NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A late-day announcement from Sonus Networks overshadowed earnings news in trading at the end of the day Wednesday.

The telecommunications equipment maker said its auditors have detected problems related to the timing of revenue recognition that could affect the company's annual results.

The announcement hurt Sonus (SONS: Research, Estimates) shares, dragging them down 19.3 percent to $5.40 on the INET electronic brokerage from their $6.69 Nasdaq closing price.

Fast-food company Yum Brands Inc. reported a higher fourth-quarter profit and boosted its 2004 earnings estimate thanks to strong performance in its international unit.

Net income rose to $214 million, or 70 cents per share, versus $172 million, or 56 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding a one-time gain, the company earned 65 cents per share for the quarter. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Research, on average, expected the company to earn 62 cents a share before charges.

For the full year, Yum said it expects to earn at least $2.27 a share, beating Wall Street's $2.24 per share expectations.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in. Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. Manage alerts | What is this?

Yum (YUM: Research, Estimates) shares closed 1.6 percent higher to $33.71 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc. said it began registering patients for a Phase II trial for a promising new type of HIV drug, called 873140, earlier this month.

The drug works by blocking receptors to the CCR5 protein found on a certain type of white blood cell that HIV invades.

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: Research, Estimates) pulled back slightly to $45.15 on the NYSE, a day ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Several companies are scheduled to release their quarterly figures before the bell Thursday morning. Among the most well-known: Unilever NV (UN: Research, Estimates), May Department Stores (MAY: Research, Estimates), and Aetna (AET: Research, Estimates). Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) and NVIDIA (NVDA: Research, Estimates) will release their quarterly results after the market closes on Thursday.  

--Reuters contributed to this report.