SaaS Roundup

As we have seen in our earlier posts (available here and here), SaaS companies have been doing well in the face of a weak economy as SaaS deployments require less upfront investment. >>>

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SAP Signals Weakness

Yesterday SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) reported results for a disappointing first quarter affected by the weakening dollar, the Business Objects acquisition and heavy investment in its SaaS initiative, BusinessByDesign. >>>

Does Apple’s Move Impact ARM?

Apple’s recent acquisition of low power processor start-up PA Semi has caused a ripple in the semiconductor industry. Read my Forbes article on the acquisition in which I peek into Steve Jobs’ mind. I also say in the article that if Apple succeeds in developing a breakthrough, the industry will scramble towards vertical integration. >>>

Chips and Handsets: QCOM, NOK, Infineon

Qualcomm last week reported its second quarter results. Earlier coverage is available here and here. Vijay Nagarajan’s extensive coverage is available here in which he looks at its numerous legal battles with Broadcom and also Nokia. >>>

Microsoft Stretched in Multiple Directions

Microsoft (MSFT) announced their Q3 results yesterday. While their revenue for the quarter of $14.5 billion met market expectations, their EPS of $0.47 exceeded the street’s views of $0.45. The revenue for the quarter reported an increase of 14% over the previous year while the EPS reduced by 6% from $0.50 in the previous year Q3. >>>

Yahoo Dithers On

Is Ballmer really threatening to pull back from the Yahoo deal? Of course not. Nonetheless, the media has to play along with this charade, knowing fully well that Yahoo’s destiny was sealed the day Microsoft made the first advance. >>>

Convergence Device Chip Makers Battle

Guest author Vijay Nagarajan recently completed his deep dive analysis on Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN). My earlier posts are available here and here. >>>

IBM Looks Solid

IBM on April 17 reported a strong first quarter that beat all estimates. Revenue was $24.5 billion, up 11% y-o-y and down 15% sequentially and diluted EPS was $1.65 per share, up 36% y-o-y and down 41% sequentially. Analyst estimates were a profit of $1.45 a share on revenue of $23.7 billion. It bought back shares worth $2.7 billion in the quarter. >>>

Google Strong, But Microsoft Pays Attention to Verticals

Google (GOOG) reported their Q1 numbers yesterday exceeding all market expectations. Q1 revenues were $5.2 billion with EPS of $4.84 compared to the street’s views of $5.1 billion with EPS of $4.52. The revenue reported a 42% increase over Q1 revenues of the previous year. >>>

Intel Bullish

With Intel reporting a healthy Q1 that met analyst estimates, the market breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier coverage is available here (effect of the iPhone) and here (multi-core trends). >>>