The third quarter of 2011 treated the top IT companies well for the most part. Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) revenue rose 7 percent from last year and Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) revenue jumped 33 percent.

AT&T (NYSE: T) added 2.1 million wireless subscribers, passing the 100 million mark. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) reached 4 million FIOS TV subscribers, having added 131,000 in the quarter along with 138,000 FIOS Internet subscribers.

While Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) fell short of expectations, its revenue increased 39 percent from last year, netting a profit of $6.62 billion. Over one year, unit sales of Macs and iPhones both increased by over 20 percent, and iPad unit sales more than doubled.