Microsoft profit soars 23 percent, topping estimates
Microsoft said Thursday that net income rose 23 percent in its first quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, on sales of the new versions of Windows and the "Halo 3" video game.
Profit increased to $4.29 billion, or 45 cents a share, from $3.48 billion, or 35 cents, a year earlier, the company, based in Redmond, Washington, said. Sales rose 27 percent to $13.8 billion, beating projections.

Oil goes beyond $91 a barrel due to Supply Drop, Iran Sanctions
Crude oil rose to a record above $91 a barrel in New York on an unexpected drop in U.S. stockpiles and concern that supply from the Middle East may be disrupted.

Inventories last week fell 5.29 million barrels to the lowest since January, the U.S. Energy Department said. New U.S. sanctions against Iran, warnings of a Turkish assault on Kurdish militants in Iraq and a falling dollar helped push prices higher. Brent futures in London reached a record.

Facebook seeks extra fundings
Facebook, the social network Web site, is looking to hedge funds and private-equity investors to raise an additional $260 million in financing, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday.
The report of the talks for additional funding comes a day after Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) announced it would pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the Web phenomenon.

Netgear Sees Q4 profits above Wall Street
Netgear Inc. on Thursday issued fourth-quarter revenue guidance above Wall Street's expectations, and the networking products maker's stock rose in after-hours trading.

The company expects quarterly revenue between $195 million and $200 million, compared with $164 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

Wendy's Shows improvement
Wendy's (WEN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) reported a 22% rise in third-quarter earnings from continuing operations, with a new pricing plan helping to improve margins and offset flat revenue.

The burger chain -- currently on the selling block -- reported third-quarter income from continuing operations of $28.8 million, or 33 cents a share, up from $23.7 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier.

VMware Wows The Street
Late Wednesday, the software virtualization company toppled Wall Street's expectations, with an earnings report that lived up to its hype. VMware had a lot to prove, as the results represent the company's first financial report card since its splashy initial public offering in August.

The company profits more than tripled to $64.7 million, or 18 cents a share, from $19.2 million, or 6 cents a share for the year-ago period. Meanwhile, sales ticked up 89.5% to $357.8 million, from $188.8 million. The results were even more impressive on a continuing operations basis: the company netted $85 million in profits, or 23 cents a share. That was well above the Street's call of 17 cents a share on sales of $334.4 million.

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This entry was posted by David Choi, on Thursday, October 25, 2007. You can leave your response.