NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA: chart) announced Thursday strong quarterly and annual results, as the computer graphics chip designer continued to expand its business beyond the PC market into cell phones and consumer electronics. The Santa Clara, California-based company said that its earnings nearly doubled to $48 million, or 27 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, compared with earnings of $24.2 million, or 14 cents per share, for the year-ago equivalent. The results powered past Wall Street’s mean forecast for earnings of 23 cents per share. For the quarter ended January 30, sales totaled $566.5 million, a 20% increase from year-ago sales of $472.1 million. Nvidia said unit shipments of its GeForce 6 graphics processing units more than doubled over the previous quarter. The NVIDIA nForce4 media and communication processor (MCP) set record sales growth during the fourth quarter by shipping nearly one million MCPs. The company said its results also reflect improved profit margins. For the full fiscal year, income jumped to $100.4 million, or 57 cents per share, from $74.4 million, or 43 cents per share, in 2004. Annual revenue advanced to $2.01 billion from $1.82 billion.

For the first quarter, Nvidia expects revenue to be flat to up 5% from the preceding quarter, which would beat analysts’ expectations of $533.6 million.

Nvidia shares dropped 23 cents to $25.51 at market close Thursday. The stock rocketed up 11.02% to $28.32 in after-market trade.

Intuit Inc. (INTU: chart) of Mountain View, California, reported Thursday a slight decrease in its quarterly profits, due to higher costs. The developer of finance software, including TurboTax and Quicken, posted second-quarter net income of $147.3 million, or 77 cents per share, down from $149.1 million, or 73 cents per share, last year. Earnings per share rose from a year ago, on fewer shares outstanding. On a pro forma basis, the company earned 82 cents per share for the quarter ended January 31, compared with 77 cents per share, last year. The average analysts’ estimate was for a profit of 76 cents per share. Revenue in the quarter climbed to $662.6 million from $633.4 million.

Looking ahead, Intuit lowered its third-quarter earnings guidance to a range of $1.42 to $1.47 per diluted share, excluding items, from an earlier outlook of $1.46 to $1.51 per share. The company cited increased investments for its revised outlook.

The stock closed Thursday at $40.11, up 6 cents, or 0.15%. Company shares dropped 32 cents to $39.79 in extended trading.

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE: chart) posted Thursday a net profit of $72.4 million, or 48 cents per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, jumping back from a prior-year loss of $13.7 million, or 11 cents per share. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania-based power company said results were fueled by a gain from the sale of its interest in the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $30 million, or 22 cents per share, meeting analysts’ projections. Quarterly revenue edged up 3% to $688.5 million, helped by customer increase and higher power prices.

Company shares slipped 0.45% to close Thursday at $20.02.

priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN: chart) of Norwalk, Connecticut, on Thursday rolled out quarterly earnings that more than doubled from a year ago, boosted by strength in airline and hotel bookings. The online travel company announced net income of $5 million, or 12 cents a share, for its fourth quarter, against net income of $2.23 million, or 6 cents a share, for the same period in 2003. Excluding items, profits came to $8.8 million, or 22 cents a share, sailing beyond the average analysts’ estimate of 16 cents a share. The company recorded revenue of $195 million in the quarter, up from $180.2 million, last year. Airline ticket bookings soared 61% from a year earlier, and hotel bookings jumped 51%. Rental car bookings climbed 16%.

The stock dipped 2.94% on Thursday to $21.14.

ValueClick, Inc. (VCLK: chart) said Thursday that it had net income of $13.5 million, or 16 cents per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, in contrast to $5.35 million, or 7 cents per share, generated for the 2003 comparable period. Analysts had expected the online advertising company to earn 10 cents per share, on average. Westlake Village, California-based ValueClick attributed the results to higher revenue, which surged 80% from last year to $54.4 million.

Company shares inched up 2 cents to $12.70 at market close Thursday. The stock soared 4.96% to $13.33 in after-hours trading.

Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ: chart) posted after market close Wednesday quarterly net earnings that increased less than 1% from a year earlier, as profit margins narrowed in the imaging and printing group, the company’s most profitable unit, hurt by growing competition. The company’s shares dropped 16 cents to $20.90 in morning trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. The computer and printer maker announced a net profit of $943 million, or 32 cents per share, for its fiscal 2005 first quarter, compared with a net profit of $936 million, or 30 cents per share, for the year-ago equivalent. Excluding items, HP reported a profit of 37 cents a share, up from 35 cents a share, last year, and a penny a share ahead of Wall Street’s consensus estimate. For the quarter ended January 31, revenue rose 10% to a record $21.5 billion, from $19.5 billion, in 2004. Analysts expected revenue of $20.96 billion, on average. Without the benefit of the weak dollar, revenue was up 5%. Revenue in the imaging and printing group edged up 3% to $6.1 billion, but operating profit dipped 3.6% to $932 million. HP’s personal systems group recorded revenue of $6.9 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Operating profit more than doubled from a year ago to $147 million. The storage and servers segment increased revenue by 9% to $4.0 billion. Operating profit, however, tumbled to $71 million from $153 million.

Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS: chart) of Mountain View, California, announced Wednesday that it swung to a quarterly loss from a prior-year profit, citing lower revenue due to a new licensing recognition plan and acquisition-related charges. The leading developer of semiconductor design software posted a first-quarter net loss of $14.6 million, or 10 cents a share, in contrast to a profit of $32.2 million, or 19 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. Excluding items, the company earned $14.4 million, or 10 cents a share, for the quarter ended January 31, down from $54.3 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago. The mean analysts’ forecast was for a profit of 6 cents a share. Quarterly sales fell 15% to $241.3 million from $285.3 million.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (BRCD: chart) on Wednesday rolled out net income of $27.9 million, or 10 cents a share, for its fiscal first quarter, rebounding from a year-earlier net loss of $68.8 million, or 27 cents a share, when results were weighed by charges. Excluding items, the San Jose, California-based provider of networking storage and software earned 3 cents a share last year. The 2005 first-quarter earnings outpaced the average analysts’ estimate of 8 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $161.6 million from $145 million.

Medtronic, Inc. (MDT: chart) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, reported Wednesday a 17% rise in its quarterly profits, driven by strong demand for its implantable defibrillators and spinal products. The top maker of implantable biomedical devices turned in earnings of $544.1 million, or 45 cents per share, for its third quarter, compared with $463.9 million, or 38 cents per share, generated in the 2004 corresponding period. On an adjusted basis, earnings came in at 46 cents per share, in line with analysts’ projections. Quarterly revenue advanced 15.5% to $2.53 billion. Medtronic said the weak dollar also contributed for the results.

Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (JNY: chart) said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income plunged 18% to $34.1 million, or 28 cents a share, from net income of $41.8 million, or 33 cents a share, for the 2003 comparable period. The Bristol, Pennsylvania-based clothing company blamed the results on discounting and weaker comparable-store sales. The earnings came in a penny a share shy of the mean analysts’ estimate. The company recorded revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, a 10% growth over the same period last year, but same-store sales slipped 4.4%