Computer Hardware

Buffett’s IBM has rare mix of growth and value

15 Nov 2011

Berkshire Hathaway’s investment success is built on common sense stock picks such as the tech-turned-consultancy firm. But only four other global large-cap stocks match Big Blue’s downhome growth-and-value qualities of a sort so admired by the Sage of Omaha.

IBM bet doesn’t mean Buffett’s tech spots changed

14 Nov 2011

The Oracle famously avoids tech stocks but bought a $10.7 bln stake in Big Blue. Once at the cutting edge of supercomputers, IBM just pulled out of a next-generation project. It’s now a predictable, well-branded consulting firm. IBM’s investment profile evolved, not Buffett’s.

Apple effect far greater than $350 bln market cap

6 Oct 2011

The company changed the world several times. It introduced the spreadsheet, made computers into consumer goods and its phones helped make the Cloud realistic. Jobs’ genius for design and user-helpfulness turned IT from nerdish to uber-cool. Apple has been tech’s good Pied Piper.

Jobs, no ordinary CEO, leaves no ordinary company

6 Oct 2011

The force behind the iPod, iPhone and iPad not only created and then rescued Apple, building it into the most valuable tech company on the planet. He also changed the way people live. It’s a rare entrepreneur who leaves that legacy – and a company that can thrive without him.

Can Microsoft be trusted not to buy Yahoo?

5 Oct 2011

The Internet group is gently looking for buyers for bits of its business or the whole shebang. Microsoft boss Ballmer would be remiss not to run the ruler over his strategic partner. But shareholders may justifiably wonder if he can refrain from another overpriced acquisition.

HP would make lucrative Oracle target

3 Oct 2011

A selloff has left HP vulnerable, possibly even to Larry Ellison’s firm. HP is cheap, despite its pricey deal for Autonomy. Even paying a 40 percent premium, Oracle could reap a hefty 16 percent return on investment, a Breakingviews analysis suggests. And that’s before any cost savings.

HP’s lack of direction continues apace

29 Sep 2011

The battered U.S. tech firm, now led by Meg Whitman, has hired Goldman Sachs to fend off activists. And Oracle is baiting HP, suggesting its offer for Autonomy is profligate and the UK firm’s CEO forgetful, at best. An uppity investor with a strategy could be just what HP needs.

Amazon and Apple’s historic paths collide

28 Sep 2011

The online retailer’s cheap new Kindle Fire tablet reflects the company’s roots - it’s a tool for the sale of content. Apple, by contrast, used music and movies to hook customers into buying its gadgets. The two currents are now clashing, and survival requires strength in both.

Patent spats getting pricier for tech shareholders

23 Sep 2011

The likes of Apple and Samsung are spending millions to sue each other. But new research shows it’s the trolls that own little more than legal rights to inventions levying the heftier toll on investors and innovation. It’s more evidence of why patent law needs to change.

UBS, Yahoo and HP have made failure traditional

23 Sep 2011

The Swiss bank’s $2 bln rogue trading loss echoes its U.S. mortgage misadventures while persistent strategic drift led the two tech companies to chuck out their bosses. All three have self-images that are badly out of date. Few companies can recover from this cognitive disorder.

Meg Whitman is unjustifiable choice for HP CEO

22 Sep 2011

The former eBay boss only joined the tech company’s board this year. The feckless body has ousted three previous outsiders, damaging HP each time. Whitman’s experience in hardware and business software is limited. Her powers of persuasion will take HP only so far.

Palm reading could tell BlackBerry maker’s fate

17 Jun 2011

Research In Motion is melting down as consumers switch to rival devices made by Apple or powered by Google. Yet the top brass remains optimistic. Palm's trajectory provides a more sobering possibility. When its cult gadget lost its technological edge, the firm never recovered.

Apple throws music industry another life vest

6 Jun 2011

Its new iTunes Match service lets users listen to music on any device for $25 a year. Significantly, it also works as an amnesty of sorts for customers with illgotten songs in their hard drives. It looks a concession to piracy but it at least offers a way to more revenue.

Apple readies latest version of the halo effect

3 Jun 2011

The tech dynamo cleverly uses each introduction of a new device, like the iPad, to trigger virtuous circles where purchasers tend to buy other Apple products. Expanding its cloud offerings, where data and programs are stored remotely, could set off more favorable feedback loops.

IBM looks set to sustain march on tech rivals

24 May 2011

Big Blue's pitiful state 20 years ago forced it to shift from hardware to corporate software and services. After taking different paths, rivals like HP, Cisco and Microsoft are trying to find their way. IBM's market value now tops them all and shows no signs of relenting.

Skype schmuck insurance pays off richly for eBay

10 May 2011

The online auctioneer can now claim to have made money on the Internet telephony group. Though eBay wrote down its original 2005 $3.1 bln purchase, and then sold it for less to Silver Lake and friends, keeping a stake allowed it to save face and show a return well over 30 pct.

Microsoft’s $8.5 bln Skype price is in the cloud

10 May 2011

In theory, the WindowstoOffice giant could integrate Skype's voice and video calling to its advantage. In practice, Microsoft's M&A track record is poor. Combine that with a valuation at 10 times 2010 sales and this is one call that is unlikely ever to connect for shareholders.

Apple’s $150 bln brand value typifies tech motion

9 May 2011

The iPad maker's distinct label accounts for about half its market cap, a new survey finds. It's also 10 times what it was in 2006. Measuring brand worth is an imprecise art, but there are good reasons why technology companies dominate and are prone to big swings in value.

Smaller chips are driving bigger announcements

4 May 2011

Applied Materials and Intel have grown huge through their mastery of making semiconductors smaller and more complex. Applied's $4.9 bln purchase of Varian, and Intel's most significant technology announcement of the year are all part of staying on the right side of Moore's Law.

Cisco takes first small step to focusing on core

12 Apr 2011

The networking giant's boss, John Chambers, acknowledged last week Cisco had lost its way. Now he's putting his money where his mouth is and shutting parts of its cashdraining consumer unit. That's sensible, but more will be needed to simplify the sprawl and improve returns.