecast 2011 sales above analysts’ expectations. Get the full story »
CBOE Holdings’ quarterly profit jumped more than expected, and CEO William Brodsky sought to assure investors that the operator of the oldest U.S. stock options market has the edge over rivals pairing up in mega-mergers.
The disclosure on Wednesday that Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG was in advanced talks to buy NYSE Euronext to create the world’s largest financial exchange company sent shares of CBOE soaring on rekindled investor hopes that it would be a takeover target.
The announcement came on the heels of a tie-up between the London Stock Exchange Group Plc and Canadian stock market operator TMX Group Inc . Get the full story »
As earnings reports from homebuilders have dribbled out over the past few weeks, only one company gave a very specific and very positive shout-out to the Chicago market.
That company was M/I Homes Inc., the Columbus, Ohio-based builder that broke ground on its first suburban Chicago home less than three years ago and just finalized the purchase of its seventh local project, one designed to bring 146 town homes to Naperville.
Nationally, the inventory of new homes for sale dropped to 191,000 in December, the lowest number since 1968, according to the National Association of Home Builders. It dropped locally too, but at year’s end, there remained more than a year of available new homes on the market. Get the full story »
Auto and home insurer Allstate says its net income fell sharply in the fourth quarter as an Arizona hailstorm caused it to pay out far more in catastrophe losses.
In the final three months of last year, the company earned $296 million, or 55 cents per share. That’s down from $518 million, or 96 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Get the full story »
Lincolnshire-based Acco Brands Corp. said Wednesday that its earnings grew more than sixfold in the fourth quarter, benefiting from new products.
But the maker of Swingline staplers and other office products cautioned that 2011 will remain challenging because of uncertain consumer and business spending. Get the full story »
McDonald’s reported a stronger-than-expected sales rebound in January in Europe, its biggest market for revenue, sending its shares up nearly 3 percent in midday trading.
Sales at restaurants in Europe open at least 13 months jumped 7 percent last month, well above the 3.7 percent analysts had expected.
This was also a significant improvement from December, when sales in Europe fell 0.5 percent, rattling investors who worry that austerity measures will cut into spending in the region. Get the full story »
Toyota Motor Corp. lifted its annual forecasts beyond market expectations as cost cuts and sales exceeded its plans, but a heavy reliance on exports will keep it a laggard as long as the yen stays strong.
The world’s top automaker posted a smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter profit and raised its sales forecast for the year to March 31 by 70,000 vehicles to 7.48 million, thanks to better-than-expected sales in Asia, Japan and Russia. Get the full story »
Loews Corp. reported its best quarter of the year as strong investment income from its biggest holding, CNA Financial, helped the conglomerate post a better-than-expected 16 percent increase in quarterly profit.
New York-based Loews, run by the billionaire Tisch family, said net investment income rose 20 percent to $711 million for the fourth quarter. Get the full story »
Aon Corp. forecast continued margin improvement and posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street estimates, as the world’s largest insurance broker began to reap the benefits of its 2009 acquisition of Hewitt Associates.
Aon said restructuring related to the Hewitt integration was expected to help drive margin expansion. Get the full story »
Telephone and Data Systems Inc., a provider of wireless products and wired telecommunications services, said Thursday that promotions it offered in response to competition cut into revenues and profits during the quarter that ended in December at its largest subsidiary, U.S. Cellular.
