UnitedHealth's fourth-quarter earnings rose nearly 6 percent in a performance that topped Wall Street expectations, and the nation's largest health insurer brought an optimistic vibe into the new year.

The Minneapolis-based insurer's CEO, Stephen Hemsley, said today in a statement the company enters 2015 “with a positive outlook and rising business momentum.” That's a contrast to how UnitedHealth started 2014, filled with worry about another round of funding cuts to a key business: Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the federal government's coverage program for people who are older than 65 or disabled.

Today's proclamation garnered strong early reviews from investors, who pushed the stock price higher before markets opened. Most investors have turned their focus to what lies ahead by the time companies report their fourth-quarter results.

UnitedHealth had said early last month it expected double-digit earnings growth in 2015 and a smaller hit from the health care overhaul, the massive federal law that expands coverage to millions of uninsured people. The law also levies taxes and fees on insurers. UnitedHealth said today the Affordable Care Act cut 2014 earnings by $1 billion, or about $1 per share.

ARMONK, N.Y. — IBM's fourth-quarter net income dropped 11 percent as revenue in most categories continued to decline, and its outlook for the year disappointed investors.Shares fell 2 percent in aftermarket trading.The technology and consulting company has struggled with declining revenue over the last three years, as business customers have moved away from buying big mainframe computers and traditional software that's installed on their own systems. Revenue fell 12 percent in the latest quarter.IBM has been spending heavily to develop new products, such as data analytics and artificial intelligence programs and “cloud” software that IBM delivers to customers over the Internet. But those new businesses have not grown as fast as the company hoped, while revenue has continued to fall in IBM's traditional software, hardware and technology services businesses.

SAN FRANCISCO — Coming off its best quarter yet, Netflix is hoping to hook millions more Internet video subscribers with the lure of original programming as the company tries to build the leading network for the digital-streaming age.Netflix added 13 million worldwide subscribers last year, including 4.3 million during the final three months, according to figures released Tuesday in the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. The performance marked Netflix's biggest quarter of subscriber gains ever, eclipsing the 4.07 million added in the final three months of 2013.Earnings also rose to a new quarterly high of $83.4 million, or $1.35 per share, a 72 percent increase up from $48.4 million, or 79 cents per share, at the same time last year.