The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS: chart) reported Tuesday a 30% increase in its quarterly profits, helped by improved results from nearly every business segment. The New York-based investment bank posted net income of $879 million, or $1.74 a share, for the fiscal 2004 third quarter, compared with net income of $677 million, or $1.32 a share, for the same period a year earlier. The earnings were well above Wall Street’s average forecast of $1.43 a share. For the quarter ended August 27, total revenue advanced 20% to $4.53 billion, while analysts had called for $4.15 billion. The company’s investment banking business recorded net revenue of $890 million in the quarter, a 30% jump from prior-year revenue of $687 million. Net revenue in principal investments climbed 15% to $2.7 billion, as revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities more than doubled to $1.87 billion from $879 million, a year ago. Goldman Sachs said revenue from its equities business declined 17% in the third quarter to $910 million, hurt by weak summer trading activity.

palmOne, Inc. (PLMO: chart) announced Monday that it reversed course to a quarterly profit from a prior-year loss, bolstered by solid revenue growth. The provider of handheld computing and communications devices said that it had net income of $19.6 million, or 38 cents per share, in its fiscal 2005 first quarter, a turnaround from a net loss of $21.7 million, or 74 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding items, earnings totaled $21.9 million, or 43 cents per share, for the quarter ended August 27, in contrast to a loss of $14.1 million, or 48 cents per share, in fiscal 2004. The results blasted past the average analysts’ estimate of 20 cents per share. Milpitas, California-based palmOne reported that revenue soared 62% in the first quarter to $273.1 million from $168.6 million, last year, driven by strong demand for its smartphones and personal data assistants. Wall Street’s forecast was for revenue of $268.1 million, on average.

palmOne shares closed Monday at $37.28, up $1.63, or 4.57%. The stock plunged 8.83% to $33.99 in after-hours trading.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE: chart) posted after the bell Monday quarterly earnings that surged 62% from last year, boosted by continued strong demand for its software products. The San Jose, California-based maker of Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Acrobat announced a net profit of $104.5 million, or 42 cents per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2004 ended September 3. For the 2003 corresponding period, the company earned $64.5 million, or 27 cents per share. Excluding items, Adobe posted earnings of 43 cents per share for the 2004 third quarter, beating by 4 cents per share the mean analysts’ forecast. Quarterly sales jumped 27% to $403.7 million from $319.1 million, a year earlier. Analysts were looking for third-quarter revenue of $391.6 million. The company credited its strategy of offering 'comprehensive platform solutions' for the sales increase.

Looking ahead, Adobe projected fourth-quarter earnings of 38 cents to 41 cents per share, on sales of $400 million to $415 million.

The stock dropped 19 cents on Monday to $47.95. Adobe shares rose 3.34% to $49.55 in the extended session.

Red Hat, Inc. (RHAT: chart) of Raleigh, North Carolina, said after market close Monday that its second-quarter profits more than tripled to $11.8 million, or 6 cents per share, from $3.6 million, or 2 cents per share, generated in the same quarter a year earlier. The earnings of the Linux software distributor topped analysts’ expectations by a penny a share. Revenue in the quarter surged 60% to $46.3 million from $29 million. Red Hat said strong demand drove the results.

Red Hat shares lost 13 cents to close Monday at $15.10. The stock dipped 3.44% to $14.58 in extended-hours trading.

KB Home (KBH: chart) on Monday rolled out net income of $117.9 million, or $2.84 a share, for its third quarter, a 20% increase from $97.8 million, or $2.33 a share, for the 2003 equivalent. Analysts had expected the homebuilder to earn $2.73 a share, on average. The Los Angeles, California-based company recorded revenue of $1.75 billion in the quarter, up 21% from last year. KB Home attributed the results to strong housing demand and acquisitions.

The stock shed 96 cents to $76.25 at market close Monday. Company shares rose 1.25% to $77.20 in after-market trade.

Lennar Corporation (LEN: chart) reported Monday that its quarterly income improved 12%, as the homebuilder sold more houses at higher operating margins. The Miami, Florida-based company turned in third-quarter net income of $225.2 million, or $1.36 a share, against year-earlier net income of $201.6 million, or $1.21 a share. The results were 2 cents a share above Wall Street’s consensus estimate. Quarterly revenue advanced to $2.75 billion from $2.27 billion, in 2003.

Company shares closed Monday at $45.95, down $1.61, or 3.39%.

NIKE, Inc. (NKE: chart) posted Monday a 25% jump in its quarterly profits, powering past analysts’ expectations, boosted by improving U.S. and international orders. The world’s top athletic shoe and apparel company announced net earnings of $326.8 million, or $1.21 per share, for its fiscal 2005 first quarter, up from net earnings of $261.2 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier. The earnings comfortably outpaced Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.11 per share. For the quarter ended August 31, Nike recorded sales of $3.56 billion, an 18% rise from prior-year sales $3.02 billion. U.S. revenues rose 12% in the quarter to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion, helped by the renewed contract with retailer Foot Locker. Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike said revenues for the European region, including the Middle East and Africa, advanced 14% to $1.2 billion, from $1.0 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2004.