NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s stock GT, +5.82% ran up 13% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the tire maker reported third-quarter profit that was well above expectations. Net earnings slipped to $161 million, or 58 cents a share, from $166 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted per-share earnings were 87 cents, exceeding the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 70 cents, as segment operating income margin of more than 11% was the highest in more than a decade. Net sales fell to $4.66 billion from last year’s $5 billion, missing analyst forecasts of $4.94 billion, amid a 2% decline in tire unit volume. The company affirmed its financial targets for 2014 through 2016. Through Tuesday, the stock had dropped 21% since the company reported second-quarter results on July 30, and was down 8.4% for the year, compared with a 7.4% year-to-date gain for the S&P 500.
– marketwatch.com
