According to the Associated Press, over 80 percent of companies that reported third quarter earnings in October 2009 beat Wall Street’s expectations.
Is business booming or what?
I’m leaning to the “or what” side.
Things are definitely better than they were around this time last year, but the number of companies beating the street’s estimates is uncanny. Makes you wonder how the expectations are formed.
Ultimately, they are generated from within the company and companies know that investors don’t like to be disappointed. 
Earnings surprises, good and bad, often offer a bounce or bust, but if you invest on news of such surprises and the market has overreacted you could be …read more

Walmart surprised Wall Street today with a better-than-expected earnings report, even though the company saw its sales decline last quarter.
Poppy Harlow of CNN Money just said this was the “first time Walmart has seen its sales decline in more than a year.” The sales decline didn’t seem like news to me, and it didn’t seem to phase investors much either.
The stock closed 2.7 percent higher because even though sales fell, Walmart managed to achieve better-than-expected earnings.
I went to Walmart last night to pick up a product through their site-to-store service.
It was in the back of store near the restrooms and hiring center. …read more

Tiffany & Co. surprised the markets today with news of a sparkling second quarter.  The jeweler boasted an 11 rise in sales and the near doubling of profits.
Tiffany acknowledged that domestic sales are sluggish but expects a rebound in the fourth quarter.  International sales remained strong in Europe and parts of Asia.
Although analysts concur Tiffany’s pricey product line appeals to a more recession-proof set of shoppers, some expressed doubt regarding the company’s optimistic outlook for the holiday season.
But, investors dubbed Tiffany king (or queen) of bling for the day as the stock closed 11 percent higher.

Verizon posted better than expected earnings for the recently completed second quarter, proving that it can hold its own in tough economic times.
Revenue increased by just under 4 percent versus last year as the company saw growth in its wireless and FiOS high-speed Internet businesses.  Its profit margin in the wireless business exceeded analyst expectations, coming in at an impressive 45.6 percent.
On this morning’s conference call, Chief Executive Ivan Seidenburg said, “Verizon continued to grow in all key strategic areas in the second quarter, despite the economic headwinds.”
The company is considering a dividend increase but, this morning their stock is trading …read more

Citigroup, the last in a series of big investment banks to report earnings this week, posted better than expected earnings.  The company reported a $2.5 billion loss due primarily to another $7.2 billion in write-downs.
On the other hand, Microsoft missed earnings expectations by a penny per share, reporting profits of $4.3 billion.  This represents a 42 percent over the same quarter last year.
Heading into the afternoon, shares of Citgroup are up over 10 percent, while shares of Microsoft have shed over 7 percent of their value.
 It’s understandable to see stocks rise when companies report news that exceeds expectations and fall when news fails to meet …read more