Wall St. Brief: Oracle REVEALS Earnings, Microsoft UNVEILS Tablet

Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) has agreed to acquire a 45 stake in Alliance Boots for $6.7 billion with an option to buy the remainder of the company. Walgreen also reported that its fiscal quarter three earnings per share was $0.62, which missed estimates by $0.01; revenue was in line with its 3.4 percent decline to $17.8 billion. The company plans to raise its dividend by 22.2 percent to $0.275 per share–a 37th consecutive year for dividend increases.

On Monday, Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) released its fiscal quarter four results three days early with good news to share. Its net income increased eight percent to $3.45 billion while its $0.82 earnings per share beat estimates by $0.04; revenue increased one percent to $11 billion. Oracle also announced its new $10 billion stock buyback plan, while rumors swirled that its North American sales chief Keith Block will exit the company.

Don’t Miss: Oracle Earnings Cheat Sheet: Fifth Straight Quarter of Double-Digit Growth.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveiled plans for its Microsoft Surface Windows 8 tablet. The device is 9.3mm thick, with a weight of 1.5 lbs; it includes a 10.6″ display and Microsoft Office. The company also created a cover that can also be used as a keyboard with a touchpad, enabling Surface to move into PC mode.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) CEO Muhtar Kent said the company will begin whittling away its $13 billion cash stockpile. Look for capital expenditures to lead the to-do list. Other expenditures could include strategic bolt-on acquisitions and higher dividend payouts with share buybacks.

Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) will extend its share buyback program by up to 30 million. This comes in addition to its 12 million shares that will stay under the previously authorized share repurchase programs, announced the company. Overall, the plan will include a total share repurchase valued at $1.41 billion based on Monday’s closing price of $33.64.

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