NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Texas Instruments, the top maker of semiconductors for cell phones, Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter net loss after investment write-downs but beat Wall St. estimates.

Also after the bell, Computer Associates announced a narrower net loss for its fiscal third quarter as revenues rose 4 percent, and said it sees signs of improvement in the economy. Wireless technology company Qualcomm posted a higher net profit as stronger-than-expected earnings, excluding investments, boosted results.

Earlier Wednesday, Eastman Kodak offered a weaker-than-expected outlook, and said it would cut up to 3 percent of its work force, while Pfizer Inc. said its profit jumped 46 percent.

J.P. Morgan Chase posted a quarterly loss because of charges taken to cover Enron-related losses and other legal battles, while Merrill Lynch & Co. posted a profit before special items but warned that weak stock markets could erode its revenue.

Check Point Software; Computer Associates

LSI Logic; Maytag; PeopleSoft

QualComm; StorageTek; Texas Instruments

--

--

DALLAS (Reuters) -- Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN: Research, Estimates), the top maker of semiconductors for cell phones, posted a fourth-quarter net loss after investment write-downs.

The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $589 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with a loss of $116 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. The company recorded a profit of $100 million, or 6 cents a share, excluding one-time items.

On that basis, analysts had on average forecast that the company would post a profit of 3 cents a share, in a range between 2 cents and 4 cents. (Full Story)

--

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) -- Wireless technology company Qualcomm Inc. posted a higher net profit as stronger-than-expected earnings, excluding investments, boosted results, helped by demand in China and Japan.

Qualcomm (QCOM: Research, Estimates) reported a net profit of $241 million, or 30 cents a diluted share, for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 29, compared with income of $139.2 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, a year earlier.

On a pro forma basis, excluding investments and amortization of goodwill, the company posted a profit of 42 cents compared with 23 cents a year ago. The company previously said it expected first-quarter earnings of 35 cents to 38 cents. (Full story)

--

NEWTON, Iowa (Reuters) -- Maytag Corp. (MYG: Research, Estimates), the third-biggest U.S. home appliance maker, said its fourth-quarter profit rose from a year earlier, as it rolled out new products and focused on keeping costs low.

The Newton, Iowa-based manufacturer said its comparative net income rose to 62 cents per share from 48 cents per share in the previous year's final period. Earnings were in line with analysts' estimates.

The company incurred a fourth-quarter restructuring charge of $67.1 million in connection with the closing of its Galesburg, Ill., factory. Including the restructuring charge, Maytag reported operating income of $21.7 million and net income of $3.3 million, or 4 cents per share.

Revenues rose to $1.13 billion from $1.09 billion. (Full story)

--

ISLANDIA, N.Y., Jan 22 (Reuters) -- Computer Associates International Inc. (CA: Research, Estimates) posted a narrower quarterly net loss as revenues rose 4 percent.

The company said there were signs of improvement in the economy, although customers continued to be cautious on technology spending.

For the 2003 fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 31, the maker of software for mainframe and networked systems reported a net loss of $44 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $231 million, or 40 cents a share, the prior year.

Revenue for the company, which is the subject of two federal investigations into its accounting practices, rose to $778 million from $747 million. Computer Associates had said it expected revenue in the range of $770 million to $790 million.

Excluding acquisition-related amortization, the company reported a profit of 5 cents a share, compared with its forecast in October for operating earnings in a range of 4 cents to 5 cents a share. In the year-ago quarter the company had a loss of 6 cents a share. (Full story)

--

MILPITAS, Calif. (Reuters) -- LSI Logic Corp. (LSI: Research, Estimates) posted a fourth-quarter net loss on revenue that came in at the low end of expectations due to a slump in sales of chips for consumer and communications devices.

The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $31 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $250 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company recorded a profit of 1 cent per share excluding one-time items. On that basis, analysts had on average forecast the company would post a profit of 1 cent a share, according to First Call.

Revenue was $480 million, up from $405.8 million a year earlier but down from $487 million in the third quarter, the Milpitas, Calif.-based company said. The company had forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $475 million to $500 million and earnings excluding items of breakeven to 2 cents a share.

--

PLEASANTON, Calif. (Reuters) - Business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. (PSFT: Research, Estimates) said fourth-quarter net income was essentially unchanged from the year-earlier period as software sales fell almost 18 percent.

The seller of computer programs that automate financial, human resource and marketing activities said its net income was $57.4 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, almost unchanged from $57.8 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, last year.

Revenues fell to $512.3 million from $539.7 million. Software license sales, a key measure of future growth, declined to $143.2 million from $174.1 million.

The results beat the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company's own forecast calling for earnings of 14 cents to 15 cents a share on software sales of $125 million to $135 million.

--

LOUISVILLE, Colo. (Reuters) - Data storage company Storage Technology Corp. (STK: Research, Estimates), known as StorageTek, announced a fourth-quarter profit that rose from a year earlier as revenue increased 4 percent.

Louisville, Colo.-based StorageTek said that net income rose to $61.1 million, or 57 cents a share, including a tax benefit of $10.5 million, or 10 cents a share, from $40 million, or 38 cents, in the year-ago period. The year-ago quarter included a benefit of $2.2 million, or 2 cents a share, from special items, the company said.

Revenue climbed to $590.1 million from $566.4 million.

Analysts polled by First Call had forecast earnings within a range of 36 cents to 46 cents a share, with the consensus a 43-cent profit on revenue of $565 million.

--

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Reuters) -- Israeli Internet security company Check Point Software Technologies Inc (CHKP: Research, Estimates). posted a fourth-quarter profit above expectations and a fall in revenue from a year earlier.

Check Point reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $64.5 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $77 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had, on average, expected the company to post earnings of 24 cents per share, according to First Call.

Revenue fell to $110.3 million from $122.5 million a year earlier, said the company, which has headquarters in Tel Aviv and Redwood City, Calif. Analysts had forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $103.9 million.