After a pair of 200-point slides so far this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) was clearly looking for some positive news to give it a break from its dreary performance. Surprisingly, that good news came from Facebook (META -10.56%), the much-maligned social-media giant that had cost IPO investors more than half of their initial investment at the stock's lows. After announcing third-quarter results that emphasized the future potential growth from its mobile-advertising segment, Facebook soared more than 20%. Add in some strong numbers on the housing front, and the Dow was able to make a modest gain of 43 points by 10:45 a.m. EDT.
Not all of the earnings news was positive, though. Dow component AT&T (T -1.37%) was down 0.7% after posting a mixed picture for investors. The telecom company had higher earnings per share than analysts had expected, but it only added 151,000 new mobile contract customers -- less than half the consensus estimate. The good news for the company is that its higher-priced data plans seem to be gaining traction as it boosts revenue per customer, but AT&T needs to get more customers in the door for that strategy to be successful.
Boeing (BA 1.51%), on the other hand, jumped almost 1.5% after handily beating expectations in its third-quarter report and lifting its full-year earnings guidance from a range of $4.40 to $4.60 to a range of $4.80 to $4.95. Perhaps most importantly, Boeing delivered 22 more planes than it did in the year-ago quarter, easing concerns that production backlogs could lead to future problems in delivering the huge orders it has received lately.
Finally, Cisco Systems (CSCO -0.52%) fell nearly 1.5% after rival Juniper Networks reported earnings late yesterday. Although Juniper beat estimates, it issued a downbeat forecast for the fourth quarter, pushing both profit and revenue guidance downward. Juniper fell 4.5%. As competition remains fierce, both Cisco and Juniper will continue having to struggle to find growth despite the huge opportunities that technological innovation continues to provide in the space.
