Before the bell: AAPL, CFC, TXN, NFLX

Before the bell: Apple helps lift stocks

Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are up over 7.5% to $187.49 in premarket trading after the company reported a blowout fourth quarter to round up an excellent year. Profits jumped 67% in Apple's fiscal fourth-quarter in a year when the company saw the demand for its Mac computers growing, successfully launched the iPhone not to mention the iPod's continued success. Mac shipments reached a record 2.16 million in the quarter, an increase of 34% from the same period a year ago, to generate $3.1 billion, or about half of the company's revenues for the quarter. iPod sales grew 17% and the company sold 1.12 million iPhones in the quarter.

Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) said that in an effort to help keep people from losing their homes, "it will begin calling borrowers to offer refinancing or modifications on $16 billion in loans whose interest rate is set to adjust by the end of 2008."

Unlike Apple, Texas Instruments Inc.'s (NYSE: TXN) shares are down nearly 5.9% in premarket trading. The largest maker of chips used in wireless phones reported third-quarter earnings after the close yesterday. While profits rose 11% on stronger demand for analog chips and lower manufacturing costs, revenues, nonetheless, dropped. UBS, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan and Jefferies & Co. all downgraded TXN.

Online DVD rental pioneer Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) shares are up over 14.5% in premarket trading after reporting a surprisingly strong performance in its third quarter yesterday after the close. The company's price-cutting strategy revived its subscriber growth and Netflix earned $15.7 million, or 23 cents per share in the quarter, a 23% increase from the same period last year. Analysts, on average, had been anticipating earnings of 15 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.