Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: chart) reported 1Q net income of $2.46 billion, or 58 cents a share, up vs. $2.17 billion, or 50 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the profit was 55 cents a share, below the analysts' forecast by one cent.

Overall sales for the first quarter totaled $70.9 billion, up 9.5% vs. $64.76 billion a year ago.

For the quarter, the Wal-Mart Stores segment, including Supercenters, had operating income of $3.307 billion, a rise of 6% against the $3.121 billion in the year-ago period.

The international segment posted operating income of $667 million for 1Q, a jump of 19% versus $563 million in 1Q of the prior year.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEOS: chart) posted 1Q earnings of $55.3 million, or 35 cents a share, up versus $25.3 million, or 17 cents a share in the same quarter a year earlier, topping estimates of 34 cents a share.

Revenue advanced 37% to $454 million vs. last year's $332.2 million, beating forecasts of $447.2 million on a 27% increase in same-store sales. For 2Q American Eagle expects earnings to climb to 32 to 33 cents a share versus last year's 22 cents, above the analysts' forecasts of 31 cents.

The telecommunications provider Deutsche Telekom AG (DT: chart) Thursday reported a 60% jump in 1Q net profit due to lower interest expenses and growth at the company's wireless and high-speed Internet businesses.

Deutsche Telecom earned net profit of 1.01 billion euros ($1.29 billion), up vs. 632 million euros in the year-ago quarter, above analysts' forecast of around 1.03 billion euros. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, adjusted for special items, gained 5.2% to 4.9 billion euros, while sales climbed 3.5% to 14.4 billion euros.

Net financial expenses declined 503 million euros, as net debt dropped by 6 billion euros to 42.6 billion euros.

Hospira Inc. (HSP: chart) reported 1Q net income of $77.2 million, or 49 cents a share versus $65 million, or 42 cents a share in the same quarter a year earlier. Sales for the period rose 6.6% to $662.1 million. The analysts' estimate was for earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $615.2 million. Hospira sees its 2005 earnings per share in the range of $1.21 to $1.28 a share on revenue of around $2.5 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company expects earnings in the range of $1.53 to $1.60 a share. Analysts' estimate is for earnings of $1.64 a share on revenue of $2.54 billion.

Arctic Cat Inc. (ACAT: chart) swung to 4Q profit of $2.7 million, or 13 cents a share, below the estimates of 26 cents. Last year, the company's loss was $1 million, or 5 cents a share. Sales advanced 12% to $157 million.

Arctic Cat projects 1Q net sales in the range of $100 million to $105 million and net earnings between flat and a loss of 5 cents. For fiscal 2006, the company expects net sales to be in the range of $710 million to $723 million citing growing raw material costs, lower snowmobile sales and exchange rates.

The financial services provider QC Holdings Inc. (QCCO: chart) posted 3Q net income of $3.6 million, or 17 cents a share, down vs. $5.3 million, or 32 cents a year ago. The lower profit was due to costs associated with adding more than 90 outlets in the last half year. Higher payday loan volumes fueled the revenue growth.

Salton Inc. (SFP: chart) reported a 3Q loss of $22.5 million, or $1.98 a share, compared with a loss of $58 million, or $5.14 a share a year earlier. Revenue advanced 6.3% to $203.4 million vs. last year's $191.4 million. The company added is pursuing options to raise funds to repay the $125 million in bonds maturing at the end of 2005.

The Buckle Inc. (BKE: chart) reported 1Q earnings of $8.6 million, or 40 cents a share, up versus $5.9 million, or 27 cents a share a year earlier. Sales grew 11.4% in the latest quarter to $105.5 million vs. $94.8 million a year ago. Same-store sales gained 6.4%. The estimate of analysts was for earnings of 31 cents a share in the April period.

The video rental chain Movie Gallery Inc. (MOVI: chart) 1Q profit rose to $18.4 million, or 58 cents a share, versus $18.3 million, or 54 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue for the quarter ended April 3 climbed to $233.8 million versus $203.3 million a year ago. Earnings were in line with analysts' estimate. Same-store sales advanced 1.5%.

Trans World Entertainment (TWMC: chart) reported a 1Q loss of $1 million, or 3 cents a share, vs. net income of $2.5 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue slid to $284.5 million versus $304.5 million on the sluggish performance of new music and DVD releases. The expectations were for earnings of 7 cents a share on revenue of $305.3 million.