As earnings season continues, we see several stocks beating expectations and improving profits from their 2009 troughs.
One attraction of buying back shares is that it increases returns by reducing equity rather than by improving profits.
Best Buy reported improving profits in the last two quarters led by a shift in sales mix from TVs and PCs to smartphones, e-readers and tablets.
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By helping them acquire such skills, Mr Zhao says, two-thirds of the 70 or so firms in which Hony has invested so far have met or beaten expectations and nearly all have seen improving profits.
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Having exited a period of significant investment, Magma is improving profits, presents a credible second source position to the dominant digital EDA vendor, and now offers a unique mixed-signal product bridging both markets and addressing the weaknesses of the incumbents.
Since then the Royal Mail has been improving efficiency and profits.
"Corporate profits are improving and business sentiment has further improved, although it remains at a low level, " the EPA's April report noted.
While law-firm profits are slowly improving after the recession, earnings have lagged behind previous years.
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But for the economy as a whole, this can be a zero-sum game: depending on the industry, it may be solely a matter of redistributing profits, not improving overall productivity.
Critics harp that this kind of marketing artificially stimulates demand, thereby fattening Big Pharma profits while not improving--perhaps even harming--the nation's health by encouraging people to ingest drugs they don't really need.
Suppliers can tap into new business opportunities with companies that they might not otherwise have access to, improving their pipeline and ultimately, profits.
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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.
Bridgestone said its profits were also lifted by "improving manufacturing productivity, enhancing technology and effectively utilising our management resources".
Looking at these numbers indicates that CSR strategies can help companies turn profits and promote principles based on improving society and the environment.
FORBES: An Open Letter to the Journal: Why CSR Is Good For Shareholders and Society
But the airline is operating better now, with profits up and new planes and new investments improving service and facilities.
These grants go to States, local and tribal governments, non-profits, universities, hospitals and others -- improving the lives of millions of Americans every year.
That competition will take the form of improving wages and conditions in order to attract that labour so that profits can be made from them.
And that entrepreneurship can also generate profits and improve the standard of living of millions of poor by improving their health and reducing poverty.
FORBES: Angelina Jolie Proves Medical Care Saves Lives -- If You Can Get It
Chinese steel makers made meager profits in March, April and May and reported losses in the following months, only improving their performance in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Mr Summers strongly denied one potential self-interested motive for a weaker dollar: to help the American stockmarket by improving the prospects of leading multinationals such as Intel, McDonald's, and Gillette, whose dollar profits from Europe have suffered from the weak euro.
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