Posts for Ticker ‘IBM’

Today’s Best Market Rumors (11/20/2009) (GS)(JAVA)

Updated throughout the day.

GE (NYSE:GE) and Vivendi are at odds over the NBCU valuation  (FT)

IBM (NYSE:IBM) is taking advantage of the delay in the Sun (NASDAQ:JAVA) deal to be bought by Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL)  (TheStreet)

The joint venture between Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) may lead to a merger. (various)

Ferrero may want to buy Cadbury’s gum and candy division.  (NYTimes)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) investors want the firm to cut down the size of bonuses to be paid at the end of the year (various)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: November 20, 2009 – 9:01 am in Rumors, , , , , , ,

Microsoft (MSFT) Claims Windows 7 Is Major Success

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that Windows 7 sales were astonishingly high. According to a Wall Street Journal account of the gathering, “Microsoft Corp. has sold twice as many copies of Windows 7 in its first few weeks than any previous version of the operating system,” Ballmer said.

The news means that one of Microsoft’s five major operating units may do well and next year. That leaves four to go. Read More »

Posted on: November 20, 2009 – 5:40 am in Software, , , , , , ,

Cisco’s (CSCO) Tandberg Gamble That Video Quality Pays

TVCisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) has decided to gamble that it can get reluctant Tandberg shareholders to support a buyout of their company by raising its offer to $3.4 billion. That is a 10% improvement over Cisco’s previous offer. A number of Tandberg investors lined up against the first deal, saying it valued the company at too low a price.

Cisco says it will walk away from its attempt to buy the company if Tandberg shareholders do not approve a purchase at the new figure. The offer by Cisco is a huge gamble on video conferencing, an over-crowded field. Read More »

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 5:35 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology Companies, , ,

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.
Read More »

Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 4:30 pm in Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology Companies, , , ,

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, , , , ,

Media Digest 10/28/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The Nielsen survey shows consumer confidence up in the US for the first time since 2007.

Reuters:   Obama’s financial reforms are advancing in Congress.

Reuters:   The pay czar said his authority should not be expanded.

Reuters:   Obama’s “too big to fail” bill would curb bailouts. Read More »

Posted on: October 28, 2009 – 3:59 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 5:06 pm in Research, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest (10/20/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) beat earnings forecasts.

Reuters:   The IRS is probing some homebuyers’ tax credit gains.

Reuters:   The US is ready to bring more insider trading cases.

Reuters:   More US companies are cutting bonuses. Read More »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 4:02 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest (10/16/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) posted strong results.

Reuters:   Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) Lewis will skip 2009 pay.

Reuters:   Japan Airlines says bankruptcy is an option to solving its problems.

Reuters:   Soros says US economy will drag on world growth. Read More »

Posted on: October 16, 2009 – 4:04 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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, , , , , ,

IBM (IBM) Earnings OK, But Hardware Sales Hurt

IBM (NYSE:IBM) slightly beat Wall St. estimates with EPS of $2.40, an 18% improvement over the same period a year ago.  The consensus estimate for the  quarter was $2.38 . The huge computer and IT firm said its expected full-year EPS to be $9.85 against analysts’ estimates of $9.78.

Revenue was also slightly ahead of consensus figures at $23.6 billion against expectations of $23.4 billion. That was down 6% from the third quarter last year. Net income of $3.2 billion was a 14% improvement over the third quarter of 2008. Read More »

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 4:20 pm in Earnings, Hardware, Software,

Unusual Options Trading Patterns (SUN, VLO, TSO, FTO, GE, GOOG, IBM, PFE, WYE)

We are starting to see some elevated options trading that appeared on the unusual volume screens.  Many of these are pre-earnings trading and some are on other expectations.  We have more detailed data on each over at VSinvestor.com with links on each stock individually:

OptionsHawk.com pointed out to us that there was a huge increase in refiners options trading in Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SUN), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), Frontier Oil Corp. (NYSE: FTO) and in Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO).

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is starting to see some elevated options trading as well ahead of tomorrow’s earnings.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is seeing increased options trading ahead of earnings, which was actually more active on a fully leveraged basis than the stock was.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is seeing increased options trading ahead of earnings.

Pfzer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is seeing elevated stock trading on the Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) closing due to indexers like the S&P 500 and Russell adding shares, and we are seeing it in the call options as well.

As a reminder, OCT-2009 options expiration date is tomorrow, and all “out of the money” with an October expiration will expire with a value of ZERO.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, daily analyst upgrades and downgrades, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 15, 2009

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 2:50 pm in Options, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/15/2009) (ERTS)(CLWR)(MSFT)(ARUN)(GS)(LAZ)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Updated 2.15 PM:   Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) may buy social game business Playfish for $250 million. (Business Insider)

Updated 1:40 PM EST: CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE) refuting reports that it is selling stock (VSInvestor.com)

Updated  11.50 AM EST: Shares in J. Sainsbury, the UK supermarket chain, ran up on rumors that the Qatari sovereign wealth fund is interested in increasing its 26% stake in the firm.  (MarketWatch)

Updated 11.10 AM EST:  Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) may get a large investment from partner Sprint (NYSE:S) (Barron”s)

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) division Skype may buy Gizmo5 for $50 million (TechCrunch)

The family of deceased Larard (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Wasserstein may sell New York Magazine. (NYPost)

Shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) are down because earnings missed Wall St. “whisper” numbers  (ClusterStock)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may build an FM tuner into iPods and iPhones so that users can buy music they listen to on the radio through iTunes.  (9 to 5 Mac)

Aruba Networks (NASDAQ:ARUN) may be for sale. Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU), Siemens (NYSE:SI), Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR), and IBM (NYSE:IBM) are considered possible buyers. (Barron’s)

Acer may overtake Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) as the No. 2 PC maker in the world. (Digital Daily)

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) may launch an online bookstore which could provide competition to Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle. (Reuters)

Apple is planning to planning to take advantage of the launch of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 7 to sell Macs (BusinessWeek).

Apple’s Steve Jobs may be more popular than Jesus.  (Fortune)

GM may make a financial rescue of its Korean Daewoo Auto & Technology Center.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 9:10 am in Rumors, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest (10/15/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is having trouble justifying its huge bonuses.

Reuters:   Bruce Wasserstein, M&A giant and head of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), died.

Reuters:   Congress will probe compensation at AIG (NYSE:AIG).

Reuters:   US foreclosures fell for a second month but stayed high. Read More »

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 4:04 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IBM Is The Key to DJIA 10,000 (JPM, INTC, IBM, DIA)

Bull and Bear ImageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average is literally within 20 points of the psychological DJIA 10,000 mark.  We have not seen Dow-10K since October, 2008, but that month we saw 11,000 and saw under 8,000 all in the same month.  JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), up over 3%, and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), up over 2%, both DJIA components, are the two culprits that have us up to within 20 points now that the market is up over 100 points in early afternoon trading.  At 1:00 we had only 7 of the DJIA components in negative territory, and these are all down only by a few cents each.

But the biggest DJIA component is International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and it reports earnings tomorrow after the close.  As the DJIA is a price-weighted index, IBM is now the largest DJIA component with its $127+ price tag.  Its weighting in the index is over 9% as a result.  After Intel, it seems that you would expect a solid report.  Its services order backlog reported at the end of last quarter was a whopping $132 billion.  And many feel the bar is set low here for most large companies now this quarter.

Read More »

Posted on: October 14, 2009 – 1:17 pm in Entertainment, Index, Technology Companies, , , ,

The Path to DJIA 10,000 (C, AIG, JNJ, JPM, IBM, NWS, DIA)

Bull and Bear ImageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average is within sight of the psychological 10,000 mark.  Again. This is a price-weighted index rather than a market cap-weighted index, which makes the index not as representative of the overall market.  Yet when Joe Public asks “what did the market do today?” that almost always means what the Dow Jones Industrial Average did.  And today the DJIA came within 1% of hitting the DJIA 10,000 mark.  This level is a psychological event and not a key technical event, and its member constituency earnings this week could easily make that 10,000 mark come true.  What is funny (or sad) is that if the most recent changes to the index weren’t made, we would have already seen the DJIA hit the mark.
Read More »

Posted on: October 12, 2009 – 12:59 pm in ETF, Editor's Picks, Index, , , , , , ,

24/7 Wall St. TV: Top Four Tech Earnings on Deck (GOOG)(INTC)(NOK)(IBM)

24/7 WallSt TVWe have many key technology stocks reporting earnings this coming week.  Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) will start things off to give us a read on semiconductors and PCs. International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM). Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) are also all on deck for earnings this week.

We have compiled appropriate Thomson Reuters figures here for the consensus estimates and appropriate performance data where needed.  We based the comparisons here for the June 30 close to see how these have performed in the latest quarter and we also looked for that big inflection date of March 9 to see how much these have rallied from the height of the market panic selling. Read More »

Posted on: October 12, 2009 – 11:16 am in Earnings, TV, Technology Companies, , , ,

Media Digest 10/12/2009

newspaperReuters:   E-mails and the credit crisis will be key to the trial of Bear Stearns workers.

Reuters:  The approval process for Tengzhong to buy Hummer has started in China.

Reuters:   Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG) beat expectations.

Reuters:   Liz Claiborne’s (NYSE:LIZ) decision to sell its brands at J C Penny (NYSE:JCP) should help both companies. Read More »

Posted on: October 12, 2009 – 4:03 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DJIA Component Earnings on Deck (AA, INTC, JNJ, JPM, IBM, BAC, GE, C)

NYSE Floor ImageThisis going to be a very key earnings week.  The only DJIA component to report its Q3 period report so far has been Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA).  But we have earnings this week coming from six DJIA components: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).  Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is no longer a DJIA component, but that is still a recent change.
Read More »

Posted on: October 11, 2009 – 7:35 am in Calendar, Earnings, Index, , , , , , , ,