Virus outbreak pressures company profits, sales

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.

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EARNINGS RESULTS: The busiest week of the earnings season continues, with companies making gains in some areas of their business but struggling in others.

— American Airlines reported a staggering loss of $2.24 billion for the first quarter, when the coronavirus pandemic triggered a sharp drop in air travel.

— Most McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. and China are now open for drive-thru and delivery, but global lockdown orders still took a bite out of the company’s first-quarter sales. The chain’s sales fell 6% to $4.71 billion in the January-March period. Declines have persisted in April.

— Comcast’s net income slid in the first three months of the year as the pandemic forced it to shut down theme parks and its movies were kept out of closed theaters.

Comcast lost 409,000 cable TV customers, the biggest source of the company’s profits, as cord-cutting accelerated. But it added 477,000 internet customers, which it said was its best quarterly number in more than a decade. It came as U.S. workplace shutdowns began in March and a mass work-from-home migration underscored the role home internet plays in Americans’ lives.

— Twitter reported Thursday that average daily users grew 24% year over year, the highest ever growth rate in the company’s history. The company said growth was driven by seasonal strength, product improvements and interest in coronavirus.

— Facebook reported its slowest quarterly growth as a public company, pressured by the coronavirus pandemic and a resulting global slowdown in digital advertising.

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