Earnings up at Starbucks and Boeing, down at Amazon

Driven by a 6 percent increase in store traffic, Starbucks Corp. reported a 20 percent increase in profits for the second quarter. The company increased its yearly earnings forecast on the heels of the news.

Seattle-based Starbucks reported earnings of $261.4 million or 34 cents a share for the second quarter, about equal to the expectations of analysts. During the same quarter last year, the company reported earnings of $217.3 million, or 28 cents a share. U.S. stores increases sales by 7 percent.

For the fiscal, the company expects to earn between $1.46 and $1.48 per share, slightly below analyst forecasts of $1.49. Revenues for the quarter grew 10 percent to $2.79 billion, beating predictions of $2.73 billion.

The Boeing Co. also reported a strong quarter. Earnings increased to $586 million or 78 cents a share, up from $517 million or 70 cents a share for the same period last year. The company beat the expectations of analysts, who predicted earnings of 70 cents a share.

For the year, Boeing projects a profit of between $3.80 and $4 a share, with estimated revenues between $68 and $71 billion. Revenue fell by 2 percent during the quarter to $14.91 billion. Analysts had predicted revenues of $15.27 billion.

Meanwhile, online retailer Amazon.com posted financial earnings far weaker than Wall Street insiders expected. The company reported second-quarter net income of $201 million or 44 cents a share, down from $299 million or cents a share one year ago.

Though the earnings numbers were disappointing, the company did boast a 38 percent increase in sales, to $9.86 billion, up from $7.13 billion a year ago. Those sales figures beat industry analysts predictions of $9.54 billion.

Easily lost in the disappointing numbers is the fact that Amazon’s workforce grew by 12 percent in the first quarter 4,200 new employeesand has increased 45 percent over the past year. There are now 37,900 Amazon employees, up from 26,100 in 2010.