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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 18 2008, 02:06 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Silliest item of the day comes from ABC News, which writes that GPS location technology like that in Apple's new iPhone will hurt more than help by making us dumb and socially awkward. We won't get lost anymore with GPS, and as a result our "sense of place" will not be as acutely developed. "The GPS on the iPhone allows a person to search for a type of place, such as a Chinese restaurant," the article states, "eliminating search time for places people don't yet know exist, but also ending that human impulse to explore."
And we'll stop asking for directions, losing a piece of social communication, the article suggests. We won't feel comfortable anywhere anymore. And we won't be good at reading maps, either!
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Posted
May 21 2008, 10:33 AM
by
Kim Peterson
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Sprint Nextel has a problem keeping customers happy, according to the latest numbers from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Sprint's numbers are so bad, in fact, that the index's founder wonders how the company can even stay afloat. "Business is unsustainable in a competitive marketplace when customer satisfaction scores are as low as Sprint Nextel's," said the founder, Claes Fornell. Sprint's satisfaction level dropped 8% from last year to 56 on the 100-point index. Verizon scored the best in the industry, at 72. Commenters on this blog regularly slam AT&T for its service, but the company's cell phone division gained 4% to score a 71. You can see the full customer satisfaction index here.
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Posted
Mar 26 2008, 12:10 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Filed under: Google, Comcast, Time Warner, Sprint, wireless, Intel, Verizon, AT&T, Kim Peterson, Clearwire, WiMax
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Lots of big numbers are being tossed around today in support of WiMax, a wireless technology that can deliver high-speed Internet access over several miles. Clearwire is a leader in developing WiMax, and has been trying to hammer out a partnership with Sprint for months. But working out a deal hasn't been easy, partly because building out WiMax is so expensive and partly because both companies have their own struggles to deal with.
Now, the two biggest U.S. cable companies are stepping in with loads of cash. According to the Wall Street Journal, Comcast and Time Warner are talking about funding a new WiMax company, one that would be run by Sprint and Clearwire. The company would operate a nationwide WiMax network. Comcast is reportedly offering $1 billion and Time Warner is adding $500 million. Bright House Networks, a small cable company, might pony up between $100 million and $200 million.
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Posted
Mar 11 2008, 01:26 PM
by
Kim Peterson
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What a horrible day for Sprint shares. The stock hit a 20-year-low today. That's right, shares dipped to $5.55, the lowest level since July 1988. The stock price rebounded and closed at $6.17, down 8% from yesterday.
I can't find much reason for the tankage today, other than an analyst note from the Stanford Group lowering 2008 estimates to 23 cents per share from 43 cents. The analyst reviewed Sprint's last 10-K and thinks that Sprint's costs are going to go up. Last week, a Goldman Sachs analyst warned investors to "stay away from the stock." Looks like people are taking his advice. There's some piling on here in the analyst crowd, and I can't say it's unwarranted. But Wall Street's wildly varying expectations suggest a general cluelessness about where Sprint is headed. Analysts on average peg Sprint's 2008 profit at 21 cents a share. But the range of predictions goes from a 20 cent per-share loss to a profit of 87 cents.
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Posted
Feb 21 2008, 12:30 PM
by
Kim Peterson
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This could be a turnaround year for struggling Palm, and all because of three letters: GSM. The beleaguered smartphone maker already got a boost in the arm four months ago when its new Centro smartphone became an overnight success. But the $100 Centro was exclusively made for Sprint, and that meant it could only be used in the U.S. on Sprint's CDMA network. That exclusive contract has ended, allowing Palm to take the Centro to other carriers. AT&T jumped at the chance, and this week, both companies announced a new Centro that runs on AT&T's Edge network, which uses GSM technology. That's significant because GSM is the global standard for wireless phones -- 86% of the world's wireless subscribers use it, according to AT&T. The new Centro can place calls in nearly 200 countries.
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Posted
Feb 20 2008, 12:17 PM
by
Kim Peterson
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Price war! Two words consumers love to hear. In this case, the war is among wireless carriers unveiling unlimited calling plans for heavy phone users. Verizon started it all by announcing a $100 plan for unlimited voice. AT&T and T-Mobile USA joined in with similarly-priced plans, but T-Mobile added text messaging as well. That leaves everyone waiting to hear from Sprint, the last of the big four carriers. UBS telecom analyst John Hodulik thinks Sprint will undercut everyone with an unlimited plan priced at $60-$80 a month. Hodulik thinks Sprint will make the announcement in the next few weeks.
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Posted
Feb 12 2008, 06:53 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
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Firestone. American Motors. Texaco. Pan Am. Worldcom. These large American companies were once at the top of their industries. Pan Am was the leading global airline for decades. All are gone: Some were sold off, others went bankrupt. Who could have predicted it?
There are several iconic U.S. companies that may well not exist at the end of 2008. Some may not even make it halfway through the year. Not all will go out of business. Some may simply be auctioned off in pieces. Others may be bought. These companies will not exist in their current forms as they are known to their shareholders and consumers now.
When a company ceases to exist as an independent entity, it is not necessarily bad for shareholders. Some may be worth more in parts. Often a bust-up or merger is what brings owners the most money. Here are the big ones that probably won't make it. (A more detailed assessment is available at 24/7 Wall St.)
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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 12:50 PM
by
Kim Peterson
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When Google came on the scene 10 years ago, the PC business was pretty much figured out. Lots of companies made computers, but Microsoft monopolized the operating systems that ran on them. It was Microsoft's world, and as a software developer Google had to learn to live in it.
Not so with cell phones. There are lots of handset makers, and several companies make operating systems and other software for the devices. Google either has to play ball with those companies or control the mobile environment on its own.
Enter today's announcement of a Google operating system that will prominently feature the company's applications -- mail, maps, search and so on. And Google is going to entice handset makers by giving them the system for free. The phones probably won't have the name Google anywhere on them, and the first ones won't be available until the second half of '08.
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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 07:22 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
 Google might introduce its highly-awaited G-phone today, but don't get too excited. It's not some slick device like Apple's iPhone. In fact, it's not really a phone at all. And it probably won't be called the G-phone.
From what I've read, the phone itself is pretty irrelevant. The hardware could come from any company, really. It's the software inside the phone -- more specifically, the phone's operating system, that Google is concerned with.
According to USA Today, the operating system will heavily promote Google's mobile offerings -- it has tweaked search, Gmail, chat and other programs for the phone.
That's all pretty standard. But what's got the wireless world worked up is that Google also wants an open system on the phone that would let developers create different programs for it. So far, that's pretty unheard of. If you buy a Sprint phone, you only get to use the programs on the phone that Sprint has specifically approved. (Sprint, by the way, is reportedly supporting the G-phone but not to the point where it will offer the phone to subscribers).
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