Networking Sector: AKAM, F5 Strong, ALU Weak

Here’s more on the Networking sector, to finish up the series. We’ll cover Akamai, Alcatel-Lucent and F5 in this piece.

On February 4, Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading web acceleration provider, also reported Q4 and fiscal year 2008 results. Q4 revenue grew 16% y-o-y and 8% q-o-q to $212.6 million versus Street estimates of $205.46 million. Net income increased 22% q-o-q to $40.5 million, or $0.22 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income was $82.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share versus analyst estimates of $0.40. Cash from operations in Q4 was $92 million. By all accounts, stellar performance. >>>

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The Times At Time Warner

Continuing our coverage of media & entertainment results, here is a quick analysis of Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) Q4 results, which were announced yesterday. Like Disney, Time Warner reported earnings much lower than the Street’s expectations and despite some bright spots (CNN, HBO), the outlook for many of the company’s divisions is bleak as the recession continues. >>>

Networking Sector: Cisco, Juniper, Polycom

Yesterday, Cisco, the networking giant with 2008 annual revenue of $39.5 billion, reported second quarter results that beat analyst estimates but were still disappointing as revenue and profits plunged. >>>

Disney Should Go Shopping

The $38 billion entertainment and media giant, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), announced depressing Q1 results yesterday. It was the first major US media company to report results for the quarter. >>>

Symantec Soars Amidst Sustained Market Strain

Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC), the world’s largest maker of security software, announced rather impressive Q3 results on January 28 that sent its stock surging 6%. >>>

Chip Sector Shrinks: BRCM, TI, STM

The semiconductor industry is gloomier than ever, with demand weakening further in the fourth quarter. Texas Instruments (TI) and STMicroelectronics have announced 3,400 and 4,500 job cuts, respectively. Even leading semiconductor companies fell prey to the weakening demand with Qualcomm reporting a 56% slump in its profits and Broadcom reporting a loss in Q4 and announcing 200 job cuts. Let’s take a closer look at Broadcom, TI, and STMicro. >>>

Qualcomm Awaiting Switch To Digital TV

Yesterday Qualcomm, one of the top semiconductor companies with annual revenue of $11.14 billion in 2008, reported mixed results for its first quarter as profits plunged 56% due to continued losses in financial investments as markets worsened. >>>

SmartPhones Driving At ATT, VZ

This week, the US Telecom industry’s leading providers, AT&T and Verizon, reported their results. Let’s take a closer look as these carriers’ performances are a telling indication of the health of the industry in the wake of the tough economic conditions. >>>

EMC Cautious

EMC, the $23.4 billion storage technology company, announced their Q4 earnings yesterday. Revenues for the quarter came in at $4.02 billion, growing 5% over the year, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.32. The current quarter ended EMC’s run of 21 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth. >>>

Yahoo! Looks Forward With Bartz

Eight days since Carol Bartz became the CEO of Yahoo! and already she needed to defend the company’s lackluster Q4 results, which were in stark contrast to its competitor Google’s impressive performance. >>>