Earnings season is rolling on. With dozens of companies scheduled to announce results today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%) is stuck in neutral this morning. It has risen one point in pre-market trading, suggesting a flat start to the stock market.
All eyes will turn toward Apple (AAPL 0.57%) as the day progresses. The tech giant closes the books on its fiscal second quarter this afternoon, and investors are expecting a slight uptick in earnings on flat sales results. Per-share profit should rise by $0.09 to $10.18 and revenue should stay put around $44 billion. CEO Tim Cook could, however, provide more clues on Apple's new product category plans, as well as the next iteration in the phenomenally successful iPhone line. Look for that report to move markets when it is released at about 4:15 p.m EDT.
Image source: Apple.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA -1.00%) and Procter & Gamble (PG 0.71%) are set to drive the Dow today, as they both reported earnings results before the opening bell.
Boeing's stock was up 2.3% in pre-market trading after the airplane manufacturer easily beat profit growth expectations. Earnings improved to $1.76 in the first quarter, well ahead of the $1.56 that Wall Street had targeted. Sales growth climbed 8% to $20.5 billion. Despite worries about production bottlenecks, Boeing managed a scorching 18% spike in commercial airplane deliveries in the quarter. The production pace of its 787 jet hit 10 per month, while 737 aircraft are being cranked out at a monthly pace of 42. That increased production, plus a near-record order backlog of almost $400 billion, gave Boeing confidence to affirm its aggressive full-year target of $7.20 per share in core earnings.
Procter & Gamble this morning booked a 5% rise in quarterly profit to $1.04 a share, which was slightly higher than the $1.02 that Wall Street expected. Sales for the consumer goods giant came in at $20.6 billion, flat against last year's result and right in line with estimates. Notably, P&G managed 3% organic sales growth again for the quarter, putting it on track to hit its solid, if somewhat disappointing, full-year guidance for a gain of between 3% and 4%. Cost cuts also continued to boost the bottom line for P&G: expenses fell by 4%, helping operating margin tick higher. The company's best-performing product division was fabric care and home care, which logged a 6% volume improvement. Overall, results were consistent with the slower growth pace, but steady profit improvements, that P&G investors have come to expect. The stock was down 1.3% in pre-market trading.
