Compared to last year, Nvidia is moving in the right direction.

Nvidia reported revenue of $954.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 ended April 28, 2013. That's down 13.7 percent from $1.11 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, though up a little more than 3 percent compared to last year. A similar story played out with regards to Nvidia's net income (profit), which totaled $77.9 million for the quarter, down 55.2 percent sequentially but up 29 percent year-on-year.

AMD's total revenue for 2012 came to $5.42 billion, down 17 percent year-over-year.

Maybe no other company than Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is more happy to leave 2012 behind. By the numbers, it was a forgettable year for AMD, which raked in $5.42 billion in revenue for the entire year, or $47.88 billion less than Intel did. That's not a fair comparison, though there's no sugarcoating the declining numbers AMD posted. The Sunnyvale chip maker made $1.16 billion during the fourth quarter of 2012, a decrease of 9 percent compared to the previous quarter, and down 32 percent year-over-year.

Lest there be any doubt whatsoever that Microsoft has a lot riding on Windows 8, the Redmond outfit's financial report for its first fiscal quarter of 2013 (which ended September 30, 2012) contained more thorns than roses. For example, the company's quarterly earnings dropped 22 percent sequentially to $5.47 billion, as slumping PC sales continue to adversely affect tech firms across the board. Revenue also declined, dropping 8 percent to $16 billion, down from $17.37 billion one year prior.

Research In Motion (RIM) on Thursday evening posted a $518 million net loss for its first fiscal quarter of 2012, representing a 33 percent drop in revenue over the previous quarter and 43 percent decline from one year ago. It was not the financial picture RIM wanted to paint, but certainly the one many were expecting, at least to an extent. Nevertheless, RIM's stock is taking a beating, trading for around 15 percent less than prior to the announcement.