Earnings roundup: Sonic, Yahoo

Earnings roundup: Sonic 4Q, 2009 profit slides as sales drop; Yahoo earnings more than triple

• On 5:55 pm EDT, Tuesday October 20, 2009

Among the earnings stories for Tuesday, Oct. 20, from AP Financial News:

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Sonic Corp. said that its fourth-quarter and yearly 2009 profit fell as sales dropped by a double-digit percentage during a tough year for the restaurant industry.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. may finally be pulling out of a three-year slump that cast aside two CEOs and spurred a cost-costing spree that laid off about 2,000 workers.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) -- Drug developer Gilead Sciences Inc. reported another quarter of better-than-expected financial results, as sales of HIV treatments and royalties on swine flu drug Tamiflu drove a 36 percent boost in third-quarter profit.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Peabody Energy Corp. said its third-quarter profits plunged 71 percent as cooler weather and cheap natural gas curtailed coal-fired power generation. But the performance soundly topped expectations and the company offered a rosier production outlook.

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- The millions in cost cuts made by DuPont drove profits higher in the third quarter. Now all the chemical maker needs is for sales to rebound.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- M&T Bank Corp. said its third-quarter profit rose 25 percent on growth in interest income and money flowing in from fees.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Managed care company UnitedHealth Group Inc. saw its third-quarter profit jump 13 percent, as growth in several businesses helped balance another enrollment decline and fight off a touch of swine flu.

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