Mr. Dell, It's Time For A Dividend

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.

Yesterday, Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) reported first-quarter fiscal'15 earnings after the market closed. HP stock is trading down 7% in pre-market today since the Palo Alto-based tech company missed revenue estimates and issued light guidance.

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) will announce earnings results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (4QFY14) after the markets close on February 5. The San Francisco, California-based social networking platform company is expected to announce adjusted earnings per share of 6 cents, up 204% year-over-year (YoY) for the quarter. Moreover, analysts expect the company to announce quarterly revenues of $453.6 million, up 87% YoY.

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.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock rallied 4.54% in after-market trading hours after the company announced strong earnings and revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal 2015, which included the critical holiday season.

Washington-based Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is set to report its second-quarter earnings for its fiscal year 2014 (2QFY14, ended June 30, 2014) after markets close tomorrow. The stock gained $1.1, increasing 0.3% to close at $360.84 yesterday.

Alcoa Inc. (AA), the world’s largest primary and fabricated aluminum maker, as well as the world's biggest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina, will release first quarter results for its fiscal 2014 (1QFY14) after the market closes today, with a conference call to be held at 5 PM EST. Analysts expect earnings per share (EPS) for 1QFY14 to come in at five cents, down from 11 cents in the same quarter last year, but one cent up from the expectations last month. The full-year EPS estimate is 37 cents.