How About SAP + Salesforce.com?

While Oracle and IBM have been in the news with their strong quarters and acquisition bids and plans, their competitor, SAP (NYSE:SAP), the world’s leading provider of business software with 2008 revenue of €11.57 billion or $16.3 billion, has been lying low. On the eve of its first quarter earnings report, which missed estimates, let’s see how these acquisition moves affect SAP.  >>>

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Cellular Wars

Cellular wars are heating up by the day. AT&T and Verizon are fighting hard for the smartphone infused momentum in the consumer and prosumer markets. Verizon just overtook AT&ampT as the No. 1 wireless carrier. Last week AT&T (NYSE:ATT) reported declines in revenue and profits but still beat estimates, mainly due to the iPhone, which had strong sales even in this gloomy economy. And this week, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) reported a strong quarter driven by the Alltel acquisition. Let’s take a closer look at their performances in the context of the wireless industry. >>>

Wireless Chipmakers Marching On

Amidst doom and gloom elsewhere, the wireless chipmakers are looking relatively robust. Yesterday, Qualcomm, the leading semiconductor company with annual revenue of $11.14 billion, reported strong sales in the second quarter that beat estimates mainly due to strong demand in China. However, it also reported a loss due to legal costs. Last week, Broadcom and Texas Instruments also experienced stronger-than-expected demand in China. There have been other interesting developments in the semiconductor industry, with Qualcomm and Broadcom ending their disputes and entering into a patent agreement. Further, Broadcom also made a bid to acquire Emulex. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

What Should Apple Do With The $29 Billion?

Yesterday Apple reported second quarter results that, driven by strong iPhone sales, yet again beat estimates. This June, it will be two years since the iPhone was launched, and Apple has sold over 21 million of them. Apple still seems to be reaping the benefits of its innovative OS, which has transformed the handset sector. Let’s take a closer look at the company’s performance. >>>

Will IBM Shift Application Software Strategy?

Yesterday, IBM reported a strong first quarter that beat earnings estimates. Q1 revenues were down 11% to $21.7 billion, short of Street estimates of $22.5 billion. Net income was down 1% to $2.3 billion. However, EPS was up 4% to $1.73 per share, beating Street estimates of $1.69 per share. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Polycom An Acquisition Target?

Yesterday Polycom, a leading player in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions with annual revenue of $1.1 billion, reported its first quarter results. As more and more companies are looking to cut their travel expenses, video conferencing is emerging as a strong market. Let’s take a closer look at Polycom’s results and the sector. >>>

Intel Beats Expectations

Yesterday, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) the world’s largest chip maker with annual revenue of $37.6 billion reported its first quarter results that beat estimates. Its CEO Paul Otellini said “We believe PC sales bottomed out during the first quarter and that the industry is returning to normal seasonal patterns. “ It however did not issue guidance for the second quarter. >>>

Red Hat Could Also Roll-Up OpenSource

Last month IBM, when it showed interest in buying Sun, set off a flurry of speculation about the takeover of the open source giant, Red Hat, by Oracle. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Optics Overview: JDSU, Finisar

Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the optical component sector. On February 5, JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:JDSU) a leading optical component provider with annual revenue of $1.53 billion, reported its second quarter fiscal year 2009 results. Net revenue was down 10.5% to $357 million. Net loss was $705.3 million or $3.28 per share compared to net income of $21.2 million or $0.09 per share last year. Non-GAAP net income was $24.8 million or $0.11 per share. >>>

Micron, National Semi: Big Layoffs

In our Semiconductor Sector Overview, we saw how the tough memory market, driven by oversupply and weak demand, was leading to a decline in the chip sales. In this post, we will review the performance of Micron and National Semiconductor. >>>