Earnings highlights: Tech stocks strong, financials weak

• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) reported a profit loss, but managed to beat low EPS expectations.
• The Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) missed expectations, due in part to rising dairy costs.
• IBM's (NYSE: IBM) results were solid, beating analysts' expectations by a penny.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) beat expectations, revenue up 15%.
• Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) profits fell, hurt largely by restructuring costs.
• JPMorgan Chase Co. (NYSE: JPM) earnings per share rose 5%, beating expectations by seven cents.
• Mattel Inc.'s (NYSE: MAT) earnings were affected by the recent toy recalls, though sales rose modestly.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) beat expectations and continued its streak of same-store sales growth.
• Nokia Corp.'s (NYSE: NOK) 85% profit rise was due in part to sales in emerging markets.
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) suffered a profit loss of 77%, due in part to increased competition in generic drugs.
• Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) beat expectations by a penny, but the share price dropped nonetheless.
• United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) beat expectations, revenue up 14%.
• Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) was also hit by the credit crunch and missed expectations.
• Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) suffered a 72% drop in profit, due largely to home loan difficulties.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) beat Wall Street expectations, revenue up 12%.

Jonathan Berr wonders if Yahoo!, Intel, and IBM reports signal strength in the tech sector, and the markets seem to bear out confidence in tech stocks. Georges Yared predicts that Google will surpass Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) to become the biggest tech company in the world. Meanwhile, Jim Cramer would like to see Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Ericssen (NYSE: ERIC) team up in light of the latter's disappointing results.

When all was said and done, the accumulation of disappointing results and bad news took its toll on the markets.

Upcoming results to watch for include: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T (NYSE: T), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. (NYSE: MER), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR).

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