Thomson Reuters

Salesforce.com on Wednesday posted a 48 percent jump in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, on strong sales growth for its online business software applications.

For the three months ended Jan. 31, Salesforce.com said profit jumped to $20.4 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with $13.8 million, or 11 cents per share, in last year's fourth quarter.

Revenue shot up 22 percent to $354 million, from $289.6 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 15 cents per share, on revenue of $342.3 million.

Cisco Systems Inc. blew past its own forecast for the latest quarter, reporting its first sales increase in a year as it left the recession behind.

Improvement was dramatic "across the board," CEO John Chambers said Wednesday. "The recovery, from a capital spending perspective, is very strong."

The company also provided an outlook for the current quarter that was far above analyst expectations.

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday its earnings in the most recent quarter jumped 60 percent, as a rebound in the personal computer industry drove sales of the company's latest Windows operating system.

But results in Microsoft's other divisions show that while consumers have resumed spending on new PCs, big corporations have not.

Amazon.com Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings skyrocketed 71 percent, as shoppers spent more than ever during a holiday season that improved over the previous year for retailers on and off the Web.

Despite the sluggish economy, Amazon did well throughout the year, drawing shoppers with its Kindle e-reader and deals on an immense selection of goods ranging from alarm clocks to stuffed zebras.

Netflix Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit surged 36 percent as its DVD-by-mail service surpassed 12 million subscribers, and the company announced an upbeat outlook for 2010 that sent its shares soaring Wednesday.

The results reflect the growing popularity of Netflix plans that bundle DVD rentals with unlimited video streaming over the Internet for as little as $9 per month.

Netflix added more than 1.1 million customers during the quarter -- the most in any three-month period during its 11-year history.

Maybe AT&T's new slogan should be "More books in more places." The phone company added a near-record 2.7 million wireless customers in the last quarter, defying expectations with the help of new e-reading devices.

AT&T said Thursday it added 1 million non-phone devices with built-in cellular service in the fourth quarter. AT&T has deals to support the latest version of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle, Sony Corp.'s Reader and Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nook.

EMC Corp. said Tuesday that its net income jumped 58 percent in the latest quarter, the first time since the spring of 2008 that profit has risen at the information-management company.

Revenue also ticked higher, and its 2010 forecast was above Wall Street's projections. EMC shares rose 3 percent in pre-market trading.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. posted its first quarterly profit in three years because it got $1.25 billion in a legal settlement with its archrival.

The world's No. 2 maker of computer microprocessors said Thursday it would have lost money were it not for the payment it received from Intel Corp. to squash a long-running antitrust battle.

AMD also appeared to benefit from a lift in the overall computer market. Revenue was up 42 percent over last year, and unit sales of microprocessors and graphics chips grew, even though prices fell.

Intel's fourth-quarter earnings breezed past Wall Street's expectations, and its rosy profit outlook for 2010 was another sign that a lasting recovery for the recession-battered personal computer market is under way.

As the first major technology company to report its results for the last quarter, Intel is seen as a barometer for the PC market and for technology spending in general. Its revenue beat the Street, as did its gross margin, which can measure how well Intel managed costs.

Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday that although it booked a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter, consumer demand improved and allowed the maker of Photoshop and Flash software to post an optimistic outlook for the current period.

The recession has dampened demand for Creative Suite 4, the latest version of the software package targeting professional designers and developers that brings in the bulk of Adobe's revenue. It happened to launch in the fall of 2008, right as the financial meltdown hit.