Mr. Dell, It's Time For A Dividend

Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) announced fourth quarter (4Q14) results before the market opened on Friday. The company performed better than the market expected on both revenue and EPS, after which the stock is trading up by around  1% as of 11:15 AM EST.

Media and entertainment giant, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOX) reported financial results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (4QFY14), on Tuesday. It beat analysts’ estimates on led by strong performance from its cable networks and filmed entertainment unit.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) reported results for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (2QFY14; ended March 29, 2014) after the closing bell yesterday. The tech giant reported better-than-expected revenues and earnings for the quarter while providing strong guidance for the ongoing quarter. The improvement in revenues and earnings is attributable to improved iPhone shipments revenues from service during the quarter.

Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG) announced its fourth quarter (4Q) and full-year results (FY14) for the period ending February 1, 2014. The largest jewelry retailer in the country reported revenues and earnings that came out to be better than analysts’ estimates. The stock is up 5% at 9:47 am EST today, and is expected to rise further given the upbeat guidance issued by the company’s management coupled with a 20% dividend hike announcement.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is expected to release financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (3QFY14), before the bell tomorrow. According to BidnessEtc, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker might not live up to the Street’s expectations for earnings but it will surpass the Street’s estimate for quarterly revenue.

The BlackStone Group L.P. (BX), the largest alternative asset manager in the world, announced its third-quarter results today. The firm reported per-share earnings (EPS) of $0.66, six cents lower than the Street’s estimates of $0.72. This represents a growth of 18% YoY from 3QFY13. Distributable earnings for the firm have more than doubled, and were reported at $672 million or $0.53 per share, compared to $312 million in the same quarter last year. This can be attributed to the $10 billion sales of investments.

Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC), the world’s largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health, and medical practitioners, today announced earnings results for the second quarter of its fiscal ’14 (2QFY14), before the markets opened. The company announced positive results, trumping the consensus estimate by two cents with adjusted per-share earnings (EPS) of $1.35, which were up 9.8% year-over-year (YoY).

Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW) posted second-quarter earnings today before the bell. Quarterly revenues were down 6.1% year-over-year (YoY) to $261.2 million, unsurprisingly missing the Street’s estimates of $262 million. Net income came in at $75.1 million, up 19.4% over the year-ago quarter, translating to adjusted per-share earnings (EPS) of 25 cents.