McDonald's sales rise on dollar soda drinks
OAK BROOK, Ill. - McDonald's is trying to modernize its image by rolling out delivery and promising fresh beef in Quarter Pounders. But for now, $1 sodas are helping get people in the door.
The company said Tuesday that discounted drinks and a new line of pricier burgers helped boost sales in its flagship U.S. market by 3.9 percent at existing locations during the second quarter.
CEO Steve Easterbrook has been working on transforming the chain's menu and stores to get customers visiting more often in an increasingly competitive environment . Customer visits have declined in the U.S. for four straight years at existing locations, and McDonald's is on track to shrink its domestic footprint for the third year in a row.
McDonald's is looking beyond its core menu and offering pastries by registers in some locations, and testing "dessert stations" behind the counter that would let employees make an expanded menu of treats.
For the three months that ended June 30, McDonald's earned $1.4 billion, or $1.70 per share. Earnings adjusted for non-recurring costs came to $1.73 per share, beating analysts forecast for $1.62, according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research.
AT&T tops forecasts in second quarter
Shares of AT&T Inc. rose Tuesday after the company's second-quarter profit and revenue beat industry analysts' projections.
The phone and video company also said that it still expects its $85 billion Time Warner deal to close this year. AT&T bought DirecTV in 2015 and wants the owner of the CNN, TBS and HBO networks and a movie studio so that it can expand beyond its traditional business lines as the wireless phone industry becomes more competitive.
AT&T said Tuesday that it added 127,000 wireless customers - users of cellphones and tablets - who pay a bill at the end of the month, the more lucrative kind of customer. That's compared with a gain of 257,000 customers in the April-June quarter last year. It also added fewer prepaid customers.
Revenue from the wireless business declined 2 percent, to $17.5 billion, and customers paid AT&T less, on average. This year's shift to unlimited plans has cut into the fees charged by phone companies when customers go over their data caps on some limited-data plans.
In its TV business, video customers fell by 199,000, a deeper loss than a year ago, to 25.2 million. More Americans are cutting traditional TV service as online video gets more popular.
Overall, net income for AT&T rose 15 percent to $3.92 billion, or 63 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 79 cents per share, beating the 74-cent estimate of the 20 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.
GM profit falls 42 percent in quarter
General Motors said Tuesday it had earned a profit of $1.7 billion during the second quarter, a 42 percent decline compared with the same period a year ago that was mostly caused by the decision to sell its European operations and exit other global markets.
Last year, the automaker earned a profit of $2.9 billion, a record, as U.S. industry sales hit their peak.
A large part of GM's profit decline was due to a $770 million loss from the sale of the company's European division and $600 million in special charges tied to the decision to stop selling vehicles in India and to sell its operations in South Africa.
Still, the automaker outperformed Wall Street expectations. With its European operations excluded, GM earned a profit of $2.4 billion, or 11 percent less than it earned for the same quarter a year ago.
That result worked out to $1.89 per share, easily beating the $1.70 per share that was the average earnings estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg.
"Disciplined and relentless focus on improving our business performance led to a strong quarter and very solid first half of the year," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "We will continue transforming GM to capitalize on growth opportunities and deliver even more value for shareholders."
Caterpillar profits up ahead of projections
PEORIA, Ill. - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $802 million.
The Peoria, Illinois-based company said it had profit of $1.35 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.49 per share.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.26 per share.
The construction equipment company posted revenue of $11.33 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $10.99 billion.
Caterpillar expects full-year earnings to be $5 per share, with revenue in the range of $42 billion to $44 billion.
Caterpillar shares have climbed 17 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 10 percent. The stock has increased 36 percent in the last 12 months.