NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fourth-quarter earnings of the 30 blue-chip companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are expected to jump 6.5% from the third quarter, according to the average estimates of securities analysts.
The total of average estimates for Q42010 is $29.21 a share, compared with reported earnings in Q32010 of $27.44 a share.
Data compiled by Dow Jones Indexes shows 16 of the Dow companies are expected to deliver bigger profits than they earned in the third period, while 11 are estimated to be lower. The average forecasts for three companies are unchanged from the third quarter.
Of the higher predicted fourth-quarter earnings, the average increase is 99.6%.The range starts at 2.6% (Procter & Gamble) but is skewed at the top by big predicted increases for Merck (up 651.8%) and Pfizer (318.2% higher). With these outliers removed, the average increase would be 44.5%.
The average decline of those predicted to be lower in the fourth quarter from the third is 22.9%. The range is between a drop of 2.4% (United Technologies Corp.) and a plunge of 74.1% (AT&T).
For the third quarter, the 30 companies in the Dow beat expectations by 1.3%, reporting total actual profits of $27.44 a share against a predicted sum of $27.08. Nineteen companies beat their estimates, 10 fell short and one (Coca-Cola) came within a fraction of a cent of hitting the forecast on the nose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is computed by Dow Jones Indexes, a joint venture of CME Group Inc. and Dow Jones & Co., a News Corp. company.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this report to media@djindexes.com