Shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) hit an all-time high after the Va.-based railroad operator reported a 26 percent jump in first-quarter profits. A recovering US economy drove net profit to $325 million, as higher demand offset increased fuel costs. Railway operating revenue surged 17 percent to $2.6 billion. Analysts said that the company would benefit from a recovery of coal demand this year.

Intel (NSDQ: INTC) is rumored to be in the running to provide Apple (NSDQ: APPL) with chips for the popular iPhone, iPod and iPad. Currently, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (Seoul: 005930) provides Apple with these critical components. But Apple and Samsung’s relationship has deteriorated as the two firms increasingly compete for customers. Intel already supplies Apple with chips for desktop and notebook computers. The news was first reported by Piper Jaffray analyst Gus Richard, who said the Apple-Intel alliance would be aimed at defeating “a significant competitive threat [Samsung] to both companies.”

Shares of 3M (NYSE: MMM) rose 2.3 percent after the conglomerate boosted its full-year guidance. The St Paul, Minn-based conglomerate forecast that its 2011 earnings per share would reach $6.05 to $6.25 per share, up from an original forecast of $5.95 to $6.20. The company said that supply disruptions from the March 11 Japan earthquake in Japan would hurt full-year earnings by 10 to 13 cents per share. First-quarter profits rose 16 percent to $1.08 billion on the back of surging sales in India, China and Brazil.

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) said higher sales and cost cutting helped boost first-quarter profits 2.6 percent to $353 million, or 73 cents per share. The company’s CEO said that an economic recovery in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas drove earnings, despite a mild winter that curtailed use of electricity. The company’s first-quarter earnings were also hit by a legal settlement with Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) related to the Enron bankruptcy.