Computer Hardware

Apple shines as Cook dishes up Chinese feast

27 Jan 2015

The tech giant overcame a strong dollar and stiff competition from Samsung in the Middle Kingdom, helping it to record Q1 iPhone sales of 74 mln worldwide. With the company’s watch near market and Apple Pay doing well, CEO Tim Cook has found a recipe to rival Steve Jobs’ success.

Intel fares better outside than inside

16 Jan 2015

The division that powers remote servers known as the cloud helped boost the chipmaker’s Q4 bottom line by 39 pct. Intel’s smartphones and tablets business, however, generated negative revenue because of incentives paid to customers. It may be time to hang up on the effort.

China’s innovators could use a patent war

6 Jan 2015

Conflict could breed creativity for China’s tech industry. New patents are being minted, but companies rarely go to court to protect them. There may be political reasons, but more discord would show Beijing is serious about enforcement, and not just against foreigners.

Chipmaker merger of equals may grapple with bugs

2 Dec 2014

Cypress and Spansion are uniting in a $4 bln deal with a balanced structure. Ownership and the board will be split evenly. Cypress, however, is paying a small premium and keeps the CEO and headquarters. The financial logic computes, but control usually ends up a feature in M&A.

Lenovo deals need cost control spark to compute

25 Nov 2014

The Chinese PC maker has just completed the purchases of IBM’s low-end servers and Motorola phones for a combined $5 bln. With few cost synergies on offer, Lenovo needs to jolt revenue growth and rein in overheads. Even then, earning a return on its outlay will be tricky.

Chip deal slots into China’s tech dominance plan

7 Nov 2014

Semiconductors have long been rival Taiwan’s forte, but the People’s Republic is muscling in. A $1.8 billion Chinese offer for a Singaporean chip-packager is the latest attempt to bring tech know-how to the mainland. More buys are likely to follow.

Tim Cook’s pride may expand corporate talent pool

30 Oct 2014

The Apple CEO’s decision to speak publicly about being gay should help advance the march toward acceptance. As boss of the world’s biggest company by market value, Cook could inspire others, giving C-suites and boardrooms more choice. They could use it.

Apple’s promise justifies return to old big self

24 Oct 2014

The iPhone maker’s $615 bln market capitalization is nearing its own record of two years ago, which eclipsed Microsoft’s peak valuation before the dot-com bust in 2000. This Apple share-price runup may not go far enough. But there’s no bubble fantasy math involved if it does.

Europe’s chipmakers crash into macro slowdown

10 Oct 2014

Shares in Germany’s Infineon and Italy’s STMicro plunged after a U.S. rival missed forecasts. Infineon stock has now fallen 20 pct in a month. Its focus on industrial and automotive clients hurts. The pricey $3 bln purchase of International Rectifier just got harder to justify.

HP closing in on valuation problem, not its future

6 Oct 2014

Over three years, Meg Whitman has boosted HP by refraining from acquisitions, paying off debt and restructuring. Spinning off its PC and printer business should reduce its stubborn conglomerate discount, now at 10 pct. The harder part - avoiding obsolescence comes later.

Meg Whitman at last splits Hewlett from Packard

6 Oct 2014

The venerable tech conglomerate will cleave in two: a computer and printer business and a corporate hardware and services arm. Investors had baked in a breakup for ages, so there was only so much longer CEO Whitman could dawdle before losing control of HP’s narrative.

Apple winds up earnings hope for new gadgets

23 Jul 2014

The iPhone maker racked up another quarter of so-so growth – and astonishing cash flow. CEO Tim Cook has paid out more than $40 bln over 12 months but added nearly $20 bln to the kitty. The lower share count may fuel a stock run-up if Apple soon unveils another must-have device.

Apple’s growth in China less impressive close up

23 Jul 2014

The 48 percent growth in China iPhone sales in the last quarter-year is strong. But seen from the Middle Kingdom, Apple vies with large rivals U.S. consumers have barely heard of, like Xiaomi and Coolpad. As they gain share too, Apple will struggle to be more than an also-ran.

Edward Hadas: Apple’s many magic tricks

30 Apr 2014

The tech giant’s millions of products appear with few employees, little R&D and almost no inventory. The huge profits from this industrial prestidigitation are sheltered by tax footwork and helpful accounting. Apple’s not alone in that, but it’s no way to build a vital industry.

Apple’s new debt is more iBond 1S than iBond 2

29 Apr 2014

The iPhone maker is venturing into bond markets for the second year, even though it has $151 bln of cash. Investors who snapped up last year’s $17 bln offering are nursing losses thanks to Apple’s good timing. The 2014-model debt issue’s main improvement is its smaller size.

Apple and Google spats threaten the silicon goose

23 Apr 2014

America’s high-tech epicenter thrives on shared ideas and expertise. The smartphone rivals stifle both by squabbling over patents and poached workers. Silicon Valley shows no signs of slowing down, but the behemoths’ penchant for protecting their empires could inhibit innovation.

ARM offers a non-alarming mini-disappointment

23 Apr 2014

Shares in the $23 bln UK microchip designer fell 4 pct after royalty revenue for using its blueprints barely grew. But licences are strong, smartphone demand growth could return soon, and the “internet of things” is promising. The company’s high-margin model is still holding up. 

Top line shrinkage catches up with IBM

16 Apr 2014

For two decades, Big Blue’s profit increased faster than revenue through buybacks, cost cuts, and M&A deals. But eight quarters of declining sales mean earnings and free cash flow are now ebbing away. IBM, already reborn in the 1990s, needs a new turnaround plan – and fast.

Lenovo’s turnaround trick will be harder this time

13 Feb 2014

Buying IBM’s PC unit launched the Chinese group onto the global stage. Absorbing Motorola poses a similar challenge with a smaller upside: the U.S. handset maker is no longer a brand leader. Cost savings and scale should help reduce losses, but Lenovo’s timeline is ambitious.

Microsoft founders recede into middle distance

4 Feb 2014

Satya Nadella’s experience makes him a solid CEO choice. He also has greater room to maneuver as Bill Gates steps down as chairman. He’ll need to grapple with bad decisions, like the Nokia deal, and is unlikely to pursue a breakup. But he can focus on what the company does best.