Browse by Tags
-
Posted
May 21 2008, 10:33 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 23 2008, 05:41 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Filed under: Citigroup, Sprint, Wal-Mart, Intel, AMD, AT&T, Starbucks, Target, Sears, IBM, Costco, Sun Microsystems
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 11 2008, 01:26 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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 $6.17, down 8% from yesterday.
I can't find much reason for the tankage today, other than an analyst note from the Stanford Group lowering 2008 estimates to 23 cents per share from 43 cents. The analyst reviewed Sprint's last 10-K and thinks that Sprint's costs are going to go up. Last week, a Goldman Sachs analyst warned investors to "stay away from the stock." Looks like people are taking his advice. There's some piling on here in the analyst crowd, and I can't say it's unwarranted. But Wall Street's wildly varying expectations suggest a general cluelessness about where Sprint is headed. Analysts on average peg Sprint's 2008 profit at 21 cents a share. But the range of predictions goes from a 20 cent per-share loss to a profit of 87 cents.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jan 30 2009, 07:00 AM
by
Charley Blaine
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Don't look now, but the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) have just suffered their worst Januarys ever.
The S&P 500 fell more than 19 points to 826 on Friday and was off 8.6% for the month. That decline makes it the worst January, eclipsing a 7.65% decline in January 1970.
The Dow fell 148 points to 8,000. The Dow's January loss was its worst since the index was established in 1896.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, down 31 points, or 2.1% to 1,476, was off 6.4% for the month, its third worst January ever.
The losses came after a difficult day on Thursday when the Dow fell 226 points, and the S&P 500 dropped nearly 29 points.
Investors should be concerned for three reasons
Read More...
-
Posted
Feb 20 2008, 12:17 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.
Read More...
-
Posted
Feb 12 2008, 06:53 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.)
Read More...
-
Posted
Aug 31 2009, 04:04 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 There are two ways to look at the economic relationship between Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T), and both may be accurate. AT&T says it has signed up 10 million iPhone owners for its long-term calling and data plans. Many of those customers have come from other cellular providers. AT&T is thus adding new, and perhaps profitable, business.
On the other hand, AT&T pays Apple an estimated $400 a phone. AT&T probably has to hold onto its iPhone customers for the full two years of their subscription plan to make a lot of money.
The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out that AT&T has other smartphones that it does not have to pay handset companies like Samsung and Nokia (NOK) as much as $400 to acquire.
Read More...
-
Posted
Feb 19 2009, 07:15 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Maybe, just maybe, Sprint (S) is starting to climb out of the mess it's in.
That's what investors were thinking Thursday, sending shares of the company up 28% after a fourth-quarter report that, while still ugly, wasn't nearly the train wreck some expected.
Customers are still dropping Sprint like a hot potato, and about 1.3 million left Sprint's mobile service in the quarter. Sprint's reputation is badly tarnished, and even though the company has improved customer service and network reliability, it now must convince customers (current and potential) that things are better.
"It takes time for perceptions about our customer care and financial stability to catch up to the reality," said CEO Dan Hesse during the earnings call,
Read More...
-
Posted
Nov 05 2007, 12:50 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 26 2008, 12:10 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Filed under: Google, Comcast, Time Warner, Sprint, wireless, Intel, Verizon, AT&T, Kim Peterson, Clearwire, VIX
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.
Read More...
More Posts Next page »
|
