Two large American corporations today, often seen as investments to hedge against volatile markets, reported earnings this morning. Both Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson reported before the market opened.

After four quarters of lower earnings, Coca-Cola has reported it’s second straight quarter where earnings have increased. The soft drink maker reported earnings of 88 cents per share or $2.06 billion. Last year at this time, they earned just $1.9 billion, or $0.81 per share. While the revenue numbers beat the street’s forecast, earnings per share fell just short of the expected $0.89. Coca-Cola also announced that they will buy back $2 billion in shares this year instead of the, originally planned, $1.5 billion.

Johnson & Johnson also reported their earnings early this morning. Hampered with several major recalls this year, a total of 13 in the last 13 months, some investors were not certain how this quarter’s earnings would turn out. They reported net income of $3.42 billion, or $1.23 per share. Last year during it’s third quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported $3.35 billion in income or $1.20 per share. Analysts had expected the company to report only $1.15 per share this quarter, so they clearly beat forecasts there. Despite this, shares of Johnson & Johnson are trading down in the pre-market about 1.9%.

Overall these numbers show that the economy is still chugging along. There were no major surprises to the downside, as many investors had feared. Both Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson are good gauges of the overall economy.