| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 22, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| CORPORATE SCOREBOARD
A Spotlight On Third-Quarter Profits While not as muscular as the second quarter's 28% earnings increase, the third quarter's 24% gain was still plenty impressive. Some of the strength lies in a comparison with the weakness of a year ago. Back then there was a fallout from the financial crisis in Asia, a strike at GM (GM), mergers at Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC), and a big R&D charge at MCI WorldCom (WCOM). One year later, much of that red ink has disappeared, bolstering the fortunes of the telecom, automotive, bank, and financial services industries. Of course, the quarter also brought some bad news. A multibillion-dollar charge at American Home Products wiped out the drug sector, while losses at CIGNA and others hurt insurers. The fourth quarter of '98 was also weak, so the generous comparisons should continue next period. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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RELATED ITEMS Corporate Profits: What a Difference a Year Makes CHART: Aftertax Profits Quarter by Quarter A Spotlight On Third-Quarter Profits CHART: Change in Aftertax Profits from 1998 TABLE: The Quarter's Winners and Losers Damn the Interest Rates, Full Speed Ahead CHART: So Far, No Slowdown in Capital Spending Third Quarter 1999 Corporate Scoreboard (.pdf) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
