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Posted
May 28 2009, 04:42 PM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
When Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd discussed the sad state of business IT spending last week, he seemed like a buzz kill amidst otherwise upbeat investors. Now, in light of today's earning report from Dell, he seems like an optimist.
Dell reported revenues of $12.34 billion for the quarter ending May 1 -- a 23% decline from the same period last year. The number was about $320 million less than Wall Street consensus estimates. Earnings declined a whopping 63% due, in part, to costs incurred in reorganizing the business
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Posted
Mar 25 2009, 03:03 AM
by
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from The Big Money.
So much for the bonus tax. Lawmakers' hunt to recoup bonuses at American International Group (AIG) is "slowing significantly as passions on the issue cool," the Wall Street Journal reports. A week ago, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill to impose a 90% tax on bonuses distributed to the wealthiest employees at TARP bailout firms. A similar measure was expected as early as this week from the Senate. But now, the legislation could be put off altogether "if the administration demonstrates a commitment to reining in such payments in the future," the newspaper writes. In a further sign that tempers are simmering, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Dow Jones that legislation to tax the bonuses paid to AIG executives "may not be necessary if the bulk of the bonuses are paid back voluntarily."
There is still plenty of anger being vented toward AIG in Washington, however
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Posted
Aug 28 2008, 01:21 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Poof! There goes all the buzz about Dell being a turnaround worth watching. The market has been excited about Dell, for the first time in a long while, but today's disappointing earnings announcement may have killed that enthusiasm. After jumping 16% in the last three months, the stock price is being hammered in after-hours trading. And all the talk about Dell's recovery, about its cool new mini-laptops, and about CEO Michael Dell's revamped strategy has just moved to the back burner.
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Posted
Sep 29 2009, 11:40 AM
by
Jim Jubak
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 The stock market got all excited Monday by big acquisitions announced by Xerox (XRX) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT).
Xerox announced that it would buy Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for $6.4 billion in cash and stock and Abbott said it would buy the drugs business of Solvay (SVYSY) for $6.6 billion in cash.
That news helped stocks reverse recent weakness: The Standard & Poor's 500 closed up 1.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3%. The two deals came after news of acquisitions like Dell's (DELL) $3.9-billion cash offer for Perot Systems (PER).
Now, I can understand why the market as a whole would get excited at the news. Mergers and acquisitions push up stock prices. Dell, for example, has offered a 70% premium to buy Perot Systems.
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Posted
Sep 01 2009, 02:11 PM
by
Tobin Smith
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
It’s inevitable. Whenever a stock gaps up in price the way computer maker Dell (DELL) did on Monday, the first tendency is to look for the behind-the-scenes reasons why.
In this case, Dell shares definitely reacted positively to Needham analyst Richard Kugele's decision to raise his price target on the shares from $16 to $20. Kugele cited strength in both Dell’s consumer and public sector PC sales as reasons for raising his price target, but he said the most surprising element in Dell’s favor was the company’s gross margin of 18.3%.
Bing: More on Dell
I think Kugele’s analysis is solid, and in fact, the company as much as confirmed this upbeat analysis in its earnings announcement on Friday. Dell reported a second-quarter profit that beat Wall Street forecasts, but I think the real bullish news was the company’s belief that corporate spending on technology will pick up next year
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Posted
Feb 28 2008, 04:09 AM
by
Robert Walberg
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Like the former high-school baseball star in the Springsteen song, Michael Dell knows how glory days can pass you by in the wink of a young girl's eye. His company, Dell, delivered yet another earnings disappointment last night. The former king of the PC industry cited higher-than-expected costs for the earnings shortfall. The excuse may be new but falling short of estimates has become old hat to Dell.
Not that long ago, Dell rode its cheap cost structure, build-to-order model and aggressive market campaign to the top of theh PC world. But after years of management missteps, the company finds itself looking up at Hewlett-Packard much the way General Motors finds itself trailing Toyota. About the only category in which Dell surpasses HP these days is in restructuring announcements. According to Mr. Dell, the current plan, which calls for more staff reductions and improved operating efficiencies, is apt to adversely impact near-term earnings growth. No kidding.
But I'll tell you what the restructuring plan isn't going to do -- it's not going to resolve the company's long-term problem any more than the dozen or so turnaround efforts have resurrected GM. And the reasons are much the same -- both management teams are too focused on the bottom-line and not focused enough on the big picture. Dell's problem isn't that the call center in Canada is overstaffed, it's that the company no longer possesses a significant cost advantage over the competition. Dell was never a very innovative company -- its strength was in the cost savings produced by the model. That cost benefit doesn't exist any more and simply adding new channels to sell product that's priced about the same as Toshiba, Acer and HP just isn't going to get it done.
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Posted
Oct 13 2009, 06:06 PM
by
InvestorPlace
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is by InvestorPlace's Jim Woods.
Chipmaker Intel (INTC) did it again. The tech bellwether handily beat consensus earnings forecasts for both its bottom line and the top line, reporting a third-quarter profit of 33 cents a share on revenue of $9.39 billion. Analysts who cover the stock were expecting a bottom line number of just 28 cents a share on revenue of $9.037 billion. Of course, with a company like Intel, the forecast for the quarter ahead is of supreme significance -- not just for Intel but for many companies in PC and related sectors. And here we have what could be the real reason to smile, for not only Intel, but for many other companies that use Intel chips in their products.
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Posted
Oct 14 2008, 09:55 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
There's no recession in Mac land. Apple introduced its new line of notebooks today, and the bottom price point is disappointing. The cheapest MacBook will cost $999. So much for the company getting into the sub-$1,000 notebook market.
Apple shares are slumping today in response.
We heard a lot of talk about Apple introducing an $800 or $900 laptop, and analysts crunched the numbers and found the company would dramatically increase its potential market by doing so. Slashing prices would eat into Apple's margins, but Apple prepared us for this by saying its gross margin would fall by nearly 5% to 30% in the next fiscal year.
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Posted
May 28 2008, 11:34 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Dell had better make headlines with its earnings call tomorrow, if for no other reason than to bury the news out about its misleading advertising practices. A New York judge came down hard on the company yesterday for baiting customers with financing promotions that it never intended to actually offer. Dell offered freebies and no-interest financing to "well qualified" or "best qualified" customers, according to the judge. But most customers who took the bait were given interest rates from 16% to 30%. The judge also faulted Dell for shoddy customer service that included long telephone holds and denying rebate requests. The judgment had little impact on Dell shares, which are up 3 cents today to $21.52.
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Posted
Nov 24 2008, 08:45 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard are turning out the lights in December, forcing employees into paid time off to save money. Cisco will shut down its offices from Dec. 29 through Jan. 2, and is "strongly" encouraging workers to also stay home for three days before Christmas, according to an internal memo obtained by Valleywag.
Company-funded parties are out. The memo asks workers to celebrate in "creative ways that result in no cost to the company." Hey, how about making Christmas ornaments with leftover toilet paper rolls?
Cisco is also cutting back on hiring and employee travel. And it's carefully reviewing spending on equipment, employee training, big purchases and outside services.
Memos like these are popping up at companies from coast to coast.
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