Motorola 3Q Profits Drop

Motorola today posted lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and missed some analyst estimates on phone sales.

Motorola Chief Executive Ed Zander acknowledged the shortfall in sales, citing less than expected spending on GSM equipment and lower sales of phones designed specifically for the Nextel portion of Sprint Nextel Corp. "While our third-quarter sales were slightly below our guidance, we are pleased with our earnings," he said in a statement.

Motorola said it sold 53.7 million cell phones in the quarter compared with 51.9 million in the second quarter and 38.7 million in the third quarter of last year.