Ford, Intel spur back-to-back quarterly profit gains

Ford Motor Co., Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. may drive the first back-to-back quarterly profit gains among U.S. companies since 2007 as demand climbs in the economic recovery.

Earnings for Standard & Poor's 500 Index members probably rose 30 percent in the three months through March after more than doubling in last year's final quarter, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The results, while tempered by retiree-benefit costs under the new health-care law, start off a year in which S&P members may see profit rise 27 percent as automotive and financial-services companies rebound.

Companies from Intel to Caterpillar Inc. are poised to increase sales as customers replace and upgrade equipment. The global economy may expand 3.9 percent this year after shrinking 0.8 percent in 2009, the International Monetary Fund estimates.

"Last year it was all about cost-cutting, downsizing and conserving cash," said Jane Coffey, who helps manage $50 billion of investments at Royal London Asset Management Ltd. "This year we are likely to see a recovery at the top line as demand emerges. Companies that had the biggest declines will probably bounce back most sharply."

Alcoa Inc., the first Dow Jones Industrial Average company to report results, may say April 12 it benefited from rising metal prices after an adjusted loss of 54 cents a share a year earlier. The New York-based aluminum maker may report profit of 10 cents a share, based on average analysts' estimates. Alcoa's fourth-quarter profit was 1 cent a share.

'A Huge Spike'

Earnings growth in Europe in 2010 may be led by automotive companies such as Daimler AG as sales recover and by financial and basic-materials companies, based on analysts' estimates for members of the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index.

The consecutive quarterly gains for the S&P 500 companies would be the first following nine straight declines that ended in the third quarter of 2009. The index rose 4.9 percent in the first three months of 2010.