US Stocks rose on Wenseday after better than expected reports from Apple and Boeing.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) turned in a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by increased commercial aircraft sales, while industry experts praised the company’s effort to boost airplane production to meet rising demand.
Shares of Boeing, which makes commercial airplanes and military products, gained more than 3 percent to $75.71 after the company raised its earnings forecast for the year. Boeing raked in orders while accelerating production on all its commercial airplane programs. The achievements helped erase concerns in the industry about Boeing’s credibility, which was tarnished in the last decade by problems bringing the long-overdue 787 Dreamliner to market.
Boeing’s earnings in the quarter and going forward were helped when a California appeals court threw out Pendrell Corp’s potentially $775 million victory against Boeing in a lawsuit over launch and satellite contracts between the companies. Boeing raised the upper end of its 2012 profit forecast to $4.35 a share from $4.25 while keeping the low end at $4.15. Its revenue outlook of $78 billion to $80 billion was unchanged.
Revenue at the commercial unit increased 54 percent to $10.9 billion on higher delivery volume and an improved mix of the planes it delivered. Shares of the company typically track commercial orders and deliveries. At the defense business, revenue increased 8 percent to $8.2 billion. Sales of military aircraft rose 27 percent to $4.3 billion. Boeing faces pressure from constrained government defense budgets.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) again surpassed expectations in the most recent quater with a large boost in International sales. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $24.7 billion and net profit of $6.0 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 47.4 percent compared to 41.4 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The Company sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, a 151 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4 million Macs during the quarter, a 7 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.7 million iPods, a 15 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. “Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”
