Cargill's second-quarter earnings quadruple(12:04 pm ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cargill on Wednesday reported its second-quarter earnings jumped to $409 million from $100 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 6% to $35.2 billion. "Cargill posted a solid second quarter, with earnings balanced and diversified across the breadth of the company," said Chairman and Chief executive officer Greg Page said in a statement. Cargill is a privately-held U.S. company with businesses ranging from grain handling to energy trading.
Apollo Group shares skid on earnings warning (11:40 am ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apollo Group Inc. (APOL: news, chart, profile) shares fell as much as 11% to $18.65 Wednesday as investors reacted to the company's weaker earnings outlook in the face of further enrollment declines. The for-profit educator, which operates the University of Phoenix, released its fiscal first-quarter results after the close Tuesday. It reported adjusted earnings of $1.22 a share, which beat the 90-cent consensus among analysts polled by FactSet. But revenue fell nearly 11% to $1.06 billion and enrollment fell 14%, a third consecutive quarterly decline, prompting the company to cut its full-year operating earnings outlook to $500 million to $550 million from its previous estimate of $525 million to $575 million. Apollo shares have fallen 67% over the past 12 months.
Danaher shares jump on strong earnings outlook (10:42 am ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Danaher Corp. (DHR: news, chart, profile) shares were up as much as 4% early Wednesday, leading percentage gainers on the S&P 500 (SPX: news, chart, profile) after the company said its fourth-quarter results would likely top its previous estimate of 80 cents to 85 cents a share. Chief Executive Officer H. Lawrence Culp, in comments to be delivered at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, cited a "strong finish to the year from both a revenue and earnings perspective, which was broad-based across most of our business." Danaher produces a wide range of medical and industrial equipment and services. Its shares were last up 3.9% at $59.95. The stock is up nearly 24% over the past 12 months. Danaher is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 29 before the market opens.
Seagate shares rise 4% on strong quarterly sales(9:49 am ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The leading hard-disk drive makers saw their shares rise Wednesday after Seagate Technology (STX: news, chart, profile) issued better-than-expected sales results for the December quarter. Late Tuesday, Seagate said revenue for its fiscal second-quarter will be at least $3.6 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $3.5 billion. The company will give full quarterly results on Jan. 28. Seagate's sales helped boost its shares by more than 4%, to $32.72 in early trading Wednesday, and its top rival, Western Digital Corp. (WDC: news, chart, profile) was also up by more than 3%, at $43.37.
Europe stocks higher as Alcoa boosts sentiment(3:12 am ET) MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, lifted by banks and mining companies after an upbeat demand outlook from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA: news, chart, profile) . "Still early days for U.S. earnings season with investment banking giants reporting 4Q figures next week, but the positive tone has certainly been set, particularly when it comes to outlook statements," said Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist at ETX Capital, in emailed comments. The Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP: news, chart, profile) rose 0.4% to 287.45, with the German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX: news, chart, profile) up 0.3% to 7,722.28 and the French CAC 40 index (FR:PX1: news, chart, profile) up 0.5% to 3,724.22. The FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX: news, chart, profile) rose 0.4% to 6,076.24.
United Air parent Dec. load factor 82.4% vs 81.2%(1:48 am ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- United Continental Holdings Inc., (UAL: news, chart, profile) the Chicago parent of United Airlines, late on Tuesday reported that for December, its load factor, or percentage of seats filled with paying passengers, was 82.4% compared with 81.2% in the year-earlier month. Total traffic rose 4% for the month, to 16.21 billion revenue passenger miles. A revenue passenger mile is one paying passenger carried one mile. For 2012 as a whole, UAL's load factor widened 0.4 percentage point to 82.6%. Tuesday, Jan. 8
Seagate reports sales of at least $3.6 billion(4:29 pm ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Seagate Technology (STX: news, chart, profile) on Tuesday released preliminary fiscal second-quarter results that included sales that exceeded Wall Street analysts' forecasts. Seagate said that for the quarter ended Dec. 28 it expects to report sales of at least $3.6 billion, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the company to post $3.52 billion in sales. Seagate didn't release earnings results, but said it expects to report gross margins of more than 27%, and shipments of about 58 million hard-drive units. The company had earlier forecast revenue of $3.5 billion and gross margins at the low end of a range of 27% to 32%. Seagate shares rose 2.6% in after-hours trading.
Alcoa swings to profit (4:16 pm ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Alcoa Inc. (AA: news, chart, profile) reported late Tuesday a fourth-quarter profit of $242 million, or 21 cents a share, reversing a year-ago loss of $193 million. Excluding one-time items, the largest U.S. aluminum producer earned $64 million, or 6 cents a share, reversing a year-ago loss of 3 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter fell 2% to $5.90 billion from $5.99 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet, who typically exclude one-time items, had been looking for earnings of 6 cents a share on $5.58 billion in revenue. Alcoa said it sees 7% aluminum demand growth in 2013. Alcoa shares rose as much as 2.3% to $9.29 on the report in after-hours trade.
Monsanto profit rises past Wall Street estimate(8:34 am ET) NW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Monsanto Co. (MON: news, chart, profile) said on Tuesday that it earned $339 million, or 63 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter, compared to $126 million, or 23 cents a share a year ago. Total net sales at Monsanto rose to $2.94 billion, from $2.44 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected the company to earn 36 cents a share on revenue of $2.64 billion. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/markets/earningswatch.asp
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