earnings season

ExxonMobil Sued Over Arkansas Pipeline Spill

Two Arkansas residents have filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil. They’re seeking $5 million in damages, claiming a pipeline spill has caused a permanent drop in property values.

Markets Rise as Alcoa Sees Stronger Demand

World stock markets rose Wednesday after the fourth-quarter earnings season got off to a positive start in the U.S. with aluminum giant Alcoa forecasting higher demand for 2013. Demand for aluminum has been hurt by the weak global economy, but Alcoa predicted a 7 percent increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6 percent increase in 2012.

Wall Street Watch this Week: A Bummer Earnings Season Begins

Earnings season is here, and that's not necessarily a good thing. The profitability of all S&P 500 companies is expected to post its first year-over-year decline in nearly three years. Even information technology, a perceived bright spot, is struggling (excepting Apple).

The Big Picture This Week: Earnings Season, Inflation

As the market breathes a sigh of relief on hopes that Europe isn't going to fall apart and the unemployment picture isn't getting worse, the focus shifts to China and earnings season. But earnings may be overshadowed if inflation data out of China is worse than expected, now that the country has the world's second largest economy.

Earning Growth Strong Across Corporate America

S&P 500 companies have nearly completed the second-quarters earnings season, and overall, investors don't have much to complain about: More than 70% of companies have beaten earnings estimates, the index's earnings have risen more than 19% from last year, and nine of 10 sectors have given us a positive earnings surprise.

Market Woes Aside, Earnings Are Looking Up

Given the market's extreme and distressing gyrations over the past week, you'd be forgiven for thinking corporate earnings had been, on the whole, disappointing. But that's not actually the case: A large majority of public companies have performed quite well.

Earnings Season: Harbinger to Next Round of Layoffs?

Wall Street will watch second quarter earnings for telltale signs that the economy has slowed or that corporate margins are even tighter than is feared. But the ones reporting negative outlooks are likely to go back to the same old solution they used so often in recent years: layoffs.

Earnings Season Opens: Early News and Previews

Earnings season unofficially kicks off today, but 26 companies have already reported for the second quarter of this year. According to institutional data provider Capital IQ, here are some of the highlights so far:

Three Things to Watch During Earnings Season

Earnings season is near, and investors, as always are worried. Don't fret too much, though: Odds are that your company will come out on top on the bottom line -- because most do. But what will separate the winners from the whiners for the coming quarter? Here are the three key factors.