ERIC - Ericsson reported a 24 percent rise in first-quarter pretax earnings and the company said it was taking market share from rivals.

F - Ford posted a narrower first-quarter loss as cost-cutting and improved results from its European and luxury vehicle operations partially offset weaker sales and restructuring charges.

QCOM - Qualcomm posted a higher quarterly profit and revenue late Wednesday and it raised its estimates for full-year earnings on strong demand for its chips for mobile phones.

AAPL- Apple posted better-than-expected profit and revenue on strong sales of its iPods and Macintosh computers, and the company said iPod sales rose 24 percent.