Calling the first quarter a "blowout," Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported a 88% profit increase for the company yesterday. Sales of iPods and music through iTunes accounted for 44% of Apple's revenue for the quarter, and Mac computers for the rest. Jobs says that Macs are gaining market share, with sales growing at 36%. Overall, personal computer sales increased only about 11% during the period, according to the market researcher IDC. Apple's strength was particularly notable in that it came during the quarter in which Microsoft finally released the long-awaited Vista version of its Windows operating system, an …

Current Colgate COO Ian Cook will succeed longtime CEO Reuben Mark on July 1, although the latter will remain chairman for up to 18 months. During his 23 years at the helm, Mark transformed Colgate from a weak also-ran getting clobbered in the U.S. by P&G into arguably the strongest global company in packaged-goods. Mark relentlessly focused on categories with stronger margins and growth rates and relatively little private-label competition, as well as by getting into developing markets ahead of competitors. Though Mark had laid plans for Cook to succeed him last year, the lengthy delay …

Seeking to simplify the company's marketing and reduce costs by narrowing most brand names to Disney, ABC and ESPN, Disney CEO Robert Iger will change the name of its Buena Vista entertainment divisions to Disney within weeks, sources say. Buena Vista was the third-largest domestic film distributor in 2006. The name dates from 1953, when Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded an in-house operation to sell the company's live-action and animated films to cinema owners. Named for the street in Burbank, Calif., where the studios and corporate headquarters are located, Buena Vista later became Disney's name for …

The National Retail Federation in Washington, the nation's leading lobby for retailers, is worried about some provisions of a new bill--the Identity Theft Protection Act of 2007 (S. 1178)--in the Senate. While welcoming a national uniform standard for data-breach notification, the NRF is concerned that the bill "contains an unworkable notice trigger which we believe could lead to the ineffective and cumbersome over-notification of consumers who are not at risk of identity theft," writes Steve Pfister, NRF senior vice president for government relations, in a letter to committee members. The NRF found other aspects of the bill troublesome, …

Wendy's International--the nation's third-largest hamburger chain--has created a special committee of directors to consider a possible sale of the company, merger or other business combination. There is no timetable to the review, and the company will report developments as warranted, it says. Wendy's also reported yesterday that net profit fell 71% in its first quarter. It earned $14.7 million, or 15 cents per share, in the period ended April 1, down from $51.2 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period a year ago, when the company had 15 additional restaurants. Revenue was $590 million, up …

No deal has been reached, but Coca-Cola is in talks with Glacéau, which makes the popular Vitaminwater brand that helped pioneer and popularize enhanced water, one of the industry's hottest categories. It's not clear whether Coke wants to acquire Glacéau outright or buy a substantial stake. Negotiations still could fall apart. Glacéau, of Whitestone, N.Y., could be a good fit for Coke as it tries to reverse sales declines in its U.S. business and improve its non-soda lineup. Coke has been working to develop new waters and teas internally, while ramping up its search for acquisitions. In February, Coke …

Wal-Mart Stores is expanding a pilot program begun in 2005 by contracting with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics in the next two to three years. The retailer says the clinics are expected to boost the health of its shoppers and should also help sales by attracting consumers. Currently, 76 clinics are operating inside Wal-Mart stores in 12 states. That number could grow to 2,000 clinics over the next five to seven years. Wal-Mart is not alone in pursuing these clinics. Drugstore operators like CVS/Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co are …

In a deal expected to be announced today, Jarden Corp. will pay about $1.2 billion in cash and stock to acquire K2 Sports, which makes Rawlings baseball gloves, K2 skis and equipment for fishing, whitewater rafting and paintball. Jarden's founder and CEO, Martin E. Franklin, has been assembling niche brands with high visibility but slow growth since 1991. In 2004, he bought the United States Playing Card Co., which makes the Bicycle brand of cards used in many casinos. That same year, he acquired American Household, the successor to Sunbeam, and in the process acquired the Mr. …

Amazon's announced yesterday that its first-quarter net income more than doubled, and analysts pointed to an investment in excess of $1 billion in "technology and content" in 2005 and 2006 as a contributing factor. Worldwide, sales of books, CDs and other media products jumped 26% year-over-year. Sales of electronics and other merchandise rose 48%, and sales of so-called soft goods--which include shoes, jewelry and apparel--more than doubled. Executives would not say how Unbox--the movie-download service launched last year--performed in the quarter, and they declined to comment on rumors that the company will soon launch a digital music download service. …

By combining Crest toothpaste and Oral-toothbrushes, Procter & Gamble hopes to transform the fragmented oral-care shelves of drugstores so they look more like the hair-care or skin-products shelves, where consumers often buy a suite of products. But efforts to combine the world's No. 1 toothbrush and the world's No. 2 toothpaste have proved problematic. A corporate structure featuring dual presidents was so unwieldy that the senior president finally stepped aside. A forced move for Oral-B employees from Boston to Crest's Cincinnati home led to an exit of talent. Then there were culture clashes: Oral-B favored meetings, while Crest …