Still No Smartphone Strategy From Dell

Computer manufacturer Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) recently reported a better-than-expected second quarter as IT spending levels showed signs of stabilizing. During the quarter, the company reclaimed its top spot from HP in the US PC market. However, Dell has not been making adequate progress on its smartphone strategy. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

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EDA Industry: Consolidation Remains a Priority

As per a recent report by the EDA Consortium, the industry’s revenues have declined 10.7% over the year in the first quarter of 2009 to $1.192 billion after registering single-digit growth in 2008 and double-digit growth in 2007. Computer-Aided Engineering, the largest product category, saw revenues fall 19% over the year in the first quarter to $427.9 million, while IC Physical Design & Verification revenue, the second-largest category, fell 5% over the year to $302.2 million. Asia-Pacific was the only region in which there was growth. >>>

Internet Sector Roundup

We’ve looked at some Internet sector acquisition prospects last week. Today, we look at more companies, this time in printing and real estate.

An online company that has been faring well with its excellent business model even in the current times is Vistaprint (NASDAQ:VPRT). The manufacturer of personalized products and services for small businesses and the home recently announced impressive full-year results. Many believe that the current retrenchment by large companies has led to growth in small businesses, the segment Vistaprint caters to. >>>

Semiconductor IP Sector Overview

There has been a boom in the wireless industry driven by increased demand for smartphones such as the iPhone, Palm Pre, and BlackBerry and for netbooks as well as evolution of high-speed technology. Just yesterday, Nokia announced its new netbook, Booklet 3G. According to Gartner, smartphone sales grew 27% to 41 million units in Q209, while mobile phone sales declined by 6% to 286 million. Sales of mini-notebooks or netbooks are expected to reach 21 million in 2009, and 30 million in 2010, while PC shipments are likely to shrink by 6% to 274 million this year. In this post, let’s examine how semiconductor IP players Tessera, InterDigital, and ARM are benefiting from this boom. >>>

Acquisition Outlook: Intuit, ADP

This post looks at the recent performance of Intuit and ADP. Strengthening its SaaS strategy, Intuit recently acquired PayCycle, which was at the top of my recommendation list for a SaaS roll-up.Its lineup of SaaS offerings now accounts for about $900 million in revenue, an increase of 22%, faster than the company average. We will also look at what companies it can acquire next. >>>

Networking Landscape: Major Changes Ahead?

Last week, Brocade missed its earnings estimates for the first time in four years while last month, Alcatel-Lucent posted its first profit in 11 quarters. Let’s take a closer look at their recent performances as well as that of F5. >>>

More Strong Performance From SaaS Market Leaders

In an earlier post this month, we observed that Salesforce.com, pioneer in the SaaS sector with annual revenue of $1.077 billion, has a 10.6% share in the CRM market, and SaaS accounts for 20% in the CRM market. Salesforce.com reported a strong second quarter last week. Also last week, the CEO of Taleo, Michael Gregoire, rang the opening bell of NASDAQ to mark a decade in the talent management industry. My interview with him, conducted last year, is available here. Let’s take a closer look at Salesforce.com as well as the SaaS talent management sector. >>>

Internet Sector: Acquisition Prospects

As per a recent comScore report, US online retail sales fell 1% over the year in the second quarter, following flat sales in the first quarter and a 3% drop in the fourth quarter of last year. Obviously, the unemployment levels, rising gas prices and increased savings are keeping consumers’ discretionary spending down. >>>

HP Loses PC Top Slot

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), the leader in the PC market with annual revenue of $118.4 billion, reported third quarter results that just managed to beat estimates. CEO Mark Hurd observed that the US market remained stable in the quarter, but things are not looking so good in Europe. According to a recent report from Gartner, Acer overtook HP as the No.1 PC vendor in Western Europe. In the US market, Dell overtook HP as the No.1 with a difference of just 0.3%. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

First Solar, SunPower Should Benefit From Stimulus

Pricing pressure, supply–demand mismatch and the credit crunch have raised concerns about the short-term outlook for solar energy equipment makers worldwide. Analysts peg solar panel production at 5.5 gigawatts for the year 2009 compared to capacity of 9.9 gigawatts — a clear indication of capacity idling due to lack of demand. >>>