Sales of Apple’s iPhone trumped Wall Street estimates after US shipments soared 51% in the third quarter, lifting its stock 5% even as profit fell.

The world’s largest technology company said yesterday that profit fell 22% as gross margins slid below 37% from more than 42% in the year-ago quarter.

Apple’s stock, which has fallen 20% since January, rose 5% to $437.94 in after-hours trade. It closed at $418.99 on Nasdaq.

The company sold 31.2mn iPhones last quarter — far more than the estimated 26mn — and 14.6mn iPads.

Chief financial cfficer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview that iPhone sales rose 51% in the US from a year earlier, and 66% in Japan. But revenue from greater China — an increasingly crucial market for the Silicon Valley giant as it strives for growth — dived 43% from the second quarter and 14% from the year-ago period.

Executives blamed China’s slowing economy for the revenue decline but did not elaborate.

Apple earned $6.9bn, or $7.47 a share, on revenue of $35.3bn. That compared with a profit of $8.8bn, or $9.32 a share, on revenue of about $35bn in the year-ago quarter.

Wall Street’s average forecast was for revenue of $35.02bn and earnings per share of $7.32, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company has $146.6bn in cash and short term securities.

 

Boeing

 

Boeing posted a better-than-expected 13% jump in quarterly profit after delivering more commercial jets, shrugging off concerns about the 787 Dreamliner and sending its shares up 1.6% to an all-time high.

The company also raised its full-year revenue forecast, thanks to $40bn in new orders and the launch of the Dreamliner 787-10.

Operating margins in the commercial airplanes unit rose to 10.7% in the quarter from 10.2% a year ago.

Boeing reported free cashflow of $3.01bn in the second quarter, significantly higher than the $552mn it reported a year earlier.

It reported net income of $1.09bn, or $1.41 per share. Excluding items, it earned $1.67 per share.

Revenue rose 9% to $21.8bn. Commercial aircraft revenue rose 15% in the quarter.

 

EasyJet

 

EasyJet’s strategy of adding flights on routes where rivals have cut back paid off yesterday, as its forecast of earnings ahead of analyst expectations helped propel its shares to a record high.

Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier after Ryanair Holdings said revenue rose 10.5% to £1.14bn in the three months through June.

EasyJet, which makes its profit in a second half that includes the busy summer holidays, said revenue per seat rose 6.1% at constant currency rates in the quarter.

 

Volvo

 

Swedish heavy truck and construction equipment maker Volvo reported that profits plunged in the second quarter but said yesterday that it saw signs that sales were picking up as customers renewed fleets to beat new emissions norms.

The group reported that second quarter net profit fell 59% to 2.015bn kronor (€236mn, $312mn) owing to weak sales.

The outcome was slightly higher than the 1.94bn kronor expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Revenue fell 12% to 72.756 kronor, which was less than market expectations of a 14% drop.

Sales “recovered considerably compared with the first quarter” when they were at their lowest since 2009, the company said. Truck orders rose 16% despite an “unfavorable economic climate in parts of Europe,” the company said.

 

Canon

 

Japan’s Canon cut its profit forecast for the year to December and trimmed its sales targets for both high-end and compact digital cameras as a slowdown in China and other emerging economies caught the company off-guard.

Canon, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras, kicked off the quarterly earnings reporting season for Japan’s big-name tech manufacturers by cutting its operating profit forecast to ¥380bn ($3.81bn), down 16% from guidance issued just three months ago.

Canon’s ¥380bn operating profit forecast is also shy of analysts’ average full-year operating profit forecast of ¥448.3bn, based on a survey of 23 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the April-June quarter, Canon’s operating profit rose 6.2% to ¥98.3bn, exceeding the ¥95.9bn average profit forecast from seven analysts.

 

LG Electronics

 

South Korea’s LG Electronics said yesterday its second-quarter net profit fell 8% from a year earlier largely due to tough competition and increased marketing costs.

The world’s number two TV maker posed a net profit of 156bn won ($140mn) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 169bn won a year earlier.

Operating profit fell 9.0% year-on-year to 479bn won, while sales jumped 10.1% to 15.23tn won.

LG said the revenue of its mobile communications division rose 34.5% from a year ago to 3.12tn won.

The company said it sold 12.1mn smartphones in the second quarter, a quarterly record.

 

Seagate

 

Hard disk drive maker Seagate Technology reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly results, but shipments dropped 18% from a year earlier.

Global shipments of personal computers slumped 10.9% in the quarter ended June — the fifth straight quarterly decline in a market devastated by the popularity of tablets — research firm Gartner said earlier this month.

Net income fell to $348mn, or 94¢ per share, from $1.01bn, or $2.37 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.20 per share.

Revenue for the company, which dominates the hard drive market along with Western Digital, fell to $3.43bn from $4.5bn a year earlier.

Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.19 per share on revenue of $3.42bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

 

Daimler

 

With improved margins, a focus on cost savings and a suite of new models hitting the showroom, German luxury carmaker Daimler provided evidence yesterday that it has turned the corner after a disastrous start to the year.

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand has struggled to keep up with growth rates achieved by its two larger premium rivals BMW and Audi (part of Volkswagen ), and the group was forced in April to lower profit targets for the second time in six months.

But its detailed second-quarter accounts showed signs of a recovery, even after stripping out a previously reported one-off accounting gain of €1.7bn ($2.3bn) on Daimler’s stake in European planemaker Eads, which it sold in April.

Net profit after minorities doubled to €2.8bn in the quarter. Analysts said the figures showed healthy cashflow and suggested Mercedes had not bought market share at the expense of offering margin-eroding incentives.

 

Moody’s

 

Credit rating agency Moody’s Corp posted a higher-than-expected 31% jump in quarterly profit as companies issued more bonds.

Total revenue increased 18% to $756.0mn in the second quarter, while total expenses rose about 12% to $405.2mn.

 Net income attributable to Moody’s rose to $225.5mn, or $1per share, from $172.5mn, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.

 Analysts had expected earnings of 91 cents per share on a revenue of $722.3mn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Moody’s raised its annual dividend by 25% to $1per share and said it will buy back $1bn shares in 2013.

Revenue at Moody’s analytics division, which sells financial research, data and software for assessing risk, increased 10% to $218.7mn, while revenue at its corporate finance division rose 37% to $262.9mn.

Companies that issue bonds pay Moody’s to rate their debt to help investors determine the likelihood of default.

The company reiterated its full-year adjusted earnings forecast of $3.49 to $3.59 per share. Analysts were expecting $3.57 per share.

Moody’s shares, which have risen about 24% since the beginning of the year, closed at $62.31 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Pepsico

 

Pepsico reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings yesterday, as price increases and productivity improvements helped margins.

Net income was $2.01bn, or $1.28 per share in Pepsico’s second quarter, up from $1.49bn, or 94¢ per share a year earlier.

Excluding items such as restructuring and integration charges, earnings were $1.31 per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting $1.19 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net revenue rose 2% to $16.81bn, topping analysts’ estimate of $16.79bn.

Sales volume rose 3% for the food business and 1.5% for the beverage business. Volume tracks the amount of product sold.

 

WellPoint

 

WellPoint reported a much higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday, helped by lower-than-forecast medical costs in its employer-based insurance business and improvements in Medicaid operations after the purchase of Amerigroup in December.

The second-largest US insurer also raised its full-year earnings forecast to at least $8 per share, up from the $7.75 it had affirmed in June.

WellPoint said its improved 2013 outlook was based on the better first-half results and that it remained “prudent” about the second half of the year. WellPoint, which plans to sell exchange-based insurance in the 14 states where it operates the Blue Cross Blue Shield license, said second-quarter net income rose to $800.1mn, or $2.64 per share, from $643.6mn, or $1.94 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding investment gains and acquisition-related costs, WellPoint said earnings were $2.60 per share. That compares with analysts’ expectations of $2.11, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Ford

 

Ford yesterday reported strong second-quarter profit driven by robust sales, especially in the US and China. The second-largest US automaker posted net income of $1.2bn, up 18.6% from a year ago. Adjusted earnings of 45¢ per share topped Wall Street expectations of 37 cents.

Ford Motor Company said pre-tax profits set records for North America and for Asia Pacific Africa, its fastest-growing region. Revenue rose 14% to a better-than-expected $38.1bn. Ford said profit in North America, its biggest region, extended the company’s record-setting performance in the first quarter. Full-size pickup truck sales were strong and the company increased its US market share.

The Asia Pacific Africa region had record pre-tax profits of $177mn and Ford’s market share jumped one percentage point to 3.6%. The market share expansion was driven by China, where Ford’s market share improved 1.5 points to a quarterly record of 4.3% on the back of strong sales of the new Focus, Kuga and EcoSport.

 

Caterpillar

 

Caterpillar reported a lower quarterly profit yesterday and cut its outlook for the year, saying its independent dealers were focused on reducing machine inventories.

The company, the world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment, reported second-quarter earnings of $960mn, or $1.45 a share, down from $1.70bn, or $2.54 a share, a year earlier. Caterpillar, which also makes locomotives, gas turbines and diesel engines and generators, said sales fell nearly 16% to $14.62bn.

 

US Airways

 

US Airways Group reported a lower quarterly profit yesterday, as it recorded an income-tax provision that was absent a year earlier.

The carrier, which plans to merge with AMR Corp’s American Airlines and form the world’s biggest airline this year, said net income came to $287mn, or $1.40 a share, in the second quarter, compared with $306mn, or $1.54 a share, a year earlier. The company said it had an income-tax provision of $67mn in the latest period; there was no such item recorded a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue rose about 3% to $3.9bn as planes were fuller, but yields were lower. Operating expenses rose 1%, with fuel costs down 3.8% and salary expenses up 4%.

 

AT&T

 

AT&T posted a quarterly profit on Tuesday that missed Wall Street expectations as it was hit by rising costs, and its shares fell 1% in late trade. AT&T’s revenue was better than expected — helped by growth of its wireless and enterprise businesses. But strong wireless growth comes at a cost because the company has to pay hefty subsidies for each new wireless customer it adds to its network.

Revenue rose to $32.08bn from $31.58bn, compared with Wall Street expectations for $31.81bn. Earnings per share of 67 cents, excluding unusual items, were a penny behind analysts’ estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The No 2 US mobile service provider said it added more than 550,000 contract customers in the quarter, slightly ahead of its target for about 500,000 and an improvement from its 320,000 net additions in the year-ago quarter. However, this pushed down its wireless profit margin based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was 42.4% in the quarter compared with 45.8% in the second quarter of 2012, due to higher costs.

AT&T posted total earnings of $3.82bn, or 71 cents per share, compared with $3.97bn, or 66 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.