Posted 07/15/09 at 06:03:52 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Intel posted its second-quarter earnings results on Tuesday. The results have come as a pleasant drizzle, if not a downpour, in this dry economic climate that has left everyone extremely thirsty.  Intel recorded sales of $8 billion in the second quarter, which is $700 million more than what analysts had predicted.  Although sales were down 15% compared to the same quarter a year ago, they were 12% more than the first quarter. Intel CEO Paul Otellini was very pleased by what he labeled as the company’s “strongest first- to second-quarter growth since 1988.”

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Posted 09/01/08 at 02:52:43 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Dell’s second quarter results fell short of expectations as its year-over-year earnings fell by 17%. Its second quarter earnings stood at $616 million as opposed to $746 million last year. But Dell’s CFO Brian Gladden doesn’t see the dip in profits as a cause for concern. He labeled the second quarter as a “great growth quarter” and imputed the fall in earnings to the money spent on driving growth in Europe. Although the company’s revenue in the second quarter was up by 11% compared to the preceding year, Wall Street pundits are unsatisfied by the results. Dell is focusing on strengthening its retail presence around the globe and expects to profit from it in the long-run. Are you bullish or bearish about Dell’s prospects? Have your say.

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Posted 07/18/08 at 11:41:52 AM by Paul Lilly

Few companies wouldn't mind switching places with Google, who posted a $1.25 billion profit, but when you're the undisputed champ of the online world (or if you're Dr. Evil), a measly billion dollars just isn't enough. Along with earnings per share of $3.92, the numbers aren't adding up to what analysts had predicted, leaving many to wonder if the online advertising market might be taking a turn for the worse. Google Cheif Economist Hal Varian sees it differently, saying:

"Consumers are being cautious in their online spending patterns just as they are in the offline spending. Despite the weakness in the economy, advertising seems to be hodling up remarkably well in most sectors. This illustrates the point that we've made several times that during periods of slow economic growth, the last thing an advertiser wants to cut is its spending on search-based advertising."

But Varians comments did little to assuage investors, nor did posting gross sales of $5.37 billion, marking a 39 percent improvement over one year ago and hitting analysts' estimates. The company's shares still managed to drop 10 percent to $479.70 in after-hours trading.

Given the overall growth and $12.7 billion in cash, is the panic justified?

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Posted 07/16/08 at 12:05:34 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Although ATI has been the lone source of promising news for it in recent times, AMD is ruing its 2006 acquisition of ATI. The chip manufacturer heavily overpaid for the ATI acquisition and now values the graphics chip maker at only $2.9 billion – it bought ATI for $5.4 billion.

Its announcement that it will take a $948 million charge drove its stock price to a 16-year low of $4.84 on Friday. It will officially report its Q2 loss of 51 cents per share on 17th July. It will be its 7th consecutive quarterly loss. Most analysts paint a dreary picture of AMD’s future but a few like CRT Capital Group’s Ashok Kumar remain sanguine about the company’s prospects. AMD will have to quickly turn a corner if it wants to survive.

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