![]()
| As of Friday, November 13th: |
As of October 1st, the earnings growth rate was at -24.7%.Of the 463 S&P 500 companies who have reported Q3, 80% beat estimates, 6% were in-line, and 14% were below estimates. The blended earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 for Q3 2009 is currently at -13.8%. (Data provided by Thomson Reuters)
LATEST EARNINGS RESULTS
- Oil Next Week: What Traders Will Be Watching

- Hedge Fund Billionaire Paulson Reports New Citi Stake
- Cramer: 5 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week
- Court Rejects 'Clawbacks' for Alleged Stanford Victims
- Tax Credit Sparking First-Time Home Sales: Realtors
- Investors Cut Back US Stocks for Bigger Growth Abroad
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- White House Plans to Freeze Spending to Cut Deficit
- This Year's Biggest Thanksgiving Leftover: Cash
- Oil Next Week: What Traders Will Be Watching
- Dollar is Not Plunging—So 'Calm Down': Market Strategist
- Strategists Say Markets Have More Upside — But How Much?
- Hirschhorn: Risk-Averse Traders
- Roginsky: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Financial Reform
- This Year's Biggest Thanksgiving Leftover: Cash
- TV Series Inks Unique Deal For Fight
- First Time Buyers Rescue Housing: Realtors
- Dollar General Trades Higher After Its IPO
- Fed Reform? Not So Fast.
MOST SHARED
- Seeking Innovation in Health Care
- Cramer: 5 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week
- Driving Health Care Innovation
- Next Week’s Top IPO
- Herbalife Vs. Hedge Funds
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great
- Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?
- Court Rejects 'Clawbacks' for Alleged Stanford Victims
- Hedge Fund Billionaire Paulson Reports New Citi Stake
- Israel: Leader of Business Innovation
Caterpillar missed market expectations by 2 cents Tuesday, reporting earnings per share of $1.39 for the third quarter, but it said it maintains its full-year outlook for earnings of $6 per share while laying off workers.
But the company, the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment, painted a bleak picture of the much of the developed world. It called conditions in North America "recessionary" and predicted that Europe would be in recession by year end.
And the company's chief executive of Caterpillar said Tuesday the company had laid off an unspecified number of workers in the United States, England and France as it tries to adjust to what he called "recessionary conditions" in some of its markets.
During a conference call with analysts to discuss the construction and mining-equipment maker's earnings, Jim Owens said workers in Sanford, N.C.; Mossville, Ill.; Leicester, England and Grenoble, France, had been affected by the cuts.
![]() |
Douglas C. Pizac / AP |
"Demand in emerging markets and commodity prices at levels that encourage investment in mining and energy have helped offset negative economic conditions in much of the developed world," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens said in a statement.
Caterpillar acknowledged that a weakening world economy could continue to push commodity prices down and prompt mining and energy companies to reduce investment.
But it expressed optimism that much of the developing world would continue to grow as commodity prices stay above levels that encourage investment and said that it does not expect "a worldwide economic collapse as occurred in the early 1980s."
Total net profit of fell 6 percent to $868 million from the third quarter of 2007, because of higher manufacturing costs, primarily for materials.
"We expected that material and freight costs would increase in the second half of 2008, and they did in the third quarter. Higher material costs, especially for steel, were the most significant headwind we faced in the quarter," Owens said.
Eli Lustgarten, an analyst at Longbow Securities, said that at $40 a share -- close to its current stock price -- the market was expecting 2009 earnings of $3 a share, half this year's projected total.
"A few pennies light ... but no disaster," Lustgarten said ."They're saying relatively flat revenue next year, which does not necessarily mean up earnings. But we're not talking a catastrophic decline."
-- Reuters contributed to this report
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Forecasts; Shares Jump
Walt Disney shares rose in after-hours trading Thursday after the company reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.
- Nordstrom Earnings Miss Forecasts; Shares Take Hit
Nordstrom reported earnings that missed analysts expectations by a penny but beat on revenue, causing the company's shares to fall in after-hours trading.
- Wal-Mart Holiday Forecast Light, Profit Beats
Wal-Mart Stores posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, but forecast earnings during the key holiday quarter that could miss Wall Street estimates as its customers face rising unemployment.
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Kohl's Profit Beats Street, But Outlook Falls Short
Department store operator Kohl's Corp reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday, but gave an outlook below Wall Street estimates for the period that includes the key holiday season.
- Kohl's Profit Beats Street, But Outlook Falls Short
- Vivendi Profit Up More Than 5%, Keeps 2009 Goals
- Cost Cuts Help BT to Raise Full-Year Guidance
- Applied Materials Profit, Sales Top Wall Street Forecasts
- Macy's Loss Beats Estimates, But Shares Fall on Outlook
- Vodafone Extends Cost-Cutting Scheme, Hits Targets
- Tyco International Profit Falls Less Than Expected
- EA Profit Beats Street, Announces Job Cuts
- Priceline Crushes Profit Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Berkshire Hathaway Says Net Income Tripled
- Sun Micro Sales Fall as Oracle Deal Remains Delayed
- AIG in the Black Again, Operating Profit Tops View
- Starbucks Profit Beats Forecasts; Shares Rise
- Fannie Mae Seeks $15 Billion in Aid After Posting Loss
- Nvidia Profit, Sales Top Wall Street's Forecast
- CBS Beats Expectations on Improved Ad Market









