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Sunoco swings to profit
(4:41 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sunoco Inc. SUN -1.68% , citing a one-time gain and improved results from its fuel distribution, retail and refining businesses, reported late Thursday a second-quarter profit of $248 million, or $2.35 a share, reversing a year-ago loss of $125 million, or $1.03 a share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $12,23 billion from $11.32 billion. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, the company posted a profit of $129 million, or $1.22 cents a share, for the three months ended June 30. Analysts polled by FactSet Research, who cite adjusted earnings, had expected the Philadelphia-based company to report earnings of 51 cents a share. Sunoco shares are up 46% from where they were trading 12 months ago.
Zipcar's second-quarter loss narrows, shares slide
(4:28 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Zipcar Inc. ZIP +3.10% late Thursday reported its second-quarter loss narrowed to $422,000, or a penny a share, from a loss of $5.6 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose to $70.8 million from $61.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected the company to break even on revenue of $73.1 million. The car-sharing service company said it expects to post anywhere from a loss of $500,000 to earnings of $2 million in 2012 while revenue is likely to range between $272 million to $278 million. Shares of Zipcar slumped 6% in after hours in light volume.
Activision Blizzard earnings drop almost 45%
(4:23 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI -0.42% on Thursday reported earnings of $185 million, or 16 cents a share, on $1.08 billion in revenue, compared with earnings of $335 million, or 29 cents a share, on sales of $1.15 billion in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the videogame publisher would have earned 20 cents a share on $1.05 billion in revenue. By that measure, analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast Activision to earn 12 cents a share on $836.3 million in revenue. For its fiscal third-quarter, Activision forecast earnings, excluding one-time items, of 7 cents a share on $690 million in revenue, while analysts had earliest forecast a profit of 12 cents a share on sales of $730 million for the quarter.
Kraft profit up 5%, sets Oct. 1 split
(4:23 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Kraft Foods KFT -1.14% , which Thursday set Oct. 1 as the date it will split its snacks and grocery units, reported second-quarter profit rose 5% from the same 2011 period. However, revenue fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The world's No. 2 food company earned $1 billion, or 55 cents a share, compared with $976 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 4% to $13.3 billion due to currency headwinds. Analysts had estimated $13.96 billion, according to FactSet. On an adjusted basis, Kraft said it earned 68 cents, topping expectations of 66 cents a share. Gross margin rose to 36.7% from 35.1%. Kraft backed its 2012 financial outlook. Kraft shares, trading near a decade-high, are up 14% over the last 12 months. The stock closed Thursday at $38.94.
CBS second-quarter profit climbs 8%
(4:17 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - CBS Corp. CBS -0.09% reported late Thursday a second-quarter profit of $427 million, or 65 cents a share, up from $395 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The company said that strong financial results were supported by its digital streaming agreement, growth in subcription fees, and fewer outstanding shares due to its share repurchase program. Revenue for the quarter slipped 3% to $3.48 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted the media conglomerate would earn 59 cents a share. Class B shares of New York-based CBS are down 22% this year so far.
AIG shares up on 28% higher profit
(4:16 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group, Inc.AIG 0.00% reported after the close Thursday a second-quarter profit of $2.3 billion, or $1.33 a share, up from $1.8 billion, or $1.00 a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the New York-based insurance group to earn 58 cents per share. In after-hours trade, the stock climbed 1.2% to $31.20 a share. Ahead of the report, share price was up almost 33% since January and up 11% over the past 12 months.
SEC charges Bristol executive with insider trading
(12:43 PM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged an executive at pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY -8.57% with insider trading on confidential information about companies being targeted for acquisition. The SEC alleges that Robert Ramnarine, an executive in the treasury department at Bristol-Myers Squibb, made more than $300,000 in illegal profits by "misusing nonpublic information" he obtained while helping Bristol-Myers Squibb evaluate whether to acquire three other pharmaceutical companies. The SEC is seeking a court order to freeze Ramnarine's brokerage account assets. In a parallel criminal action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced the arrest of Ramnarine today, the SEC said.
Aveo sinks 27% after FDA update, earnings
(11:56 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Aveo PharmaceuticalsAVEO -26.69% sank 27% to $9.76 midday Thursday following news that the submission of its application for U.S. regulatory approval of its drug tivozanib may be delayed. According to Aveo, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expressed concerns over certain data in a clinical trial for the product. In order to address these concerns, Aveo plans to submit additional analyses of the data, which may delay submission of the application into the fourth quarter of 2012. In related news, Aveo also reported its second-quarter earnings. The biotech group said it lost 68 cents a share versus 16 cents a share for the same period in 2011. The company reaffirmed that it has enough cash and marketable securities to fund operations into the second half of 2013.
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