EBay Inc. reported Wednesday that first-quarter profit surged 52 percent, trouncing Wall Street expectations thanks to big-spending shoppers overseas and scorching performance of its PayPal electronic transaction division. Despite lackluster growth in the total number of listings on the world’s largest online auction, eBay earned $377.2 million, or 27 cents per share, for the three months that ended March 31.
Microsoft to settle suit for $180 million
Microsoft Corp. agreed Wednesday to pay Iowans up to $180 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the company had a monopoly that cost the state’s citizens millions of dollars extra for software products. The $179.95 million settlement means people in Iowa who bought certain Microsoft products separately or preinstalled on computers between May 18, 1994, and June 30, 2006, will be eligible for cash.
Clear Channel agrees to buyout
Clear Channel Communications Inc. agreed to a private equity group’s sweetened $19.35 billion bid, an almost 4 percent increase aimed at mollifying shareholders who think the billboard and radio company is being sold for too little. The new offer of $39 per share plus the assumption of $8 billion in debt raises the price by about $690 million.
Motorola posts quarterly loss
Motorola Inc. posted its first quarterly loss since 2004 on Wednesday as dismal sales continued to vex the struggling cell phone maker. Worse still, the company said its misfortunes would continue through the second quarter. Blaming disappointing sales of mobile phones, as well as expenses to cover a legal settlement, restructuring efforts and an acquisition, the telecommunications equipment maker said it lost $181 million, or 8 cents per share, in the first three months of 2007. That compares with a profit of $686 million, or 27 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.
Kraft Foods profits plummet
Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s second-largest food and beverage maker, posted a 30 percent decline in first-quarter earnings Wednesday in reporting results for the first time as an independent company. Kraft, which was spun off at the end of the quarter by majority shareholder Altria Group Inc., did manage to beat Wall Street’s expectations despite continuing challenges in its turnaround effort.
From Herald news services
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