Stocks to Watch, Jan. 26: Microsoft, General Motors, Qualcomm

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday's session are Microsoft Corp., General Motors Corp., Qualcomm Inc., Nokia Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and AT&T Inc.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 76 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

AT&T Inc. (T) is seen posting a fourth-quarter profit of 45 cents a share.

Dow Chemical Co.'s (DOW) fourth quarter is expected to show a per-share profit of $1.04.

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 78 cents a share.

General Motors Corp. (GM) is seen posting a fourth-quarter loss of 16 cents a share.

Halliburton Co. (HAL) is expected to show earnings of 89 cents a share in its fourth quarter.

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s (LMT) fourth-quarter results are expected to show a per-share profit of $1.15.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is seen posting fiscal third-quarter earnings of 33 cents a share.

Nokia Corp.'s (NOK) fourth-quarter profit is expected to come in at 29 cents a share.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is expected to report a fourth-quarter earnings of 95 cents a share.

Verizon Communications (VZ) fourth-quarter 64 cents a share.

After Wednesday's closing bell, Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) said first-quarter profit climbed 21% amid strong sales of low-cost cell phones in developing countries and high-end handsets in wealthier nations. See full story. See After Hours column.

Watch List

Airgas Inc. (ARG) handed in a 34% higher fiscal third-quarter profit y, as strong sales pushed its results past Wall Street's expectations. See full story.

Alliance Capital Management Holding LP (AC) said fourth-quarter profit rose 27% as the money manager pulled in more institutional assets and the company got a boost from extra performance fees. See full story.

Altera Corp. (ALTR) reported its quarterly net income rose 20%, but the chipmaker's sales fell short of its own forecast. See full story.

Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) reported a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $534,000, or breakeven on a per-share basis, vs. a net loss of $6.42 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On a pro forma basis, earnings came in at 2 cents a share compared with a loss of a penny a share last year. Revenue at the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based circuit maker rose to $65.2 million from $61.1 million a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated earnings of a penny a share on revenue of $65 million.

Burlington Resources Inc. (BR) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $927 million, or $2.45 a share, up from $400 million, or $1.02 a share, last year. Revenue at the Houston-based oil and gas company rose to $2.37 billion from $1.56 billion. Total production during the fourth quarter was 2,887 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day vs. 2,846 MMcfe a year ago.

CACI International (CAI) reported improved fiscal-second-quarter results and said while it expects a record year, a delay in U.S. defense budget legislation will cut into its revenue and earnings in the second half. See full story.

Callaway Golf Co. (ELY) said it pared fourth-quarter losses as sales increased. See full story.

Cephalon Inc. (CEPH) said it does not expect final action from the Food and Drug Administration on its pending new drug application for Sparlon, a treatment for attention-deficit/hyper activity disorder, until after the completion of several FDA advisory committee meetings. Frazer, Pa.-based Cephalon now expects to launch Sparlon during the second quarter.

Conexant Systems Inc. (CNXT) posted a first-quarter net loss of $24.27 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $120.7 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue at the Newport Beach, Calif.-based semiconductor equipment maker came in at $230.7 million vs. $140.6 million the year before. Excluding certain items, Conexant reported earnings of 2 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for a per-share profit of a penny on revenue of $226 million.

Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) reported a fourth-quarter profit that rose 60% from a year ago, but gave a weaker-than-expected first-quarter forecast. See full story.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, through his Tracinda Corp. investment vehicle, recently bought 12 million shares of General Motors Corp, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission...(GM) See full story.

InfoSpace Inc. (INSP) reported fourth-quarter sales that rose 9% from the same period last year, and booked a tax benefit that helped the company's profits more than double. See full story.

LSI Logic Corp. (LSI) swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the computer-chip maker benefited from better-than-expected sales of the chips used in storage equipment and consumer electronics. See full story.

Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) said fourth-quarter profit rose 97% from the year-ago period, driven mainly by higher home closings. See full story.

Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS) reported a fourth-quarter profit that fell 39% from the same period last year, yet the results topped analysts' estimates for both earnings and sales. See full story.

PMC-Sierra Inc. (PMCS) reported its profit grew 39% from a year ago as it sold more chips used to power high-speed Internet networking gear. See full story.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) said its quarterly profit rose 15%, buoyed by higher interest income. See full story.

Sanmina-SCI Corp. (SANM) said fiscal first-quarter profit fell 13% as revenue declined but met analysts' average expectation. Sanmina said its profit was $21.2 million, or 4 cents a share, down from $24.4 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue decreased 12% to $2.86 billion from $3.25 billion. Excluding items, the company would have earned $39.6 million, or 8 cents a share, down from $45.7 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier but just ahead of analysts' estimates. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected the San Jose, Calif.-based company would earn 7 cents a share on revenue of $2.85 billion for the period, according to a Thomson First Call survey.

Silicon Storage Technology Inc. (SSTI) said fourth-quarter net income was $8.44 million, or 8 cents a share. During the same period last year, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based computer memory company reported a net loss of $26.9 million, or 28 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected per-share earnings of 2 cents. Silicon Storage said quarterly revenue was $133.2 million, compared with $104.1 million last year. Analysts were looking for revenue of $135 million.

Stanley Works (SWK) reported lower fourth-quarter net earnings than a year ago but higher sales. See full story.

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