Sears Holdings cuts its loss by more than half

Sears Holdings Corp. The retailer cut its second-quarter loss by more than half as profit margins perked up at its Kmart chain. Still, the company's results fell short of expectations. Weak shopper spending and increased competition, especially on food, led to a revenue decline. Sears shares dropped $6.22, or 9.2 percent, to $61.03. For the three months that ended in late July, the owner of Sears and Kmart lost $39 million, or 35 cents per share. That's better than last year's loss of $94 million, or 79 cents per share. Excluding one-time adjustments, the current quarter's loss amounted to 19 cents per share. Revenue slipped slightly to $10.46 billion, down from $10.55 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the company to post slightly better results, predicting a loss of 18 cents per share with revenue of $10.62 billion. Those estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Hewlett-Packard Co. Net income at the world's biggest technology company jumped 6 percent and revenue notched 11 percent higher in its May-to-July fiscal third quarter, which squared with preliminary results HP revealed Aug. 6 in announcing CEO Mark Hurd's abrupt resignation. The numbers reported Thursday show that the company's bedrock businesses of selling computers and printer ink are chugging along. Those face pressures, though, as many analysts are predicting a weak back-to-school season amid fears about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and fallout from the debt crisis in Europe. HP's net income was $1.77 billion, or 75 cents per share, in the three months ended July 31, versus $1.67 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding items, HP would have earned $1.08 per share. That was in line with analysts' forecasts. Revenue was $30.7 billion, up from $27.6 billion a year ago. Analysts expected $30.4 billion.

Dell Inc. The PC maker said Thursday that its net income improved 16 percent in the fiscal second quarter as businesses replaced aging technology, though a key profit measure fell. The majority of Dell's revenue comes from selling technology to other companies, so its results offer a gauge of the economic recovery in the form of business spending on technology. Along with much of the technology industry, Dell fared poorly during the worst of the recession as companies held off upgrading their systems. Dell's first-quarter results had showed businesses started replacing aging technology by buying new servers and other behind-the-scenes technology. But Dell's business is more dependent on selling laptops and desktops to businesses. In the fiscal second quarter, which ended July 30, companies started spending more on PCs for employees, as well as on servers, storage and technology consulting services. Profit for the world's second-largest computer maker was $545 million, or 28 cents per share. It was $472 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Dell's net income was 32 cents per share, two cents better than Wall Street expected, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of analysts. Revenue rose 22 percent to $15.5 billion, from $12.8 billion. That's more than the $15.2 billion analysts predicted. But gross profit margin -- the percentage of revenue left after subtracting the cost of making products -- fell to 16.6 percent from 18.7 percent a year ago.

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