A push-pull dynamic is playing with fourth-quarter results: Apple, fellow technology firms and health care companies push S&P 500 earnings forward, while the reeling energy sector pulls them back. As of Friday, with 64% of the S&P big-cap companies having reported, earnings are expected to show a 6.4% year-over-year gain, with revenue up 1.8%. So far, 72% have beat analysts’ profit estimates and just 17.1% missed, says Thomson
LinkedIn and Twitter reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped estimates, sending the social media giants’ stocks sharply higher late Thursday despite weak guidance. LinkedIn (LNKD) earnings rose 56% to 61 cents a share excluding items. That beat the consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters by 8 cents. Revenue climbed 44% to $643.4 million, well above views for $616.8 million. The company remains the dominant
Telecoms plan to dial up Republican lawmakers after the Obama administration rolled the dice with new Internet regulations. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Wednesday proposed regulating Internet service providers as utilities and expanding net neutrality to wireless networks. Democrats and Netflix (NFLX) hailed the move, but ISPs and Republicans said he went too far. The FCC has lost two prior court