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Posted
Jul 11 2008, 08:59 PM
by
Andrew Horowitz
Rating:
 This week will be full of exciting earnings announcements that may actually show some promise. As investor anxiety grows, sometimes a stock will mistakenly get caught up in the hysteria/euphoria and shares will behave erratically. In these conditions, if a company can prove that it isn't in imminent danger by showing a string of solid earnings in the face of financial adversity, investors will bid shares up with a vengeance.
There may actually be a few nuggets that will show up this week. Yes, even in a market that seems to whipsaw investors around daily, there may be a few good stocks out there. Even in the worst forest fire there is usually some form of life left that will help to bring life out of the ashes. With that in mind, here are few ideas to ponder:
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 05:41 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Filed under: Citigroup, Sprint, Wal-Mart, Intel, AMD, AT&T, Starbucks, Target, Sears, IBM, Circuit City, Sun Microsystems
Rating:
With the trading year almost half over and results from the first quarter out, 24/7 Wall Street has created the latest installment of its Ten Worst Managed Companies In America list. This is a companion piece to the "CEO of the Year" list and "Large Companies that May Disappear" series.
This analysis is based on: 1) one-year and five-year stock performance relative to the major indexes and other companies in the industry, 2) the company's position in its industry both now and over the last five years, 3) whether management made identifiable and critical decisions which hurt the company, 4) a change in the company's relative market strength compared to its competition, and 5) whether the company could have identified mistakes and changed course quickly enough to avoid a catastrophe.
Some readers will think it is not fair to include companies which have had a recent
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Posted
Jun 09 2008, 10:00 AM
by
Andrew Horowitz
Rating:
Most remember the frenzied race between Advanced Micro Devices and Intel to bring the first dual-core processor to market. Yet a lesser know fact is the IBM was actually the first to offer it way back in 2001. It took another four years until Intel and AMD were ready to ship a dual-core that was commercially viable for PCs. Quickly the dual-duel heated up and now it looks like AMD is looking to get even for Intel stealing their dual-core thunder. If you recall, back in 2005, AMD and Intel were just weeks apart with each of their initial releases of the dual-core technology. While Intel was actually first with the blazing technology, the king-of-the-hill status was short lived. AMD came out with a faster and cheaper version within a few weeks.
But, not to be outdone, Intel rebounded with the a line of dual-core processors in 2006 that smoked the AMD offerings. Since then, AMD had been floundering as they have been unable to innovate and provide a compelling/competitive reason for anyone to choose their processors over Intel's.
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Posted
Apr 08 2008, 01:36 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
AMD investors are banging their heads against the wall again today after the chipmaker said first-quarter sales will disappoint Wall Street. Shares fell 5% today to $6.03. A year ago AMD traded in the $13 range; two years ago the stock was at $34.
AMD also said it will cut about 1,700 jobs, or 10% of its work force. It estimated first-quarter revenue to be $1.5 billion, not the $1.62 billion analysts were looking for.
The economy is certainly to blame, but could Dell be a culprit as well? Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung said in a note that Dell is reducing its exposure to AMD, which is contributing to AMD's current woes. Yeung said he didn't know if Dell had completely bailed from the AMD camp, however.
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Posted
Mar 30 2008, 05:26 PM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Starbucks has been a disappointment recently. Same-store sales in the U.S. slowed over the last couple of quarters. The company pushed down its guidance. Founder Howard Schultz kicked out his CEO and took over.
In late 2006, Starbucks traded over $40. It is well below that now -- under $18 on most days.
Right as the stock peaked, then-CEO Jim Donald made the audacious statement that the company would eventually have 40,000 stores. On the day he said that Starbucks had 12,440 stores. Looking back, it is almost certain the his prediction had no chance of becoming a reality. But, the $40 share price had gone to his head. He had become delirious with success.
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Posted
Mar 12 2008, 01:14 PM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Intel management and lawyers are in Europe talking with EU officials about whether the big chip company violated anti-trust laws in the region.
According to The Wall Street Journal "The E.U. filed preliminary charges against Intel in July, alleging the company offered rebates to customers only if they didn't use AMD products." Officials want to know whether Intel came by its 80% market share in the PC and server markets by playing fair or by using dirty tricks to keep customers away from AMD.
The case is much more important to AMD than it is to Intel. As E.U. dealings with Microsoft have shown, a large company can survive sanctions from the body, even penalties, and continue to do business successfully. AMD, on the other hand, is losing share. If it can get the locals to go along with its way of thinking, that Intel executives are thugs and mobsters, the smaller chip company might get a little wiggle room to sell more of its products.
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Posted
Feb 20 2008, 08:48 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Hewlett-Packard turned in one of the best performances of the earnings season. Net income rose 38%. Revenue rose 13% to $28.5 billion. The computer company raised guidance and its shares moved up 5%.
HP is probably the best tech bellwether in the U.S. It not only sells PCs and printers, it has a large software and server operation. It has tremendous businesses outside the U.S., especially in Asia.
Shipments from the company's PC operations were up 27% in the quarter. That has to be good news for chip companies AMD and Intel. Because HP is No.1 in global PC market share, it is also likely a boost for sales of Microsoft's Vista.
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Posted
Nov 26 2007, 10:32 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent article about Nicholas Negroponte, an MIT professor who is pioneering an ambitious project to produce a $100 laptop that poor countries can buy for their children. It's a noble effort that would educate children and families as well as connect them to the Internet.
The article details the many challenges Negroponte is facing in his goal to get the laptop to 150 million children. So far, only about 2,000 children have received the computers. Why? Tech giants are worried the laptop will cut into future business opportunities in the developing world, so they're coming up with competing machines.
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