Touchscreen technology maker Synaptics said Thursday its first-quarter net income fell 23 percent as a one-time tax charge offset growth in demand for mobile phone screens. But the results beat expectations and shares jumped after-hours.

Netflix Inc. has been doing so well during the recession that it’s getting tougher for the DVD-by-mail pioneer to live up to investors’ lofty expectations.

The government zeroed in on corporate excess and recklessness Thursday with deep, unprecedented cuts in executive compensation at companies living on taxpayer money and a move to wield veto power over pay policy at thousands of banks to limit risk-taking.

The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange:

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday posted quarterly profit that handily beat Wall Street estimates and said holiday sales could come in far above expectations, sending its shares up 15 percent to their highest level in nearly a decade.

The U.S. pay czar on Thursday slashed compensation for top earners at seven bailed-out companies for the final two months of the year, and was immediately slammed by the country’s largest bank which claimed the cuts could send talent fleeing.

Shares of Chesapeake Energy fell as an analyst downgraded the natural gas company, saying its stock has appreciated to a fair level, having rallied 53 percent in the past six months.

Investors encouraged by a good batch of earnings reports and forecasts jumped back into stocks after a two-day slide. Stocks posted big gains Thursday as investors snapped up financial shares after several banks said they weren’t seeing as many loans go bad.

The Treasury Department on Thursday ordered seven companies that received billions of dollars in government bailouts to halve total compensation for their top executives. But the big reductions will not apply to pay earned before November.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after quarterly results from insurer Travelers and regional bank PNC Financial gave a boost to financial stocks.