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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio candidates - Moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (2764)	12/16/2010 6:30:10 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 2955

RIM Beats Sales & Profit Estimates on BlackBerry Surge (Update1) By Hugo Miller Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, reported third-quarter revenue and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by demand for models such as the Curve and touch-screen Torch. Sales rose 40 percent to $5.49 billion, RIM said today in a statement. Analysts had predicted $5.41 billion, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings per share were $1.74 compared with an average estimate, excluding some costs, of $1.65. RIM added 5.1 million new subscribers, while analysts estimated 5.2 million. RIM is counting on a new version of the BlackBerry Bold and the Torch, which has a slide-out keyboard and better Internet browser, to lure customers away from Apple Inc.’s iPhone. RIM is also tapping demand in markets such as Brazil and Indonesia for cheaper models like the Curve, which incorporate its free instant messaging system, to fend off the challenge from a slew of new phones based on Google Inc.’s Android software. Revenue this quarter will be $5.5 billion to $5.7 billion and earnings per share will be $1.74 to $1.80, RIM said. Analysts projected revenue of $5.46 billion and profit of $1.61 a share. “The fact that guidance is decently above consensus, to me that’s pretty positive,” said Tavis McCourt, an analyst at Morgan Keegan Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee. He has an “outperform” rating on the stock. “It’s not a blowout but things are trending in the right direction.” New Operating System An improved BlackBerry 6 operating system, a strong ad campaign and AT&T Inc.’s price cut to $99.99 in the U.S. made the Torch “a strong selling product” last quarter, Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Robison wrote in a Dec. 10 note. Robison, based in Denver, has a “buy” rating on the stock. Net income for the third quarter climbed to $911.1 million from $628.4 million, or $1.10 cents a share, a year earlier. Still, RIM continues to lose market share globally to the iPhone and Android handsets. RIM’s share of the global smartphone market slid to 15 percent in the third quarter from 20 percent a year earlier, according to researcher IDC. Apple’s was unchanged at 17 percent while Samsung Electronics Co., which uses Android, jumped to 8.9 percent from 3 percent. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, rose 4.4 percent in late trading to $61.85, after closing 6 cents higher at $59.24 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has jumped 38 percent since August, narrowing its loss for the year to 12 percent. PlayBook Surge The stock’s recent surge has been driven by expectations for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet which RIM will begin selling in the U.S. sometime in the first quarter to go head to head with Apple Inc.’s market-leading iPad. RIM may sell 2.55 million tablets, generating about $1.1 billion in revenue in its first full year of sales, according to a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts. By contrast, Apple sold 4.19 million iPads last quarter, for revenue of $2.8 billion. Moreover, the PlayBook will come out amid a flurry of new, competing devices from Samsung, Motorola Inc. and an expected second version of the iPad. The iPad’s dominance in the tablet-computer market will “change when we’re in the market,” RIM co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said in an interview last month. The gross margin, or percentage of sales left after costs, widened to 43.6 percent last quarter, compared with an average analyst estimate of 42 percent. RIM said its margin should be similar this quarter. To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net Last Updated: December 16, 2010 17:08 EST

To: Eric L who wrote (2764)	12/16/2010 6:32:11 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 2955

Oracle Forecasts Profit Above Analysts’ Predictions (Update2) By Aaron Ricadela Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Oracle Corp., the second-largest software maker, forecast profit for the current quarter higher than analysts predicted, adding to evidence that it’s benefiting from an acquisition-fueled expansion into computer hardware. Profit excluding certain expenses will be 48 cents to 50 cents a share, Oracle said today on a conference call. That compares with 47 cents, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That followed a report showing profit on that basis of 51 cents in the period ended Nov. 30, exceeding the 46-cent average of analysts’ predictions. Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison is bulking up in hardware to supplement his software businesses, and making headway on a projection that Sun Microsystems Inc., bought this year, will add $1.5 billion to fiscal 2011 operating profit. That’s helping quell concerns that Oracle wouldn’t be able to integrate its more than $40 billion in acquisitions since early 2005, said Jason Maynard, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. “Years ago, people didn’t believe in the strategy,” said Maynard, who is based in Santa Monica, California, and rates Oracle “outperform.” “There were a lot of doubters on the Street. People have flipped.” Oracle, based in Redwood City, California, rose 3.9 percent to $31.45 in extended trading. It had fallen 22 cents to $30.27 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have gained 23 percent this year. The company reports sales that include deferred revenue from acquired companies and don’t conform to generally accepted accounting principles. On that basis, sales increased to $8.65 billion in the second quarter. New License Sales New software license sales, a predictor of revenue, gained 21 percent to $2 billion last quarter. Maynard predicted $1.85 billion. In the coming months, Oracle will release new versions of its business applications developed under a project known as Fusion. Israel Hernandez, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients that “Oracle remains exceptionally well positioned to benefit from a cyclical upturn in enterprise software spending.” Hernandez rates Oracle “overweight.” Oracle also said it will issue a dividend of 5 cents a share. The dividend will be payable on Feb. 9 to holders of shares as of Jan. 19. Under Ellison, Oracle has spent more than $42 billion to acquire more than 65 companies since the beginning of 2005. The stock has more than doubled in the past five years, compared with an 18 percent gain for the S&P technology index. Ellison’s acquisition spree has stiffened competition with SAP AG, Hewlett-Packard Co., and International Business Machines Corp. HP, the world’s largest computer maker, forecast first- quarter profit last month that exceeded analysts’ estimates. On Nov. 24, Oracle won a $1.3 billion jury award in a federal copyright infringement case against SAP. Net income in the second quarter rose 28 percent to $1.87 billion, or 37 cents a share, from $1.46 billion, or 29 cents, a year earlier, Oracle said. To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Ricadela in San Francisco at aricadela@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net Last Updated: December 16, 2010 17:56 EST