Computer Hardware

Qualcomm’s director election offers double rebuke

30 Mar 2018

Support for incumbents averaged under half the U.S. chipmaker’s outstanding shares. That’s a warning after the board resisted Broadcom’s $117 bln hostile bid, nixed by Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the convoluted process and an error voting Vanguard’s shares shame an archaic system.

Holding: #MeToo is putting corporate law on trial

29 Mar 2018

Claims of sexual misconduct at the likes of Fox and Wynn Resorts have led to suits over board duties and disclosure. They’re long shots, largely because business governance is an awkward tool for social change. Yet investors and victims are giving it a new and useful purpose.

Chinese drone giant DJI charts a risky flight path

22 Mar 2018

The world’s top maker of unmanned aircraft is raising money at a $15 bln valuation, Reuters says. Sales are soaring and DJI has a commanding market lead. Given drones’ data-gathering ability and military potential, though, DJI could easily hit turbulence in major foreign markets.

Holding: Shareholders may snag win from M&A defeat

1 Mar 2018

Delaware courts are cracking down on settlements and appraisal claims for higher payouts in mergers like HP’s $2.7 bln Aruba union. Many are rattled, but it’s too soon to panic. The rulings could cut abuse and uncertainty in the legal process, leading to more and better deals.

Review: Knocking at the door of tech’s boys’ club

23 Feb 2018

Women played key roles in the development of computers, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at Silicon Valley. A hostile culture has pushed them to the fringes of America’s technology hotbed. A new book says thinking differently would pay dividends for women, and the industry.

Apple tide will lift fewer Asian supply boats

23 Feb 2018

Disappointing iPhone X sales have hurt the value of Foxconn and others in the production chain. The lofty expectations could make recovery harder for many. Specialists like lens maker Largan, though, are better positioned to benefit from fewer but more profitable Apple handsets.

Viewsroom: Chipmaker battle fries M&A circuits

22 Feb 2018

Broadcom has lowered its hostile bid for Qualcomm after its target upped its longstanding offer for NXP. That decreases the chance the two larger rivals can strike a deal – assuming regulators wouldn’t nuke it. Plus: Credit Suisse shines a rare light on Asian investment banking.

Foxconn is manufacturing a higher value in China

20 Feb 2018

The Taiwan assembler of Apple's iPhone plans to spin off a subsidiary onto the Shanghai exchange. Fresh funds will help it push into cloud computing and robotics. Given the new-share pricing norm of about 23 times earnings, Foxconn should be engineering even greater benefits.

GKN’s flawed defence is still good enough

14 Feb 2018

The besieged UK engineering group pledged to sell assets and boost margins. A hurried sale of its best asset is regrettable. But new chief executive Anne Stevens’ profit targets are credible and ambitious. That gives her a chance of fending off hostile bidder Melrose.

Apple’s less-is-more vibe bodes well for profit

1 Feb 2018

Apple sold fewer iPhones for more money in the last quarter, raising fears that the company is losing its innovation edge. But that’s OK – persuading customers to pay more arguably requires as much genius as getting people to adopt the technology in the first place.

NXP has Qualcomm over a barrel

31 Jan 2018

The larger chipmaker’s stock is close to Broadcom’s $105 bln hostile offer price. It might be because investors are warming to Qualcomm’s stand-alone worth. But that vision fades unless Qualcomm closes its own $38 bln deal for NXP. The danger now is raising its bid too much.

Chipmaker M&A exhibits increasingly fuzzy logic

29 Jan 2018

Amid a rash of big deals, Japanese firm Renesas may offer close to $20 bln for U.S. rival Maxim, CNBC reported. Combining the two could generate big savings – but Renesas would need to cut 100 pct of Maxim’s operating expenses to justify that price. That’s called overpayment.

Dell has no time for fantasy finance

29 Jan 2018

The U.S. tech giant needs cash to pay taxes, reduce debt and let investors exit. Reversing into its $53 bln subsidiary VMware is too complex, while an IPO would be financially unattractive because of pricey past acquisitions. There are simpler, more logical ways to raise cash.

Bitcoin’s siren song could send TSMC off course

18 Jan 2018

Surging demand for processors used in mining digital tokens boosted results at the world's top contract chipmaker. That helps make TSMC less dependent on smartphones. When the $210 bln giant plans future investment, though, placing big bets on crypto-currency would be foolish.

Tim Cook goes as American as Apple’s pie

17 Jan 2018

The iPhone maker will pay $38 bln in tax on its huge pile of overseas cash. It’s also pulling an Amazon with plans to open a new U.S. campus, invest $30 bln and create 20,000 jobs. The Apple boss has cleverly engineered some common ground with Donald Trump.

Xerox’s paper jam may be beyond even Icahn

11 Dec 2017

Activist Carl Icahn’s representative is leaving the board of the $7.5 bln copier company. He plans to nominate a new slate. Though his gripe is unclear, printers are having a tough time in a digital world. Short of a sale, small quibbles won’t do much.

Wall Street chip analysts put a “buy” on research

28 Nov 2017

Bearish Morgan Stanley notes on memory prices were followed by $25 bln in lost market value for Samsung, TSMC and Western Digital. Despite an excess of cheerleading from the sell-side, it has the power to move markets. It's a timely reminder as the business model faces upheaval.

Microchip boom short-circuits Singapore’s growth

28 Nov 2017

Revised GDP revealed a surprisingly strong 5.2 pct quarterly lift for the city-state's $300 bln economy. As in other parts of the world, however, the expansion has yet to power wages or jobs. Cyclical semiconductor output flatters the figures and warrants investor caution.

Meg Whitman’s good management of bad business ends

21 Nov 2017

She took over Hewlett-Packard when Silicon Valley's original success story was in unprecedented turmoil with three predecessors fired, a dysfunctional board and a welter of failed deals. By breaking it up, she brought stability. It's a track record that might work in politics.

Marvell suits up well for growing chipmaker wars

20 Nov 2017

The value of cost cuts easily covers the premium in its $6 bln offer to buy rival Cavium. The deal also welds together two sets of mostly complementary business, strengthening the combined company’s portfolio. That should set it up well for further M&A in a consolidating market.