Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC): Current price $42.56
Wells Fargo shares are up Friday, due to better-than-expected second quarter results. Before the bell, the firm reported that it earned $5.52 billion, or 98 cents per share, which was up from $4.62 billion, or 82 cents a share, year-over-year from 2012. Revenue was approximately flat at $21.38 billion but the top- and bottom-line results surpassed the Street’s expectations for earnings per share of 93 cents on revenue of $21.22 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. also reported its second quarter figures Friday morning, which came in above analysts’ forecasts. Both firms benefited from improving credit quality, but Wells Fargo, as the nation’s number-one originator, saw mortgage originations rise to $112 billion, versus $109 billion in first quarter. Applications increased to $146 billion, compared to $140 billion in the prior quarter.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S): Current price $7.06
On Thursday, Sprint debuted its unlimited “for life” data plans starting at $80 per month, which should add to the pressure on Verizon Wireless and AT&T, but Nomura says that it might not generate a competitive response. In the new package, Sprint guaranteed that its customers could keep their unlimited plans so long as they maintain active accounts. The move comes following speculation over what new marketing strategies the firm would take after its acquisition by SoftBank. Sprint has offered unlimited data services for a flat monthly charge, while both AT&T and Verizon (co-owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone), market data buckets that put a cap on usage and charge extra if customers exceed their limits.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F): Current price $17.06
Foreseeing an end to its losses in Europe, the automaker said it is not planning further reductions to its output capacity there, and sees indications that the market is starting to settle down. Ford’s Europe chief Stephen Odell told reporters that “We’re at the point where we have no more capacity announcements to make. We’ve always said, though, that we’ll monitor the situation and if there were more catastrophic, as-yet-unpredicted changes, we would react to them. We feel that we’ve taken appropriate action.” Odell added that Ford still plans to break even in Europe by 2015. The company’s sales in its 19 main markets in Europe increased by 6.4 percent in June, easily beating a 6.5 percent industry-wide decline.
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