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Technology Stocks : Alliance Semiconductor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ram Seetharaman who wrote (7250)	4/10/2000 8:07:00 PM
From: SBHX	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

Ram, There's a correction going on in the nasdaq. Even good value stocks like alsc are being battered. Tomorrow should be interesting. Mainland china also called the VP of Taiwan 'scum' in the wkend. Suspect it is because they sense a rift between the president and VP of taiwan and would like to get rid of the ideological but naive independence-minded VP, of course, it will backfire since, now the people in the streets will be upset if the VP's position was removed ... Mainland China should learn by now: The taiwanese will always do the opposite of what the communists say. If they had stated their undying admiration for the VP, she'd be gone faster than the time it takes a good cat to catch a mouse. :) Back to reality. How many times can one go bargain hunting and not run out of cash??? ;(

To: Ram Seetharaman who wrote (7250)	4/11/2000 10:39:00 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

from Morningstar: Looks Like a Sizzling Quarter for Chipmakers by Jeremy Lopez \| 07:48 AM \| 04-11-00 (Updated 07:48 AM \| 04-11-00) Across the board, semiconductor companies should post strong first-quarter earnings. Overall demand in the industry is about the strongest in recent history. Unlike most other chip cycles, which have been largely driven by growth in the personal-computer industry, the current upswing is broadly based, benefiting from strong growth in areas such as the wireless-telecommunication and data-networking-equipment industries. Batting Leadoff Motorola MOT, the first blue-chip semiconductor company to report, posted first-quarter earnings of 59 cents a share late Monday, one cent more than analysts' consensus estimate. Although primarily known as a cell-phone manufacturer, in the quarter just ended, Motorola generated approximately $1.9 billion in sales, or about 20% of its total revenues, from its semiconductor unit. The chip division's first-quarter growth was impressive at 24%. Motorola's mobile-phone unit also posted solid growth, but the segment's margins were weak. Revenue growth came in at 24% over the year-ago quarter, but operating margins were only about 2% because the firm sold a higher mix of lower-margin phones and is still working through some component shortages. Although Motorola's overall first-quarter results weren't breathtaking, the strength in the firm's chip division should be a harbinger of another good earnings season for the rest of the semiconductor industry. Solid Earnings Expected in the PC Industry Intel's INTC first-quarter results will probably be favorable for a few reasons. Over the past several months, Intel has struggled through a host of production problems with its latest Pentium III line of chips. The worst of these supply problems seem to be behind the company, however, and Intel's earnings should benefit from better availability of chips. Gains from the sale of equity investments from Intel's venture-capital unit should also provide an earnings boost. Investors should keep an eye on these gains--especially if Intel dips into its venture-capital unit to salvage a subpar quarter or to inflate an average quarter. Intel reports earnings April 20. The most impressive performance in the microprocessor industry might come from Advanced Micro Devices AMD. The company's latest product introduction, the Athlon processor, continues to gain strength against Intel's products. Also, about 25% of AMD's revenues come from the firm's flash-memory unit, which is growing at a rapid pace as a result of strong demand from the cell-phone industry. Management indicated twice in the first quarter that sales were better than expected. AMD might very well beat consensus estimates by a long shot. The company reports earnings Wednesday. Telecom and Networking Equipment Are in Hot Demand In the wireless-telecom industry, look for Texas Instruments TXN to post a strong quarter. The company's core product, digital signal processors (DSPs), are in high demand because of their use in cellular phones and high-speed broadband modems. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, DSP sales jumped 57% in February and 35% in January from the year-earlier periods. Texas Instruments, which literally dominates this market with about a 50% market share, reports earnings April 18. Companies that supply chips to telecom- and networking-equipment makers should also report strong quarters. Because of their exposure to data-networking customers such as Cisco Systems CSCO, programmable-chip makers such as Altera ALTR and Xilinx XLNX should post solid earnings. Altera reports Wednesday, and Xilinx reports April 20. PMC-Sierra PMCS has made a string of acquisitions over the last quarter that might hurt earnings, but strong growth should offset any dilution. Vitesse Semiconductor's VTSS quarter might depend on how much its main customer, Lucent Technologies LU, has rebounded. Vitesse's management expected that sales to Lucent would grow over the quarter despite Lucent's recent travails. But even if sales to Lucent don't pan out, Vitesse's other segments are growing rapidly and could easily compensate. PMC Sierra reports earnings Thursday. Vitesse reports April 17. Jeremy Lopez is an analyst with Morningstar.com. He can be reached at jeremy.lopez@morningstar.com. Jeremy Lopez owns shares in the following securities mentioned above: ALTR .