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  • Microsoft Reports Fourth Quarter Revenue Of $19.90 Billion

    There’s a lot of doom and gloom talk surrounding the PC market these days. Can Microsoft survive in such an antagonist climate? It certainly thinks it can, and its latest financial results show that it’s making money in the areas defined by its recent push into the devices and services business.

    Microsoft reports today that it pulled in $19.90 billion in revenue in its fourth fiscal quarter ending on June 30. Microsoft says its revenue was impacted by three major things – a decline in the PC market, a $900 million charge related to Surface RT inventory adjustments, and $782 million of deferred revenue related to its Office Upgrade offer.

    “We are working hard to deliver compelling new devices and high value experiences from Microsoft and our partners in the coming months, including new Windows 8.1 tablets and PCs,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Our new products and the strategic realignment we announced last week position us well for long-term success, as we focus our energy and resources on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value the most.”

    Going into specifics, Microsoft CFO Amy Wood says that their revenue was bolstered this quarter by strong demand for its enterprise services alongside other services like Xbox Live:

    “While our fourth quarter results were impacted by the decline in the PC market, we continue to see strong demand for our enterprise and cloud offerings, resulting in a record unearned revenue balance this quarter. We also saw increasing consumer demand for services like Office 365, Outlook.com, Skype, and Xbox LIVE. While we have work ahead of us, we are making the focused investments needed to deliver on long-term growth opportunities like cloud services.”

    For its fiscal year 2013, Microsoft says that it earned $77.85 billion in revenue and $26.76 billion in operating income. These results were further impacted by $540 million of deferred revenue related to Microsoft’s Windows upgrade offer and a $733 million fine it paid out to the European Commission.

    As for the individual divisions, they all see revenue increases across the board. Microsoft reports that its Business Division revenue grew 14 percent for the fourth quarter and 3 percent for the full year. The Server & Tools division grew 9 percent for the quarter and 9 percent for the full year. The Windows Division saw its revenue grow by 6 percent for the fourth quarter and 5 percent for the full year. The Online Services Division grew 9 percent for the fourth quarter and 12 percent for the full year. Finally, the Entertainment and Devices Division grew 8 percent for the fourth quarter and 6 percent for the full year.

    Microsoft announced its massive restructuring after its fourth quarter ended so we won’t be able to see what came of that until its first quarter results three months from now. Will Ballmer’s plan of condensing the Microsoft business into a single entity focused on Windows pan out? We’ll probably not see much evidence either way with its next quarter results, but we might see something by the end of the year.

  • Google Stock Hits All-Time High, Surpassing $800

    Google shares reached an all-time high today, surpassing $800 for the first time in the company’s history.

    It was only in September, when we reported that Google hit a record high at $748.90, and obviously, they’ve come a long way since even then. According to the Wall Street Journal, shares are up over 13% this year.

    Yahoo Finance says the market has grown “increasingly optimistic that Google’s core business and mobile applications have many good years ahead of them.” Reports over the last few days have also indicated that Google will open up retail stores before the end of the year, which will enable it to get its products into even more consumers’ hands.

    As of the time of this writing, Google shares are at 803.29 (+10.40‎, 1.31%‎). It’s been five years since Google shares first reached the $700 milestone. Last June, they hit a 12-month low of $559.05.

    Shares of rival Apple are down to $457.34 (-2.82‎, -0.61%‎) as of the time of this writing, about a 35% decrease from a high mark in September.

  • Why Is Apple’s Share Price Dropping So Quickly?

    When the iPhone 5 launched, it looked like Apple was on top of the world. The company’s stock hit an all time high with an individual share price of $702. Fast forward to today and the company’s individual share price is now sitting at $485. What happened, and can Apple fix it?

    It’s easy to see why Apple’s stock was so successful in the months leading up the launch of the iPhone 5. The company was reporting record profits every quarter on massive sales of both of its iPhone and iPad product lines. The launch of the iPhone 5 was in itself a momentous occasion, but it all started to go downhill a little after that.

    Only a month after the iPhone 5 launched, Apple announced the iPad Mini. The mini-tablet was Apple’s attempt to directly compete with Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD. First impressions are often ugly, however, and investors tore into it. The company’s share price stumbled to about $613-$615.

    Since then, the iPad Mini has proven to be a smart move on Apple’s part. Early reports indicate that it’s doing incredibly well, and that it’s even more popular than the iPad. Why is Apple’s stock taking a beating then when everything seems to be going well? It’s because the iPad Mini is more popular than the iPad. Apple envisioned a world where consumers would buy both the iPad and the iPad Mini as a “sidearm” of sorts. Consumers are instead opting to only buy the iPad Mini. That cuts into the company’s profits as it makes less money per iPad Mini sold.

    Of course, the iPad Mini only explains one part of the problem. The other problem has only manifested itself recently, and caused a sharp drop in Apple’s stock. A report from Monday said that Apple’s component orders were being cut by half in response to weaker-than-expected demand for the iPhone 5. The news cut through the company’s share price and dropped the price to below $500 for the first time in over a year.

    It should be noted that $500 per share is an extraordinary accomplishment, and something that few companies can ever achieve, That being said, it’s rather worrisome to see a company’s stock drop by over $200 in less than six months. Analysts are still remaining optimistic, however, with Value Walk reporting that analysts at Nomura are maintaining a neutral rating for Apple with a target price of $530 per share. It’s below that price for now, but the idea is that Apple will be able to stabilize itself around that price in the coming months.

    So how can Apple retain its position as the most profitable company in tech? It’s not exactly an easy prospect as the company has made a name for itself with investors by reporting monster profits every quarter, but that might not help the company sell as much hardware anymore. Following the lead of the iPad Mini, there are now reports of a cheaper iPhone for emerging markets. Apple denies the reports, but there’s enough evidence to say with confidence that Apple is looking to shake up the iPhone brand in some way in 2013. If it is indeed a cheaper phone, investors might not be pleased as it will mean even less profits.

    As for everything else, Apple needs to focus on innovation instead of litigation. The company will argue that it’s only protecting the innovations it has introduced to market, but where were the new innovations in the iPhone 5? A slightly bigger screen and Passbook does not an innovative phone make. Android and hardware makers who leverage the OS are running circles around it.

    The iPad isn’t fairing much better as Apple introduced a fourth generation iPad in the same year as the third generation was released. The only difference between the two was a faster processor. The company that Steve Jobs built has become too comfortable in its place as the market leader, and is inviting competitors to usurp it.

    If Apple really wants to get back on top, it will have to start being a consumer technology company again. Engaging in petty corporate warfare with Google at the expense of its users isn’t going to win them any fans or investor support. For now, it should solely focus on its consumers instead of worrying about any outside threats or influences. Apple was at its best when Steve Jobs did whatever he wanted, and the company needs to recapture that defiant spirit.

  • Apple Stock Is A Lot Lower Than It Was Last Month [AAPL]

    It wasn’t all that long ago that we were reporting that Apple stock had hit an all-time high. When the company launched the iPhone 5, shares skyrocketed, sending them over $700.

    Now, shares are a bit closer to Earth at $591.42 (-12.58‎, -2.08%‎) as of the time of this writing. Trading was halted temporarily thanks to Hurricane Sandy, but the markets are open today.

    Last week, Apple released its quarterly earnings, which included disappointing iPad sales. Since then, reports have come out that the company is also losing iPhone loyalty.

    On top of that, Scott Forstall, an Apple executive, who led the development of the devices’ operating system is leaving the company.

    Another report out this week indicates that Android has caught iOS in terms of apps offered. Heading into the holiday season, Apple is not only competing with Google’s Android (which runs on a new line of devices from the company), but also Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices, which also run their own version of Android. Furthermore, Amazon (which is even replacing Google as the starting point in an increasing number of online shopping searches), is heavily promoting its devices showing a feature-by-feature comparison against the iPad mini, right on the site’s homepage (though the ad seems to have gone away for the time being).

    Over the past week, Microsoft has also been showing off its new Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms, which offer consumers even more non-Apple options. When the iPad came out, it really had no competition whatsoever. Things have changed.

    It’s going to be interesting to watch how Apple’s stock performs throughout the holiday season.

  • Stock Markets Closed With Hurricane Sandy (Frankenstorm) Closing In

    As previously reported, major stock trading has halted today thanks to Hurricane Sandy (aka: Frankenstorm). Fears related to the storm have shut down the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ. Both announced that they would be closed today, and may also be closed on Tuesday.

    Google has put out a pair of Hurricane Sandy-related maps, including this New York-specific one:

    The New York Stock Exchange said in a statement, “We support the consensus of the markets and the regulatory community that the dangerous conditions developing as a result of Hurricane Sandy will make it extremely difficult to ensure the safety of our people and communities, and safety must be our first priority. We will work with the industry to determine the next steps in restoring trading as soon as the situation permits.”

    NASDAQ also said over the weekend that its decision to close was made after consulting with other exchanges in the U.S. as well as government officials and regulators, such as the SEC.

    The storm, which has already left at least 65 people in the Caribbean dead, has also led to a number of other closures, including the cancellations of events from both Google and Facebook.

    Meanwhile, the storm has prompted the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to take down their paywalls, so more readers can stay informed.

  • Stocks Halted as Hurricane Sandy Hurtles Toward New York

    Major stock trading is halted today as fears about Hurricane Sandy continue to shut down nearly the entire Northeastern U.S. Both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ have announced their U.S. stock exchanges will be closed today, and possibly Tuesday.

    NASDAQ stated this weekend that the decision to close was made through a consultation with other U.S. exchanges, government officials, and regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also stated that the “continuity of our markets” and the state of emergency declared in New York factored into the decision not to open today. All of its exchanges outside the U.S. will be open for business today.

    The NYSE released a similar statement, emphasizing the safety of its employees:

    We support the consensus of the markets and the regulatory community that the dangerous conditions developing as a result of Hurricane Sandy will make it extremely difficult to ensure the safety of our people and communities, and safety must be our first priority. We will work with the industry to determine the next steps in restoring trading as soon as the situation permits.

    Hurricane Sandy is scheduled to hit the Northeastern coast of the U.S. sometime today or early Tuesday. The storm is a category one hurricane and is expected to carry a large storm surge along with high winds. In addition, a wintery weather pattern coming from the west is expected to meet Sandy, possibly creating what has been dubbed a “frankenstorm” and covering the Northeast in snow.

  • Apple Announces Fourth Quarter 2012 Earnings Results

    Everybody was curious as to how Apple performed in its fourth quarter. The company was rather mum about units sold during the iPad Mini event earlier this week. The earnings released today show that Apple had nothing to hide as they did pretty good.

    Apple announced today that the company pulled in $36 billion in revenue and quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion. This is up from the fourth quarter last year when Apple only pulled in $28.3 billion in revenue and a net profit of $6.6 billion. International sales are also becoming increasingly important as they made up 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

    “We’re very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline.”

    Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, which represents a 58 percent unit growth over last year. The company sold 14 million iPads during the same quarter, which represents a 26 percent unit growth over last year. As for Macs and iPods, the company sold 4.9 million and 5.3 million units respectively. The iPod was the only device to see a decline in sales over the last year.

    “We’re pleased to have generated over $41 billion in net income and over $50 billion in operating cash flow in fiscal 2012,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2013, we expect revenue of about $52 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $11.75.”

    You can check out the breakdown of Apple’s quarterly results here.

  • Apple Shares Down After iPad Mini Announcement

    Apple fans rejoiced as the iPad Mini was announced today. The company also announced new iterations of the MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, iPad and iBooks. The audience in attendance at the event were obviously excited with each and every announcement. The stock market, however, was not as enthused.

    On the heels of the iPad Mini announcement, Apple’s shares have dropped 20 points, or 3.26 percent, to $613 per share. Since then, the share price has been in a constant state of fluctuation.

    Apple Shares Down iPad Mini Announcement

    So what caused the drop? The Wall Street Journal suggests the drop was due to a bad first impression from the iPad Mini. Some analysts were expecting the iPad Mini to be priced lower than its announced price tag of $329.

    Bill Kreher, senior technology analyst at Edward Jones, said that investors “had hoped Apple would step on the throats of Amazon and Google with its pricing.” Instead, he feels that Apple will be relying on its brand power once again to main margins.

    Other analysts have even said the high price may allow competitors to sneak in lower priced alternatives. Google will be holding an announcement next week in which they are expected to announce a 10-inch tablet with Samsung. The tablet, if priced at $300, could be devastating to Apple’s continued success in the holiday season.

    For comparison’s sake, Google’s share price has been up by about three points today for an individual share price of $681.

    Apple’s earnings report will be going out Thursday so we’ll know then how successful Apple has been in the third quarter. We’ll also get our first look at how successful the iPhone 5 has been since its explosive launch.

  • Google Earnings Report Accidentally Released, Shares Tumble

    Google accidentally leaked its Q3 earnings today, ahead of schedule. The company missed analysts’ estimates, and as a result, shares are tumbling. As of the time of this writing they’re at $687.39 (-68.10‎, -9.01%).

    The earnings release is currently displayed at SEC.gov. It shows Google with revenues of $14.1 billion for the quarter, an increase of 45% year-over-year. Motorola revenues were $2.58 billion ($1.78 billion from the mobile segment and $797 million from the home segment). Motorola suffered a $527 million operating loss.

    Ad revenue was up 16% year-over-year, and up 6% from the previous quarter.

    The release did not have a quote from CEO Larry Page in it. It’s still unclear whether he will be on today’s earnings call. He has been speaking publicly this week for the first time since his vocal cord issues, so it seems fairly likely.

    The Wall Street Journal shares a statement from Google on the leak of the report, saying, “Earlier this morning RR Donnelley, the financial printer, informed us that they had filed our draft 8K earnings statement without authorization. We have ceased trading on NASDAQ while we work to finalize the document. Once it’s finalized we will release our earnings, resume trading on NASDAQ and hold our earnings call as normal at 1:30 PM PT.”

  • Google Is Now The World’s Second Largest Tech Company

    Everybody knows by now that Apple is the world’s largest tech company. As far as market value goes, it can’t be beat. Microsoft was at a distant second, but it has finally been usurped by Apple’s greatest nemesis – Google.

    Bloomberg reports that Google’s stock value rose 0.7 percent this morning to a total market value of $249.2 billion. This small increase puts it ahead of Microsoft’s own impressive market value of $248.7 billion. Both companies are still trailing Apple by hundreds of billions of dollars. Barring any disasters, it will be awhile before anybody is able to catch up to Apple’s impressive $632.9 billion market value.

    So, how did Google pass up Microsoft? Analysts speaking to Bloomberg seem to think it’s a sign of the times. The PC is slowly losing ground to the Web. Google bet on the Web early on and is benefiting greatly from it. Microsoft has been playing catch up in that area, and are trying to bolster the PC market with the launch of Windows 8 later this month.

    Google is still investing heavily in Web-based technologies, but it’s all a vehicle for the company’s ad business. Bloomberg cites projections from EMarketer that says Google will be the number one outlet in the U.S. for display advertising. Combine that with Google’s hold on the mobile search market through Android, and you have an unstoppable advertising machine.

    Apple fans and investors shouldn’t be worried too much. Google is rising, but very slowly. Apple is still incredibly profitable, and nothing short of an act of God can change that. Of course, potential investors may want to start looking into Google as the company’s value continues to rise. Google may be able to break $300 billion market value if it continues its upward climb on the back of mobile search.

  • Microsoft Corp. Raises Its Quarterly Dividend

    Microsoft Corp. this week announced its board of directors have declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a 15% increase over the previous quarter’s dividend of $0.20. The dividend is payable December 13 to shareholders of record on November 15.

    In other Microsoft news, the company announced the retirement of one of Raymond Gilmartin from its board of directors. Gilmartin is the former chairman, president, and CEO of Merck & Co. He stated that he will retire and not seek re-election to Microsoft’s board of directors at its next annual shareholder’s meeting.

    “It’s been a real pleasure to work with Microsoft during a transformative period for the company, and see first-hand the vision and dedication that are reshaping Microsoft’s future and the future of the industry,” said Gilmartin.

    Gilmartin joined the Microsoft board in 2001. At 71 years old, he is “reducing his professional commitments to free up more personal time.” His departure leaves the Microsoft board with ten members, including Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Netflix founder Reed Hastings, former JPMorgan Chase CFO Dina Dublon, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

    “Ray has been a strong and insightful member of the board,” said Ballmer. “We appreciate his many contributions over the past eleven years,”

  • Zuckerberg Pledge Helps Facebook Stock

    Zuckerberg Pledge Helps Facebook Stock

    Yesterday, news came out that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged not to sell any Facebook shares for at least a year. In addition to that, Board members Marc Andreessen and Don Graham will not sell any shares, other than what they may sell to cover taxes on RSUs.

    This information came from an 8-K document filed with the SEC.

    Facebook shares were up 5% at one point on Wednesday, following the news. As of the time of this writing, shares are at $18.81, up 1.24%‎.

    “We have adopted an ‘Insider Trading Policy’ that governs the trading of our securities by our directors, officers, employees and consultants,” the company said in the document. “Pursuant to the terms of that policy, all of our executive officers, as well as other members of our senior management team, are required to conduct any purchase or sale transactions in our securities through atrading plan established pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 (‘Rule 10b5-1 Plans’) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Under the company’s current policies, Rule 10b5-1Plans can be entered into only during an open trading window and are subject to a ‘cooling-off’period before any sales or purchases may occur pursuant to such a Plan.”

    “We understand that two of our non-employee directors, Marc Andreessen and Donald Graham, intend to satisfy taxes incurred in connection with the vesting or settlement of their RSU awards by effecting sales of our common stock,” the document continued. “Any such sales will be conducted through Rule 10b5-1 Plans adopted in accordance with our securities trading policies.Other than such tax-related sales, Mr. Andreessen and Mr. Graham have no present intention to sell any shares of our common stock held by them personally.”

    “As of the date of this report, Mark Zuckerberg has not adopted a Rule 10b5-1 Plan and has informed us that he has no intention to conduct any sale transactions in our securities for at least 12 months,” it said. “Mr. Zuckerberg currently holds in aggregate approximately 444 million shares of Class B common stock as well as 60 million shares of Class Bcommon stock issuable upon the exercise of an option.”

    Last month, Facebook shares took a big hit as a “lockup” agreement from the IPO expired, enabling some shareholders who were required to hold on to their stock for a predetermined amount of time, to sell. Facebook shares hit a series of record lows.

    A game was even created, in which you play as Zuckerberg collecting coins, trying to keep stock up.

  • Wall Street: Apple Stock Hits Another Record High, Following Patent Verdict

    On Friday, as you have probably heard, Apple was granted a big legal win over Samsung, though an appeal is expected. Nevertheless, the ruling has major implications for the mobile industry, and for Google’s Android operating system, which comes on a variety of Samsung devices.

    Apple shares were already soaring, before the verdict even came out. With the next version of the iPhone due out next month, investors are ready for some major sales. On Monday, post-verdict, Apple shares soared even higher, reaching as high as $680.87 at one point. At the time of this writing, Apple shares are back down to $673.79 (-1.89‎, -0.28%‎), still higher than Friday’s closing price of $663.22.

    Google shares suffered a minor blow on monday, but at the time of this writing, they’re up ($671.95, +2.73‎, +0.41%‎). Of course, Google’s main source of revenue is cross-platform.

    Despite Apple’s good Monday, Wall Street finished relatively flat, as investors anticipate Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech on Friday, reports Reuters.

    In other tech stock news, Facebook, which has been performing infamously poorly since its IPO, is on the slight uptick as of the time of this writing ($19.20 +0.05‎, +0.26%‎). Groupon is at $4.41 (+0.01‎, +0.11%‎), Microsoft is at $30.67 (-0.02‎, -0.08%‎). LinkedIn stock is at $104.50 (-0.17‎, -0.16%‎). Yelp stock is at $18.35 (-0.76,‎ -3.98%‎). Yahoo stock is at $14.78 (-0.07‎, -0.47%‎). Zynga stock is at $3.06 (+0.00,‎ 0.00%‎). Amazon stock is at $244.40 (+0.48‎, 0.20%‎).

  • Facebook Stock Hits All-Time Low At Just Under $20

    After closing yesterday at $20.88 a share, Facebook stock made history today. For the first time since the company went public back in May, the price of a Facebook share dipped below $20.

    Earlier this afternoon, the price hit $19.82, which is barely half of the $38 at which the stock debuted. Save a few resurgences, the stock price has been in free-fall since Zuckerberg rang the opening bell and the company went public.

    For the last hour, the price has been hovering around the $20 mark, shifting a few cents here and there:

    The Wall Street Journal says that over the month of June, 21 different Fidelity funds sold off over 1.9 million public shares of Facebook stock. “To be sure, the sales represent a very small portion of the funds’ holdings. Also, 13 Fidelity funds bought 2.2 million shares of Facebook in June, though more than 1.3 million of those went to index funds, which passively track established stock indexes,” says the WSJ.

    Still, it’s clear the confidence in Facebook’s ability hit a home run for investors is falling rapidly. By their own admission, Facebook must successfully learn to monetize mobile, something that they are currently working on with a renewed focus on creative ad strategies.

    Just last week, Facebook reported their first earnings post-IPO. Although the company saw $1.18 billion in revenue, it was a loss (even though it beat expectations).

  • Netflix Stock Continues Downward Spiral

    Netflix stock has been taking a beating today, following the company’s earnings release on Tuesday. The following graph (via Google Finance) will give you an idea of today’s performance:

    Netflix Stock

    And this follows Wednesday, when Netflix stock plunged by as much as 25% to close at $60.28. Common thinking on the Street, is that subscriber growth is simply too slow.

    It probably doesn’t help that Consumer Reports just put out a report indicating that while Netflix dominates the streaming market, its customers are far from satisfied. The company scored a 69 out of 100 in the customer satisfaction department.

    It probably also doesn’t help that, even though CEO Reed Hastings hinted in a letter to investors that the company could possibly find ways to work with HBO, HBO told Reuters that it has no plans to work with Netflix.

    Sure, DVD subscribers can access HBO shows as they’re available on the format, but DVD subscriptions are also on the steep decline. DVD revenue was down to $291 million from $320 million the previous quarter.

    It probably also doesn’t help that Redbox has an instant streaming service on the way.

    At the time of this writing, Netflix stock is at $56.74.

  • Facebook IPO Kicks Zynga’s Stocks In The Teeth

    I may have spoken too soon. I speculated that we may see apps and Facebook developers being affected by the Facebook IPO soon, but not this soon.

    Business Insider reports that as trading began on Facebook, Zynga’s shares drove off a cliff. The stocks plummeted by 13 percent. This wasn’t a stunt show where Zynga was going to jump out of the car at the last minute and float back up to the top. They hit rock bottom and the car exploded.

    Facebook IPO Zynga Stocks

    Thankfully, Zynga was able to grab onto something at the last minute. The shares were halted as it reached a low of $7.17 per share after being at $8.10 just moments before. The shares have picked back up to $7.80 a share, but that’s still a five percent reduction from where it was at this morning when trading began.

    Business Insider attributes the drop in Zynga’s stock to the weak opening of the Facebook IPO. Set to trade at $38 per share, Facebook opened this morning at $42 per share. That quickly shot back down to $38 per share, but it’s slowly making its way back up.

    Zynga Shares

    This could be the reason why Zynga has started moving its games over to its own platform. Being so closely tied to Facebook has already proven to be a problem for the company’s performance.

    We’ve reached out to Zynga for comment and we’ll update this story if we hear back. It will be interesting to see what their take on the matter is.

  • Facebook’s “Likers Gonna Like” Poster

    Facebook’s Toronto platform strategy team member Sachin Monga snapped a photo of a new printout adorning the wall of his office, set to remind employees that likers gonna like, as the social network files its IPO. The sentiment can also likely be applied to Facebook’s Timeline, which has more than a few haters. The new poster comes after previous motivational printouts, including sayings like stay focused & keep shipping, and move fast and break things:

    facebook poster

    Facebook commences its IPO at 11 AM EST today, which Mark Cuban says might be the most important in history. Facebook’s valuation is at $104 billion, a fairly ridiculous amount of money, to say the least.

    One can only speculate what the latest motivational poster is specifically geared toward, and investors seem to be likers of Facebook’s shares, as the company was forced to make more stock available, as it quickly sold out. Still, outside of all the intrigue and buzz, there really isn’t anything in place to prevent the $100+ billion company from devolving into the next Myspace.

  • Google Finance Adds TPE, CNSX Realtime Quotes

    Google announced the addition of realtime quotes from Canada and Taiwan to Google Finance today.

    “Here at Google, we get excited by bringing our users relevant information at blazing speeds. So, why would we want to make users wait 15 minutes to see what trades are being made?” writes engineer Mark Schmit on the Google Finance blog. “Instead, we’re continuing to expand our real-time coverage and are very pleased to announce the launch of two more real-time exchanges.”

    Those would be the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TPE) and the Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX). Here’s the full list of exchanges Google Finance now proivdes info for. Many of them are realtime while others have different increments:

    Gogole finance

    Google Finance also provides info for North America, Europe and Asia. Likewise for the following indexes:

    Google finance indexes

    Google says it will be looking to add more info at a later date, which from the “check back soon” wording used in the announcement, could be in the near term.

    I guess this all falls under the blanket of increased direct answers in Google search results the company has been talking about.

  • AAPL Announces Huge Dividend Payouts To Shareholders

    Apple’s announcement today that it would be paying out billions of dollars worth of dividends to shareholders came as something of a surprise to those who remember the company from Steve Jobs’ days.

    The plan includes stock buybacks that wouldn’t have happened when Jobs was in office.

    “No, this would not have happened,” said Bill Simon, co-author of a 2005 biography of Jobs, “iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business.” “Obviously the company could have afforded to do this years ago, but it didn’t.”

    But Apple stands by their decision, due in part to the outrageous demand for their products–particularly the iPad 2–which will only add to their $100 billion piggybank. Several months ago, Apple surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the most valuable company in the world, and their stocks recently hit record amounts.

    “A quarterly dividend will provide current income for shareholders and we also believe it will broaden Apple’s investor base by attracting new investors who don’t currently own Apple stock,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook.

    The news was greeted with enthusiasm–and humor–by Apple users today, who tweeted their reactions:

    @m0t3d
    Christian Valmores    apple paying out dividends for 2.50 a share and buying back their stocks?! i think its time to invest haha 4 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @A_Shanks3
    Shanks    98 billion dollars in dividends?…I need to invest and buy some stocks n apple 7 hours ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @jimelkin
    Jim Elkin     is freaked out Apple is spending $98 billion on dividends and their own stocks…I was kind of hoping for a $5 iTunes gift card. 6 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Netflix Lowers Subscriber Projections, Stock Plummets

    Today, Netflix sent out a letter to its shareholders that discussed Q3 expectations. In that letter, they announced that they are lowering their domestic subscriber estimates.

    By one million users.

    And the bulk of those users that Netflix expects to flee are subscribers to the DVD service. There, they project a lost of 800,000 subscribers. As far as streaming service subscribers, they project a loss of 200,000.

    It’s pretty easy to draw a connection between this new projection and Netflix’s big move back in July to split the streaming and DVD plans into two separate entities, basically raising the prices for anyone who wanted to keep both. That plan went into effect September 1st.

    That decision sparked an internet freak-out, as people took to blogs and social media and swore to the heavens that they would be cancelling Netflix and wishing a plague on the house of Reed Hastings. The backlash was severe, to say the least. An independent analysis group guesstimated that this move could cost Netflix 2 to 2.5 million subscribers.

    And now we see Netflix lowering its domestic projections by about 4%. Is this really nothing to worry about, or has Netflix screwed itself?

    Apparently, investors aren’t too thrilled about the new estimates. At midday today, NFLX stock dove 17%.

    Here’s the letter to shareholders (Thanks Hacking NetFlix)

    On the day that the new prices went into effect, Netflix dropped another bomb: They will be losing all of their Starz content early next year. Negotiations to renew that contract stalled as Netflix refused to give Starz a tiered subscriber format within their service.

  • AAPL: Apple Stock Declines Following Steve Jobs’ Resignation

    As expected, Apple shares dropped following the news of CEO Steve Jobs’ resignation.

    In pre-market trading, shares declined by as much as 4%. At the time of this writing, they’re down -2.54% or -9.55 at 376.18.

    While Apple is expected to do well financially in the short term, riding on the success of recent product innovations, there is concern that the company will greatly miss the tremendous input Jobs has given to such innovations. In other words, the question is how long can Apple maintain its luster without Steve Jobs?

    Apple Stock Declines

    Tim Cook, who took over day-to-day operations at the company when Jobs took a medical leave of absence early this year, has of course been named CEO by Apple’s board. He has been said to know more about the company than anyone other than Steve Jobs himself. He certainly has Jobs’ blessing.

    The full text of Jobs’ letter is below:

    To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

    I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

    I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

    As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

    I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

    I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

    Steve