The third quarter seems to be a good one for most corporations in the US this year. This morning we got earnings reports from some of the largest companies in the country. McDonalds, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and AT&T all released their earnings before the bell this morning.

McDonalds (MCD) reported that their net income jumped 10% over last year at this time. They earned $1.39 billion, or approximately $1.29 per share. Shares of McDonalds stock were up about $1 in pre-market trading this morning. Analysts expected about $1.25 billion in profit, so the company beat the street’s forecast.

AT&T (T) also reported very nice earnings. Not only did they activate 5.2 million phones this quarter, which happens to be about 400,000 more than analysts had expected, but they earned 55 cents per share, a 3.8% increase over last year’s third quarter. Revenue also climbed 3% to $31.58 billion.

JetBlue (JBLU) shares were up 20 cents or 2.88% in pre-market trading this morning, after they reported earnings of $59 million, or about 18 cents per share. The earnings for JetBlue in this year’s third quarter was greater than their earnings over all of 2009.

Overall, the markets are up before the opening bell, as corporate earnings are seeming to be a catalyst.