An earnings surprise means that profits were higher than anticipated, but it might also hint at bigger, more important trends as well.

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Nevertheless, its Latin American businesses have not grown as quickly as anticipated nor provided the hoped-for bumper profits.

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The lower profits for the quarter reflect the anticipated impact of the Durbin Amendment, a change in federal rules for debit card transaction fees that will likely result in much higher per-transaction fees for customers who pay for small transactions with debit cards.

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Akamai this afternoon posted mixed Q4 results, with better-than-expected profits, but lighter revenues than the Street had anticipated.

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Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary said though that he hoped to see a recovery this year, forecasting profits to "at least double" thanks to anticipated lower fuel costs.

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Excluding special items, profits of 9 cents per share easily trumped the nickel analysts anticipated.

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Though the responses were diverse, the most commonly cited positive influences were an anticipated resolution on 2011 taxes, an improving employment outlook, and higher corporate profits.

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"SABMiller's volumes were weaker than anticipated but the company is focusing on getting prices higher and maintaining the margins by getting more profits out of existing volumes, " said Gerard Rijk, an analyst with ING Financial Markets.

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