NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A series of corporate results made their usual appearance after the closing bell Tuesday, with one company outperforming Wall Street estimates by a wide margin.
Healthcare provider Cigna Corp. (CI) blew analysts' expectations out of the water in the fourth quarter. The company posted an operating income of $235 million, or $1.13 per share, excluding charges, on revenue of $5.47 billion. Analysts polled by tracking firm First Call had forecast a $1.00 per share profit. For the same period last year, operating income totaled $260 million, or $1.18 per share, on revenues of $5.49 billion. Cigna said its focus on its employee-benefits businesses, along with several sales and acquisitions, bolstered results.
Communications equipment supplier General Instrument Corp. (GIC) outdid estimates by three cents in the fourth quarter, posting a profit of $46 million, or 26 cents a diluted share. For the comparable period last year, net income totaled $15 million, or 10 cents per diluted share. Sales climbed more than 25 percent to $564 million from $441 million, as declines in analog cable and international sales were offset by strong demand for interactive digital cable TV systems.
Outside the technology sector, restaurateur The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE) beat Wall Street estimates by a penny in the fourth quarter. Net income totaled $3 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, above last year's $2.9 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, for the same period. The restaurant chain's revenue climbed 24 percent to $72.9 million from $58.8 million.
In non-earnings news, Reno Air (RENO) named airline industry veteran Don O'Hare to the post of president. O'Hare, who will come out of retirement to take the position, was most recently the senior vice president of field services at American Airlines. He replaces Joseph O'Gorman, who asked to step down after Reno was acquired by American Airlines (AMR). 
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