“(Reuters) – Procter & Gamble Co’s profit excluding items rose more than expected on Thursday and the world’s largest household products maker maintained a key forecast for the year, which indicated it is making progress after coming under pressure from activist investor William Ackman.

P&G is cutting costs and narrowing its focus on key markets, products and countries. The company’s goals and Chairman and Chief Executive Bob McDonald have been under intense scrutiny after Ackman bought shares this summer.

P&G earned $1.06 per share in the fiscal first quarter on a “core” basis, which excludes charges, up from $1.01 per share a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected it to earn 96 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company had forecast a profit of 91 cents to 97 cents per share for the quarter, which ended in September.”

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“Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest fertilizer producer, cut its 2012 earnings forecast because of reduced sales to China and India as it reported third-quarter profit in line with analysts’ estimates.

Profit this year excluding an impairment charge related to an investment in Sinofert Holdings Ltd. (297) will be $2.40 to $2.60 a share, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based company said today in a statement. Potash Corp. said on Oct. 17 that full-year results are expected to fall below its previous guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 a share. Analysts projected a profit of $3.04 a share, the average of 27 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Higher-than-average North American inventories are impairing the ability of Potash Corp. and other miners to secure new supply contracts in China and India, Matthew Korn, a New York-based analyst for Barclays Plc, said in an Oct. 17 note. Sales of potash, a crop nutrient that helps strengthen plant roots and improve resistance to drought, generated 64 percent of the company’s gross profit last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”

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“Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG), the largest U.S. shopping-mall owner, raised its quarterly dividend and its forecast for full-year funds from operations as its tenants benefit from an increase in consumer spending.

FFO, which gauges a property company’s ability to generate cash, climbed in the third quarter to $720.1 million, or $1.99 a share, from $606.2 million, or $1.71, a year earlier, the real estate investment trust said today in a statement. The average estimate of 21 analysts in a Bloomberg survey was $1.92 a share.

Demand for space at regional malls is rising, helping to boost revenue for Indianapolis-based Simon. U.S. retail sales advanced 1.1 percent in September following a revised 1.2 percent increase in August, according to data from the Commerce Department. The company also is benefiting from its outlet centers, said Craig Guttenplan, a REIT analyst at CreditSights Inc. inLondon. Those properties are a top area of expansion.”

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“NEW YORK (AP) — The flow of customers into AT&T’s wireless stores slowed further in the latest quarter, putting the company far behind rival Verizon Wireless.

AT&T Inc. says it added a net 151,000 new customers on contract-based plans from July through September, the lowest number for that period since at least 2003.

The Dallas-based company is blaming short supplies of the iPhone 5, but that didn’t hold back Verizon Wireless, which last week reported adding 10 times as many contract-signing customers.

AT&T’s quarterly net income was $3.64 billion, or 63 cents per share. That’s flat with $3.62 billion, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier.

For the latest quarter, analysts expected earnings of 60 cents per share.

Revenue was also flat with last year at $31.5 billion — analysts expected $31.57 billion.”

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“NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Boeing Co.BA +2.54% rose 3% in premarket trades on Wednesday after the aerospace company’s third-quarter profit of $1.35 a share beat the analyst target of $1.12 a share, according to data compiled by FactSet. RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Stallard said Boeing’s Commercial Aircraft unit turned in another good quarter. “What is notable is that margins held in at 9.5%,”

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Being up $4 pre-market is better than being down.

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20% of CFO’s admit to cooking books,

23% of CEOs admit to using accounting gimmicks….

Just imagine the percentage of those polled who did not tell the truth….

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From Factset via B.I.

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“United Technologies Corp. (UTX) posted higher third-quarter profit than analysts estimated after boosting aerospace sales with the acquisition of Goodrich Corp. and a controlling stake in the International Aero Engines venture.

Adjusted profit was $1.37 a share, compared with the $1.19 average of 20 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Net income climbed 6.9 percent to $1.42 billion, or $1.56 a share, from $1.32 billion, or $1.47, a year earlier, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said today in a statement.”

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Profits fell 12% @ $XRX….

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A global slowdown helped DuPont to miss estimates and cause them to cut 1500 jobs in order to manage costs and boosts profits.

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“United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) reduced the top end of its 2012 profit forecast after posting third- quarter earnings that matched analysts’ estimates, buoyed by a gain in U.S. package volumes and international exports.

Full-year profit will be in a range of $4.55 to $4.65 a share, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement. That compared with a previous projection of $4.50 to $4.70 a share. Analysts had estimated 2012 earnings would be $4.55 a share, based on a Bloomberg survey.”

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A slowdown in Europe and China has hurt earnings for $MMM and caused them to lower guidance.

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“Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, forecast sales growth for 2013 that is the slowest in four years as the global economy decelerates.

Sales growth will be in a range of up 5 percent to down 5 percent next year, the Peoria, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. That compares with year-over-year growth of 31 percent in 2010, 41 percent in 2011 and an estimated 13 percent this year.

“Caterpillar is facing several headwinds, the biggest of which is the macro environment, which has led to significantly lower commodity prices, weighing on mining capex, which will hurt orders and revenues,” Joel Levington, managing director of corporate credit for Brookfield Investment Management, said in an Oct. 18 e-mail. “Inventory levels remain elevated, which could also pressure volumes on the manufacturing floor.”

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“Google’s stunning earnings disappointment on Thursday is a dramatic example of what has become Wall Street’s latest worry: revenue is coming in much worse than anyone thought.

Tony Avelar | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Overall this earnings season, third-quarter profits have managed to be a shade better than the doom-and-gloom forecasts.

But company top lines—or the revenue generated that should be driving those bottom-line profit beats—have been even worse this quarter than they were last.

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“Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT -0.32% quarterly earnings dropped 22% amid weak demand for personal computers and slowing growth for its once-strong business software, underscoring the stakes for the company to successfully launch its dramatically overhauled Windows operating system next week.

The software company, whose technology has long been used in most personal computers, has largely stayed on the sidelines as consumer spending shifted to smartphones and tablets. The trend has contributed to slowing sales of PCs, as has anticipation for new hardware that runs the company’s new operating software due out Oct. 26.

Microsoft said revenue for the fiscal period ended Sept. 30 declined 8%. The numbers were weighed down by Microsoft’s practice of putting off recording revenue from the revamped operating software, known as Windows 8, and other new products. Adjusted for those deferrals, revenue in the Windows division fell 9%”

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“(Reuters) – Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc reported a 10 percent rise inquarterly earnings as declining natural gas prices helped boost profits at its UOP chemical arm, offsetting weakness in Europe.

The maker of aircraft electronics and building control systems said on Friday that third-quarter earnings came to $950 million, or $1.20 per share, compared with $862 million, or $1.10 per share, a year earlier.

The results came in 6 cents per share ahead of the analysts’ average estimate of $1.14, according toThomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Honeywell tightened its full-year profit forecast to a range of $4.45 to $4.50 per share. Its previous outlook was $4.40 to $4.55, and analysts had expected $4.50.”

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“(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp reported a lower quarterly profit on Friday that missed analysts’ expectations, as the weak global economy and the strong U.S. dollar weighed on results, pushing its shares lower in premarket trading.

The world’s biggest fast-food chain also said that global comparable sales are down so far in October as it feels pressure from the global economy and competitors.

Shares of McDonald’s fell to $90.73 in premarket trading after closing at $92.90 on Thursday.

Income at the world’s biggest fast-food chain fell to $1.46 billion, or $1.43 per share, during the third quarter, from $1.51 billion, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected McDonald’s to earn $1.47 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total sales slipped to $7.15 billion from nearly $7.17 billion.

Global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 1.9 percent during the third quarter, falling just short of the 2 percent gain analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)”

“General Electric Co. (GE) reported third- quarter revenue that trailed analysts’ estimates as the decelerating global economy eroded demand for equipment from medical scanners to jet engines.

Sales totaled $36.3 billion, the company said. While that represented 3 percent growth from a year earlier, it trailed the average analyst estimate of $36.9 billion. Infrastructure orders fell 5 percent as the upcoming expiration of a federal tax credit damped purchases of wind turbines.

GE is facing tougher markets as airlines put off non- essential engine repairs to save cash and European hospitals contend with government austerity programs enacted to blunt the region’s sovereign debt crisis. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt is still squeezing higher earnings from industrial businesses, with profit margins in the quarter rising for the first time since 2010.”

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“Travelers Cos. (TRV), the only insurer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, said third-quarter profit more than doubled on lower claims costs tied to natural disasters. The stock rallied in early trading.

Net income advanced to $864 million, or $2.21 per share, from $333 million, or 79 cents, a year earlier, the New York- based insurer said today in a statement. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, was $2.22 a share, beating the $1.60 average estimate of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Jay Fishman, 59, has bought back shares, raised rates for coverage and changed policy terms to improve shareholder returns as near record-low interest rates pressure income from the investment portfolio. Property-casualty insurers have benefited from fewer natural disasters this year after record losses in 2011.”

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