Media Industry: The Answer Is Quality

The print media is operating in permanent crisis mode, with big names such as BusinessWeek and The Boston Globe up for sale in the coming quarters. According to MediaFinder.com, already nearly 280 magazines have called it a day in the first half of the year. And it is not just the smaller titles: the entertainment magazine Vibe and Condé Nast’s Portfolio have shut down. Newspapers have been systematically shutting down their print operations, and going online only. Despite the profitable turnarounds witnessed by most companies which recently announced results, overall print media’s future remains uncertain, to say the least. >>>

Featured Videos

Samsung’s and Motorola’s Smartphone Gaps

Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Samsung recently reported strong quarters, further signs that the handset market is stabilizing. According to a Gartner report on the first quarter, Samsung at No.2 has 19.1% (14.4% last year) of the market and Motorola at No.4 has 6.2% (10.2% last year). However, smartphones offer high margins compared to the rest of the handsets, and both companies need to improve their smartphone strategy. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

SaaS At SAP

According to recent research from IDC, the economic crisis has actually accelerated the growth prospects of the SaaS model. SAP (NYSE:SAP) recently unveiled its SaaS strategy for large enterprises and has been making “tuck-in” acquisitions to complement this strategy. SAP’s commitment to SaaS may protect the company from the worst of the cost-cutting going on at IT departments around the world. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Chipmakers Gain Market Share Despite Losses

As per iSuppli, even as the wireless chip market tanked in 2008, chipmakers Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and ST-Ericsson turned in strong performances and gained market share. Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) also increased its share marginally while Texas Instruments lost market share. Let’s take a look at their recent performances. >>>

Smartphones Pulling AT&T and Verizon

In its second quarter results, AT&T (NYSE:T) reported that it activated 2.4 million iPhones in the quarter and its total number of iPhone customers is 9 million. It is not just AT&T that has benefited from the iPhone, even Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has benefited from the spurt in smartphones created to challenge the iPhone and the ensuing competition in prices and features. The latest challenger, Palm Pre, is expected on the Verizon carrier by early 2010. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Amazon: After Zappos, Who Else?

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) put the right foot forward when it acquired Zappos last week for $928 million, clearly indicating their belief in the need for a verticalized offering with better margins. It was a move I had been championing for quite a while. Though their recent quarterly results were somewhat disappointing, I still believe Amazon has the right business strategy in place and the right leadership at its helm. >>>

EBay, Wake Up!

EBay continued to wander aimlessly during the quarter. Even though Q2 revenues exceeded the market’s expectations of $1.99 billion, they were down 4.5% over the year to $2.1 billion. Earnings for the quarter came in at $0.37 per share, falling 14% over the year but again managing to beat expectations of $0.36. >>>

What’s On Steve’s Mind?

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported a strong third quarter driven by strong Mac and iPhone sales. With the Palm Pre out and many other products competing with the iPhone, Apple is suddenly faced with tough competition. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Yahoo! Going Nowhere

Yesterday Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced Q2 results which managed to meet the market’s expectations but did not do much to boost the stock. Revenues of $1.57 billion declined 13% over the year and 6% on a constant currency basis. EPS grew by a cent to $0.10 against the market’s expected $0.08. >>>

TI’s Results: Light In The Semiconductor Tunnel?

Yesterday Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), a leading semiconductor company with annual revenue of $12.5 billion, reported second quarter results that beat estimates and gave positive guidance for the third quarter. After Intel’s encouraging results last weeks, this is another shot in the arm for the semiconductor sector. Let’s take a closer look. >>>