Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ: chart) announced after market close Tuesday that its fiscal 2004 second-quarter net earnings jumped 34% to $884 million, or 29 cents a share, from net earnings of $659 million, or 22 cents a share, in the 2003 equivalent. Excluding items, the world’s second-largest computer maker reported a profit of $1.03 billion, or 34 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 30, compared with a profit before items of $877 million, or 29 cents a share, last year. On that basis, earnings were in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Palo Alto, California-based HP attributed the profit rise to strong demand for servers, personal and notebook computers. The company delivered record second-quarter revenue of $20.1 billion, a 12% increase from $18.0 billion a year ago, aided by the weak dollar. Revenue at the company’s personal systems group, which includes notebooks and desktop PCs, rose 17% to $6.0 billion. Revenue at the imaging and printing group hit a record of $6.1 billion, up 11% year-over-year.

HP shares gained 33 cents on Tuesday to $19.83. The stock rose 4.14% to $20.65 in after-hours trading.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD: chart) said before the bell Tuesday that its quarterly profits increased 21%, driven by store improvements and strong sales. The Atlanta, Georgia-based world’s top home improvement chain turned in net income of $1.10 billion, or 49 cents a share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2004, compared with net income of $907 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company posted earnings of $1.18 billion, or 52 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 2, comfortably beating the average analysts’ estimate for earnings of 43 cents a share. Home Depot recorded a 16% rise in its first-quarter sales to $17.55 billion, compared with sales of $15.10 billion a year earlier, citing strong sales of appliances and lumber and building materials. Same-store sales climbed 7.7% in the quarter.

The stock was up 3.44% to close Tuesday at $34.62. Company shares shed 17 cents to $34.45 in after-market trade.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT: chart) of Santa Clara, California, reported Tuesday that it returned to profitability in its second quarter, boosted by surging sales. The world’s No.1 maker of semiconductor production equipment said it earned $373 million, or 22 cents per share, in its second quarter, rebounding from a year-earlier loss of $62.1 million or 4 cents per share, when results reflected a restructuring charge of $92.7 million. Quarterly sales rocketed up 82% to $2.02 billion, aided by improving demand for chips used in consumer products.

Company shares closed Tuesday up 40 cents, or 2.17%, at $18.85. The stock inched down 4 cents to $18.81 in after-hours trading.

Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK: chart) posted Tuesday a sharp rise in its quarterly profits, citing better cost management and improving manufacturing activities. The San Rafael, California-based provider of computer-aided design software rolled out first-quarter income of $43 million, or 36 cents per share, against $7.5 million, or 7 cents per share, generated in the same quarter a year ago. Autodesk reported revenue of $298 million in the first quarter, a 41% jump from $211 million, last year.

The stock gained a penny to $33.69 at market close Tuesday. Autodesk shares plunged 4.78% to $32.08 in extended trading.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP: chart) of Plano, Texas, reported Tuesday a net profit of $41 million, or 13 cents per share, for its fiscal first quarter, down 33% from a net profit of $61 million, or 20 cents per share, in the year-ago comparable period. The retailer said results were weighed down by charges related to the sale of Eckerd drugstores. Excluding those, earnings from continuing operations rose to 38 cents per share, from 5 cents per share a year earlier. The mean estimate of analysts was for earnings of 34 cents per share.

Company shares soared 6.68% to $33.71 at market close Tuesday.

Staples, Inc. (SPLS: chart) announced Tuesday that its quarterly earnings rose fivefold from a year ago, when results were hurt by a charge for an accounting change. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based office supply retailer posted net income of $125.7 million, or 25 cents per share, for its fiscal first quarter, in contrast to net income of $24.8 million, or 5 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2003. Quarterly sales advanced 12% to $3.45 billion from $3.09 billion.

The stock surged 8.07% on Tuesday to $26.39. Staples shares added 2 cents to $26.41 in after-market trade.

The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX: chart) of Framingham, Massachusetts, said Tuesday that its first-quarter net income soared 48% to $168.1 million, or 33 cents a share, from prior-year net income of $113.5 million, or 22 cents a share. The retailer beat by a penny analysts’ projections. TJX said results were driven by higher sales, which climbed 20% to $3.35 billion from $2.79 billion, last year.

TJX sales closed Tuesday at $24.00, up 14 cents, or 0.59%.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS: chart) reported Tuesday that it swung to a quarterly profit from a year-ago loss, due to sales increase. The New York-based U.S. leading bookseller announced first-quarter net income of $12.5 million, or 17 cents per share, a turnaround from a loss of $2 million, or 3 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts were looking for a profit of 12 cents per share, on average. Total sales in the quarter rose to $1.45 billion from $1.19 billion.

The stock edged up 43 cents to $29.08 at market close Tuesday.

Borders Group, Inc. (BGP: chart) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted Tuesday net earnings of $3 million, or 4 cents per share, for its first quarter, reversing from a loss of $4.8 million, or 6 cents per share, in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2003. The U.S No.2 bookseller recorded sales of $830.8 million in the quarter, up 11% from $751.4 million, last year, on strong demand for diet and political books.

Company shares gained 7 cents to close Tuesday at $22.70. The stock rose 4.01% to $23.61 in after-hours trading.

Network Appliance, Inc. (NTAP: chart) announced Tuesday a 47% jump in its quarterly profits, bolstered by strong demand. The Sunnyvale, California-based supplier of data storage equipment said that it earned $36.4 million, or 10 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, in contrast to net income of $24.8 million, or 7 cents a share, in the previous year. Fourth-quarter revenue soared to $336.9 million from $241.6 million, last year.

The stock dropped 35 cents on Tuesday to $20.70. Company shares dived 6.09% to $19.44 in extended trading.