Oracle’s Next Frontier

In my last post on Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), we observed that Oracle is wary of getting into SaaS due to the high cost of sales and long lead time to profitability. However, with increasing momentum in the SaaS market, it is striving to keep its on-demand solution competitive. It recently upgraded its Siebel CRM On Demand solution to include support for social networking and collaboration. But unlike SAP which is trying to target the SMB market with its Business ByDesign solution, Oracle continues to target large companies. >>>

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Viacom Making the Right Moves

Viacom Inc (VIA) announced their Q4 results last month end. If there were any fears of economic slowdown having hit the media industry, Viacom’s results surely wiped them out.

Compared to the previous year, Q4 revenues of $4.25 billion recorded an impressive 19% increase and beat market expectations of $4 billion. The increase was visible in both their key segments: Media Networks which grew by 18% and Filmed Entertainment which grew by 19%. Their Net Earnings increased by 16% and EPS by 29% to $0.84 beating market expectations of $0.82. >>>

Palm’s New OS Plans and Apple Poaching

In my last post on Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), I had said that 2008 would be a breakthrough year for Palm’s turnaround, as Jon Rubinstein works through a new product cycle to resuscitate the company. >>>

LeapFrog Will Leap Up Higher

I did an interview earlier with LeapFrog’s CEO Jeff Katz where he talked about his strategy on trying to turn around LeapFrog, a leading educational gaming products manufacturer. Recently LeapFrog (NYSE: LF) announced their Q4 results. Their numbers still haven’t turned profitable, but they seem to be on track with the turnaround. >>>

Marvell Can Make You Money

Chip stocks have all been beaten up. We’ve looked at several money-making opportunities in the carnage. Broadcom looks even more like a Bargain at under $17. Qualcomm still shows headroom at $38.27. Interdigital is a funny company that could make you beaucoup money. So what about Marvell? >>>

Priceline Continues to Soar to New Heights

Priceline.com (PCLN) recently announced their Q4 2007 results and very soon its stock price reached a new 52 week high of $129.24. The share is currently trading marginally above the $120 mark, having proved all critics wrong, and boasts a 52-week range of $51.61 – $129.24. This shouldn’t be happening in a recession, according to analysts! >>>

Alibaba’s Lost Password

In the Arabian Nights stories, Alibaba knew the password to get into the bandit’s secret cave. Hong Kong based Alibaba.com, China’s leading B2B e-commerce company, seems to have misplaced the password since its IPO, and can no longer extract the treasures.

Alibaba announced their Q4 2007 results this week. Their annual revenues increased by 58.6% to RMB 2,163 million (~ $303 million) and EPS rose by 358% to HKD 20.41 (~ $2.65) for the year. >>>

National Semiconductor Also Looks Cheap

National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) on March 6 reported its financial results for Q3 fiscal 2008. Earlier coverage is available here and here. >>>

Blue Nile’s Blues

Blue Nile (NASDAQ:NILE) is the leading online retailer in diamonds and jewelry. A month ago, they announced their Q4 2007 results.

Their Q4 sales of $111.9 million were 23.3% higher than the previous year Q4 sales. Over the same period, their orders increased by 14.9% and average selling price per order went up to $1,411 from $1,314. Their revenues however, missed the analyst expectations of $113.1 million.
>>>

Verizon and the Price Wars

On January 28, Verizon reported its Q4 and fiscal year 2007 results. Earlier coverage is available here and here. >>>