Neil Carvin submits:
This post describes our model of Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) Income Statement for the quarter that will end on 31 March 2010. GCFR estimates are derived from guidance provided by company management, when available, and the company’s historical financial results.
The intent of our look-ahead exercises is to produce a baseline for identifying surprises, positive or negative, in the reported data.
Joel West submits:
The chairman and CEO of China Mobile (CHL) demonstrated Thursday that even the world’s largest mobile phone company is not immune from iPhone envy.
At the same time CM announced that it had reached 522 million subscribers, CEO Wang Jianzhou said that he hoped the company could land the iPhone. As AFP reported:
Larry Dignan (ZDNet) submits:
Palm’s third quarter was a disaster, the fourth quarter outlook was worse, and the company is stuck with an inventory glut as Verizon Wireless (VZ) customers went with the BlackBerry Tour and Motorola Droid over the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. The big question: Where does Palm (PALM) go from here?
Simply put, Palm is in a vicious cycle that goes like this:
Zacks.com submits:
We do not see a turnaround at Palm Inc. (PALM) in the near future. The shares fell 14.5% after the market closed yesterday, following the company’s third-quarter of fiscal 2010 earnings announcement (see earnings call transcript). The shares have fallen by more than 50% this year.
Although its loss narrowed in the quarter, driven by higher year-over-year sales, Palm provided disappointing revenue guidance for the fourth quarter. Management said that the revenue in the fourth quarter would come in below expectations, as a result of lower sales and reduced demand for both the Pre and Pixi smartphones at its exclusive carriers, Sprint (S) and Verizon (VZ).
TechCrunch submits:
By MG Siegler
For the past couple of years now, when talking about the Apple TV product, Apple (AAPL) likes to throw out the word “hobby.” It’s as if they’re ashamed of the device. And considering sales are anemic next to Macs, iPods, and iPhones, it’s no big surprise that they talk this way.
Naveen Selvaraj submits:
I guess anybody following the US stock markets on a weekly basis would know how keenly the jobless claims and other employment-related metrics are tracked.
With this mind, I collated the headcount data for around 168 Tech stocks from data available on the Gridstone Platform (of the 400 Tech stocks, 168 had headcount data for 2008 and 2009) and the numbers are pretty interesting. Remember that the data is based on the headcount figures provided in company filings (10-K typically) and so are accurate.
Robert Castellano submits:
TFT-LCD equipment, which grew 28% in 2008, dropped 16% in 2009, according to a report LCD Market: Technology Directions and Market Analysis.
LCD manufacturers had announced capex reductions of about 50% for 2009 in response to the global economic crisis, but the equipment market managed to drop only 16% as unit shipments ramped.
Market Blog submits:
By David Berman
Earlier this week, colleague Simon Avery wrote about Bernstein & Co.’s negative take on Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) The gist of it? RIM is still coasting on its technological breakthroughs of yesteryear, some of which don’t really apply today now that bandwidth is far less scarce.
Chad Brand submits:
Despite reports on CNBC Wednesday that GPS maker Garmin (GRMN) had doubled its annual dividend from $0.75 to $1.50 per share, a thorough reading of the company’s press release shows that this increase is “one-time” in nature, meaning that Garmin has decided to add $0.75 to its dividend this year, but that investors should not assume it will necessarily stay at that level in 2011 and beyond. A few firms choose this type of dividend policy; paying out a standard rate every year and then, based on cash flows at the time, perhaps choose to pay out special dividends as well. Oil driller Diamond Offshore (DO) is another company that uses this policy.
Had Garmin actually boosted its core dividend to $1.50 per share, it would have been very good news (technology firms typically do not sport 4%+ dividend yields), but without assurances that this is not just a one-time event (the company actually used “one-time” in its own handpicked wording) investors who bid Garmin stock up $2 on Wednesday based on an extra $0.75 of dividends may be a bit optimistic.
theflyonthewall.com submits:
Palm (PALM) is expected to report Q3 earnings after the market close on Thursday, March 18, with a conference call scheduled for 4:30 pm ET.
The consensus estimate is (42c) for EPS and $316.19M for revenue, according to First Call. Analysts have been questioning the long-term viability of the smart-phone maker’s business, suggesting that Palm is now too small to compete with Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM). Instead, it is speculated that Palm might be targeted for a takeover by another manufacturer, by someone like Motorola (MOT), that may want Palm’s software and patents. Analysts have suggested that Palm is now too small to compete with Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry. Instead, it might be targeted for a takeover by another manufacturer, like Motorola Inc., that may want Palm’s software and patents. But a takeover doesn’t appear imminent. On Feb. 25, Palm sharply cut its revenue forecast for Q3 to $285M-$310M. For FY10, the company said its revenue will be "well below" its previous forecast of $1.6B-$1.8B.
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