Posts for Ticker ‘HPQ’

Next Week’s Top 10 Earnings on Deck (HPQ, TSN, CPB, LDK, TECD, BKS, BGP, JCG, DLTR, DE)

Earnings season has mostly wound down, but as always there are at least some major companies reporting earnings.  Some are actually market-movers as well and it is a short week with earnings out only Monday and Tuesday, with a few on Wednesday.  On deck are Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP), J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE).

We have included estimates from Thomson Reuters, relative data on peers and recent developments, and relative performance on each where it was applicable.
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Posted on: November 20, 2009 – 1:19 pm in Calendar, Earnings, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 11/19/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

Reuters:   Senate Democrats unveiled their healthcare plan.

Reuters:   Hedge fund manage Griffin has rebounded from losses.

Reuters:   GM must pay its debt and become profitable before an IPO.

Reuters:   Kraft (NYSE:KFT) is still considered the front-runner to buy Cadbury. Read More »

Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 4:04 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 11/13/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China’s economy may be hurt as its stimulus ends.

Reuters:   Warren Buffett says the financial panic is over.

Reuters:   Former bankers are considering buying failed banks.

Reuters:   The SEC is expected to go ahead with the Bear Stearns case. Read More »

Posted on: November 13, 2009 – 4:03 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , ,

Tech Giants Now Hold ~$265 Billion Cash To Spend (HPQ, COMS, INTC, AMD, MSFT, CSCO, AAPL, GOOG, ORCL, JAVA, QCOM, EMC, YHOO, DELL, AMZN, EBAY, ONT, BRCD, JDSU, STAR, VMW)

You have already seen the Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) buyout of 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS).  But this week before that deal was announced we covered how mergers in the technology sector have been very slow to develop over the scale in which we and others think is possible for the sector.  After the Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) settlement with Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), the tally of cash that is now estimated would be an implied $265 billion that is available for the tech giants in our 24/7 Wall St. Real-Time 500 to make acquisitions.

The giant cash balances are held by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), assuming nothing happens with Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA).  But players like QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) are either all sitting with large amounts of cash or will be very soon.

We have broken out these technology, IT, software, and Internet companies by the cash amount they hold or what they have in a soon-to-be cash balance.  Of course only a fraction of this cash will be used for mergers.  But there is also a ton of room here for dividends and of course the share buybacks.

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Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 11:31 am in Consumer Electronics, Cramer, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Internet, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, PC Companies, Private Equity, Rumors, Semiconductor, Software, Stock Buybacks, Technology Companies, Telecom, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 11/12/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China is the key stop on Obama’s tour of Asia.

Reuters:   South Korea’s businesses may start to feel more pressure from China competitors..

Reuters:   Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) bought 3Com (NYSE:COM) for $3.1 billion.

Reuters:   Lou Dobbs left CNN (NYSE:TWX) Read More »

Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 4:00 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tech Strangeworld: 3Com Bought by H-P (COMS, HPQ, CSCO, IBM)

HO LogoSometimes the unimaginable happens, and that is today.  3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) is being acquired, and in a deal that won’t run regulatory risk at least over China having access to core technology.  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is the surprise buyer.

H-P is buying the networking and routing company for a price of $7.90 per share in cash, which comes to an enterprise value of about $2.7 billion.   The deal has also been approved by the boards of directors at each company.  Based upon Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) expanding its reach further out into data centers and beyond and based on some recent moves from IBM (NYSE: IBM), this is actually a lower surprise than had this been announced a year ago.  That would make one wonder what moves those companies will make.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 4:30 pm in Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology Companies, , , ,

Tech Titans Still Have $269 Billion Cash For Deals (MSFT, CSCO, AAPL, GOOG, INTC, HPQ, QCOM, EMC, VMW, YHOO, DELL, ORCL, JAVA, AMZN, EBAY)

The recovery is on and mergers are happening, yet the technology sector has been slow to make deals.  Despite some deals already having taken place from the technology giants and that $260 billion cash balance which was there in the middle of last quarter is even larger now.  The tally for cash by our count is now right around $269 billion.  We looked through the top market caps of technology companies in our 24/7 Wall St. Real-Time 500 and this list is expanded now that some issues have been resolved in all the companies.  The stocks in this group are Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY).

These few tech companies with the $269 billion cash that could be deployed for mergers, acquisitions, or the good old dividends are also listed before tallying up credit lines, factoring, debt sales, and other creative financing methods.  We have listed the suppositions and counting methods for each one to illustrate how much is available at each company.
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Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 1:07 pm in Consumer Electronics, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Internet, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, PC Companies, Private Equity, Rumors, Semiconductor, Technology Companies, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 7 And The Renewal Of The PC Industry

TVMicrosoft (NYSE:MSFT) Windows 7 sales in the first week after its introduction last month outdid Vista sales during the first week after its launch in January 2007 by 234%, according to industry research firm NPD. Microsoft has certainly encouraged the rumors that the operating system is doing well, but that no longer appears to be an empty boast. Read More »

Posted on: November 9, 2009 – 4:12 am in PC Companies, Software, , , ,

Intel’s (INTC) Worst Day: Why Didn’t IBM Rat On Mr. Chips?

nokThere may have been a time when Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) wanted to be the next Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), at least in terms of earnings, market cap, and share of market. It has, in essence, followed in Redmond’s footsteps, at least with antitrust authorities.

Intel is becoming more embroiled by the month in charges that it used threats and kickbacks to keep PC and servers companies from doing business with its smaller competitor AMD (NYSE:AMD). AMD is close to ruin, though it is a matter of opinion whether its current state was caused by former CEO Hector Ruiz or Intel’s clandestine actions.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed antitrust charges against Intel Corp., alleging the company threatened computer makers and paid huge kickbacks to stop them from using competitors’ chips, according to The Wall Street Journal. Among the companies that Intel may have threatened are IBM (NYSE:IBM), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). Read More »

Posted on: November 4, 2009 – 12:33 pm in Hardware, Law, PC Companies, , , , ,

Another Win For Apple (AAPL): The Touchscreen

appleIt is getting harder and harder to find any flaws in Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) businesses. The company’s shares trade at $190, very near their all-time high. Analysts expect record results from the company for the calendar fourth quarter as holiday shoppers drive better-than-usual sales of iPods, Macs, and iPhones.

comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR) released data that shows touchscreen smartphone sales up 159% from August 2008 to August 2009 when units sold hit 23.8 million. The growth was much greater than that for the total smartphone category which was up 63% in the US for the same period to 33.8 million units. Read More »

Posted on: November 3, 2009 – 2:43 pm in PC Companies, Wireless, , , , ,

Analyst Sees Windows 7 Pricing Data & Penetration Rates (MSFT, DELL, HPQ, YHOO)

Windows 7 LogoAuriga is a boutique research firm that many have not heard of, but this morning the firm has reiterated its BUY rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its $33.50 price target after yesterday’s $27.88 closing bell price.  The reason for today’s call is that the firm obtained detailed Windows 7 pricing in as-sold models from Microsoft for six of the OEM companies from more than 100 PCs.  And the first weeks of data may offer more insight than any official price target on overall market penetration rates. Particularly when you compare the data to other outside and independent research for overall Windows 7 penetration rates.

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Posted on: November 3, 2009 – 9:52 am in Analyst Calls, PC Companies, Software, , , ,

What If Apple (AAPL) Misses Earnings?

appleWall St. believes that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will make $1.42 a share for the quarter that just ended on $9.2 billion in revenue. Both figures would be well over 10% higher than a year ago.  Apple would have to sell about of 2.9 million Macs, 10.5 million iPods and 6.9 million iPhones to hit those numbers.

Fulfilling those expectations will be a tall order. iPod sales dropped 7% in the June quarter. Mac sales were only up 4% to 2.6 million, and iPhone sales reached 5.2 million. Read More »

Posted on: October 19, 2009 – 5:57 am in Earnings, PC Companies, Wireless, ,

Worth Noting: Acer Passes Dell (DELL) Worldwide And Apple (AAPL) In US

appleA number of media sources are reporting that Taiwan-based Acer has passed Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) to become the No. 2 PC-maker in the world.

Research firm IDC reports that Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) retained its spot as No.1 with a global market share of 20.2%. Acer’s share was 14% last quarter, up from 11% in the same period a year earlier. Dell’s share dropped to 12.7% from 14.2%.

In the US, HP’s share was 25.5%, Dell’s 25%, Acer’s 11.1%, and Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) 9.4%.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 16, 2009 – 12:33 pm in PC Companies, , ,

24/7 Wall St. TV: Tough Earnings At IBM And Google

24/7 WallSt TVIBM (NYSE:IBM) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) each reported better-than-expected earnings. Wall St.’s reaction to the Google numbers was muted and its stock moved up 3% to $547. IBM raised its guidance for the year, but the market was disappointed and pushed the computer giant’s shares down by 3% to $123. Google and IBM both trade near their 52-week highs, so the slight price movements are hardly a sign of any real disappointment or jubilation

The large computer company and large search firm are among the pantheon of American tech stocks which also includes Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). All of the companies have market capitalizations over $100 billion. All have cash balances in the tens of billions of dollars. Each has such a large part of its market that it has no real, direct challengers, except perhaps the other companies on Olympus. Read More »

Posted on: October 16, 2009 – 12:00 am in Earnings, TV, Technology Companies, , , , ,

IBM (IBM) And Google (GOOG): The Corporate Recovery Has Not Arrived

youtubeIBM (NYSE:IBM) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) each reported better-than-expected earnings. Wall St.’s reaction to the Google numbers was muted and its stock moved up 3% to $547. IBM raised its guidance for the year, but the market was disappointed and pushed the computer giant’s shares down by 3% to $123. Google and IBM both trade near their 52-week highs, so the slight price movements are hardly a sign of any real disappointment or jubilation Read More »

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 7:39 pm in Earnings, Technology Companies, , , , , ,

The Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Results May Not Be Good For PCs

TVThe immediate reaction to Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) results, which were better than expected, is that they signalled an improvement in the PC industry. Intel provides about 70% of PC chips.

The world’s largest chip company said it was comfortable with industry estimates that PC sales will grow 10% worldwide next year. Growth is one thing. Profitability another. Read More »

Posted on: October 14, 2009 – 5:27 am in Earnings, PC Companies, Semiconductor, Technology Companies, , , ,

Media Digest 10/14/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Aggressive trading in gold in China may be pushing the price of the metal up.

Reuters:   Blackstone’s (NYSE:BX) CEO says the worst of the crisis is over.

Reuters:   The House has begun to create a financial regulation bill. Read More »

Posted on: October 14, 2009 – 4:03 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/8/2009) (XRTX)(CLWT)(CTIC)(CIT)(BRCD)(ACP)(AAPL)(GOOG)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Updated at 4.24 PM EST:  Xyratex (NASDAQ:XRTX) is up 14% today, another tech stock in the buyout rumor mill.  (Barron’s)

Updated at 2.12 PM EST: Euro Tech Holdings (CLWT) is up 40% on two million shares traded, about twent times it normal volume, on rumors that Chinese water companies will report better than expected sales for the last quarter  (various)

Updated at 2.05 PM:  Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTIC) continues to drop sharply down another 5% today on rumors of poor upcoming financial results or trouble with a drug trial  (various)

Updated at 1.50 PM EST:  Hedge fund Little Bear Investments, a noteholder in CIT (NYSE:CIT), is tying to get a group of bondholders to lobby for a larger equity stake in the commercial lender’s debt restructuring. (The Deal)

Updated at 1.35 PM EST: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has cut its legal budget by 15% (LegalWeek)

Updated at  1.25 EST: Speculation has come up again that Brocade (NASDAQ:BRCD) will be sold to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). (Barron’s)

Update at 12:45 PM EST: NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is currently halting graphic chipset production on compatibility innew Intel (INTC) newest microprocessors because of licensing disput. (WSJ)

A review of Citigroup (NYSE:C) management by consultant Egon Zehnder suggested that the chief administrative officer and vice chairman should go  (CNBC)

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:ACP) and Tullow Oil are likely to be acquisition targets by larger oil companies.  (The Deal)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may open as many as 1,000 retail stores in the next three years  (MarketWatch)

Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system will overtake the Apple iPhone in handset market share by 2012 (Apple Insider).

Twitter is talking to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google about selling them data on the activity of its users  (AllThingsD)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 8, 2009 – 9:20 am in Rumors, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/7/2009) (NOK)(AAPL)(JPM)(GE)(WYNN)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Updated 2:44 Dell Inc. (NYSE: DELL) will launch a branded Android smartphone thru AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and possibly other carriers next year.  Source today is from WSJ, but ask this… How many phone and consumer electronics announcements have been rumored on Dell?

Updated 1.36 PM EST:  Pimco left the bondholders steering committee at CIT (NYSE:CIT) last month  (CNBC)

Updated 12.45 PM:  Polycom (NSADAQ:PLCM) could be taken over by Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) or Dell (NASDAQ:DELL). Interdigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) could be bought by Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and ValueClick (NASDAQ:VCLK) could be taken over by any one of a number of companies.  (Barron’s)

Updated 12.41 PM:   GM head of American sales leaves amid talk that car company CFO may be next  (CNNMoney)

Update 10.50 AM EST:  Congress may pass a bill which will require that public companies split the roles of chairman and CEO.  (MarketWatch)

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) may be involved in the bidding for McGraw-Hill’s (NYSE:MHP) BusinessWeek working jointly with Zelnick Media. Strauss Zelnick is on the boards of Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO)  (PaidContent).

Citigroup (NYSE:C) may sell it Philbro unit which is paying its chief $100 million  this year.  (CNBC)

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has narrowed its list of CEOs to two people  (WSJ).

Foxconn has a deal to make 300,000 to 400,000 Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet PCs to ship in Q1  (DigiTimes)

Collins Stewart believes that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) are on the lookout for acquisitions. (The Deal).

Share sales by Steve Wynn, head of Wynn (NASDAQ:WYNN), and his COO may be” a canary in the coal mine to other investors to take some profits on the gains in this sector since the March lows.” That would include MGM (NYSE:MGM) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)  (TheStreet.com)

Private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners are asking banks that supported their buy-out of Clear Channel Communications to help restructure the firm’s debt. Those banks include Citigroup (NYSE:C), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).  (NYPost)

News Corp (NYSE:NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch is in Japan and South Korea and may be discussing partnerships to build a rival product to the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle.  (Reuters)

Vivendi will discuss selling its 20% stake in GE’s (NYSE:GE) NBCU at its October 19 board meeting to allow a transaction with Comcast (NADSAQ:CMCSA) which would involve the cable company getting control of media firm.  (BusinessWeek)

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) executive  Heidi Miller could be in the running for the CEO job at Bank of America. (The Big Money)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 7, 2009 – 9:22 am in Rumors, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 10/6/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The pay czar plans to rework employee pay at large banks.

Reuters:   Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) may enter the tech M&A frenzy.

Reuters:   Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) says some Hotmail passwords were exposed.

Reuters:   The US called for rigorous IMF surveillance to spot new investment bubbles. Read More »

Posted on: October 6, 2009 – 3:53 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , ,