Just watching CNBC and saw that Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) had just reported fourth-quarter financial results:

• $0.68 earnings per share, analysts were expecting $0.64.
• Revenue was up 6% to $24.6 billion, the Street forecast $24.1 billion
• Operating income $1.9 billion
• Inventories climbed from $7.4 billion last quarter to $7.75 billion this quarter
• Guidance: 60-62 cents non-GAAP EPS, somewhat lower from Street's expectations

Revenue beat estimates by $500 million. Mark Hurd's cost cutting measures seem to have worked. Good profitability with expanding operating margins. Guidance is a concern.

Key drivers: Profitability and year-to-year growth in the computers, printers and services.

Shares are up a little in after-hours.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) will report its first fiscal quarterly earnings after the close today, and the webcast is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.

Investors and analysts will look at three main business segments: Microsoft applications, gaming and the online division.

• After many delays, Microsoft is finally about to launch its new operating system, Windows Vista. Investors are quite bullish on Vista, expecting higher PC sales and higher licensing income as a result. Also, Microsoft's new version of its Office application should be ready next year.
• Xbox 360 - another bullish outlook. Xbox is expected to gain market share in the coming year, mostly from PlayStation. And while Microsoft still loses money on Xbox sales, these losses are expected to diminish and eventually disappear.
• Finally, the online division. Microsoft has rolled out its Live version and the Live search. However, competition here is strong.

Other issues:

• Zune - while most don't expect Microsoft to make significant strides at first, investors are upbeat about the product
• Web 2.0 - what could the impact of online applications do to Microsoft suites of product?
• Cash - investors are eager for Microsoft to do something with its big cash reserve.

As you can see, most of the issues are very forward-looking, indicating investors wouldn't put much emphasis into this quarter's numbers, but will look at the plans and the indications going forward.

In numbers: Consensus for this quarter is for 31 cents earnings per share on $10.8 billion in revenue.

At $28.17, MSFT stock had a good run since June, up over 20%. It is now near its 52-week high.

Here's another preview from TheStree.com.

It's a good day to be King. ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is king, all right, the beneficiary of those millions of Americans who won't give up their SUV, the receiver of high summer oil prices, the blushing bride of the resource junkie. The oil company released its third quarter results and earnings were $10.49 billion, $1.77 a share, the second-highest total ever for the company and a 6% increase from the year-earlier quarter.

Analysts had expected only $1.59 per share, so the stock was up already in pre-market trading to about $72.10.

The shares are expected to raise the overall market on a day when housing news is gloomy, gloomy and expected to be even gloomier. Are cars more important to Americans than their houses? So it would seem, and if the news continues to trend like this, maybe the citizens of the great U.S. of A. will just move into those beloved autos.

Jim Cramer isn't shy about his expectations. Some of us on BloggingStocks pooh-poohed his earlier calls but it seems he knows of what he speaks! Today's third quarter earnings have Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) up big and, in comments on MAD MONEY tonight, Cramer touted his Google call. It's up $35 in after-hours trading, and he raised his target from $500 to $560, based on $14 per share and a 40x multiple.

GOOG traded up 7% to $457+ in after-hours trading after blowing away the street expectations.

Cramer, ever the showman, came out in the show's opening wearing GOOG in black marker on his forehead and on his knuckles.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) revenue: $8.7 billion, down 12% from third quarter 2005. Intel net income: $1.3 billion, down 31% from third quarter 2005. Earnings per share: 22 cents. Beating expectations by five cents a share: priceless.

Yep. My first draft headline was something like "Intel slides, dips, down, yuck" but after checking out after-hours trading I had to begrudgingly admit that sometimes, down is good! In a minute, the webcast of earnings will be beginning, and I'll be liveblogging it. As I finish the call, I note that the initial after-market-close euphoria has worn off a bit, and the after-hours trading is now around $21.06, just a touch up from close of $20.90.

2:32 p.m. [all times Pacific]: The call is beginning. Alex Lenke, Investor Relations manager, will be host. He either (a) is very nervous or (b) has been told to enunciate very very carefully. He sounds like an unusually friendly, cute and geeky robot.

2:34 p.m.: CEO Paul Otellini takes over. He's pushing the "record shipment in mobile and server product segments" and is pleased about the huge number of new products. "The industry recognizes our clear leadership in core microarchitecture." Factories have been "executing extremely well" and the 45 nanometer processors are coming out on schedule (which is, I think, what my brother -- an electrical engineer who works for the company -- does. Cool).

2:37 p.m.: They see WiMAX as a major part of the company's strategy. Happy to move the Pentium 4 into lower price points. Lauds the "biggest ad campaign in years." Headcount declined, on track to be at 92,000 employees by the end of next year. They want to be agile enough to deliver a new core or shrink every year.

In breaking after-market-close results, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)'s third-quarter earnings were up 47% with a 5.1% increase in sales to $22.62 billion; a huge bit of good news for Big Blue.

On the other side of the coin was Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT). Oh, how the mighty mobile company has fallen. Third quarter 2006 earnings for Motorola were down 45%, to 39 cents a share, although you could barely tell from the rosy picture painted by the earnings release; full of optimism about sales at $10.7 billion, up 17% from Q3 2005. We're waiting to see how investors react.

Update: investors were thrilled with IBM and sent stock up after hours to $91.32 from a close of $86.95. Motorola was terrible news and investors sent the stock tumbling to $22.90 from its already-lower close of $24.85.