Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Sony BMG (a merger between Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and Germany's Bertelsmann) posted a $8 million loss in sales during the company's fiscal second quarter, which ended on September 30, in a report by Billboard today. Sales in the second quarter totaled $851 million, which was down from $948 million during the same period of 2006. Nonetheless, Billboard notes that the $8 million loss is lower than that year's $39 million drop.
Sony BMG attributes the drop "to the declining of the physical music market and to fewer major artist release in this year as compared to last year." The $8 million drop is also compared with the 2005 second quarter results, which were $60 million lost and revenues of $936 million. Clearly some gain has been made in lowering the drop, but in comparison to the large revenue gap between 2006 and 2007, the loss seems pale.
In the record industry, Sony BMG has traditionally ranked second to Universal Music Group, amounting to about 25-30% of the market. The company has also reportedly signed on with Universal to create the new Total Music, which hopes to compete with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes Store, but as a subscription-based service. Unfortunately, Universal Music's second quarter earnings have not been announced, so any correlation between the two largest music companies and the decision to create Total Music cannot fully be assessed.
Net income was $4.29 billion, or 45 cents a share, compared with $3.48 billion, or 35 cents, a year earlier, Sales surged 27 percent to $13.8 billion. Analysts had expected profit of 39 cents and sales of $12.57 billion, according to Thomson Financial. Shares soared over 9% in after-market trading.
Of course, the world's largest software maker, which until now was in Wall Street's dog house, couldn't have been more pleased. "This fiscal year is off to an outstanding start with the fastest revenue growth of any first quarter since 1999," said CFO Chris Liddell, in the earnings release. "Operating income growth of over 30% also reflects our ability to translate revenue into profits while making strategic investments for the future."
So does this mean that Wall Street is now going to get off Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's back about the billions the company is spending to catch up to Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)? Not very likely. One quarter does not make a trend even with its recent deal with Facebook.
But there is plenty for investors to like in the quarter. Vista sales seemed strong and the company hasn't been aggressively cutting xBox prices which has helped profitability, RCM Capital Management's Walter Price told Bloomberg News.
There is one perplexing side to the strong tech results this earnings side. If consumers are so worried about the future, how come they are willing to buy things like the xBox, Vista and Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: APPL) iPhone. Aren't they worried about housing, energy costs and life in general? Maybe they are so focused on their tech toys that they don't care about the rest of the world. Who knows.
When I meet fans of Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) products, it quickly becomes obvious that these people are in love with the brand. I highly admire Apple myself, although I own none of the company's products. The marketing, design and advertising finesse the company displays has literally no equal in the world right now when it comes to consumer electronics.
But after reading this article about the iPhone's security problems, one begins to think about all the possible time-bombs that are in the clutches of Apple's fans right now. The iPhone product, which sold over one million units in the first three months of launch as reported in Apple's quarterly results this week, is a phenomenon that's still going strong. It has technical shortcomings, but those are easy to ignore given its user interface and 'wow' factor. Evidently, though, there is a major thorn in the side of the product, and it's one that could prove disastrous if the iPhone becomes as ubiquitous as the Windows PC became over a decade ago.
The flaw, as noted by several computer security experts, rests in the way the iPhone's operating system was designed. A popular product -- like Microsoft's Windows, for example -- always becomes a target of digital thieves and hackers, and so far, the iPhone is headed up that scale very rapidly. Security experts liken the problems inherent with Apple's iPhone to the same problems Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) faced when it released Windows 95 over 10 years ago.
Walter S. Mossberg, who writes the Wall Street Journal's "Personal Technology" column, reviewed Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) new Leopard operating system, and said it was "better and faster than [Windows] Vista".
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is halting two small studies of the most promising drug in its pipeline, prasugrel, which it hopes will bring over $1B a year in sales for the drug maker, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has beaten Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in a closely watched contest, winning a minority stake in Facebook for $240M, and the right to sell advertising on the Facebook site outside the U.S..
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is considering acquiring a stake in a Chinese brokerage as part of its expansion strategy in the country, said Gaby Abdelnour, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Asia Pacific, reported the Financial Times (subscription required).
The Financial Times reported that Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) raised its earnings outlook and announced that its 1H07 profits had tripled, thanks to the success of its Wii video game console and the DS, its handheld games player.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) shares are up over 3.2% in premarket trading after the company reported its profit plunged 94% in the third quarter, as sales fell substantially in its cell phone business and it narrowly averted a third straight quarterly loss. The company missed expectations but gave a better-than-expected outlook and guidance for the fourth quarter.
Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) said its profits fell sharply in the third quarter due to changes in German tax laws, higher domestic tax rates and charges for research and development. Excluding items, Dow reported profit of 84 cents per share for the quarter on a 10% sales climb to $13.59 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected earnings of 90 cents per share on revenue of $12.65 billion.
EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) shares are gaining over 7% in premarket trading after the company reported a 74% rise in third-quarter profit as the data storage vendor recorded a hefty gain from its recent sale of an ownership stake in fast-growing virtualization software maker VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) -- VMW shares are up over 6.5% in premarket trading. EMC earned $492.9 million, or 23 cents per share on a 17% revenue growth to $3.29 billion. Excluding one-time gains, EMC's profit was $377.8 million, or 17 cents per share, matching analysts' forecast.
Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported a 2% rise in profit excluding one-time items, although it lost basic video subscribers to rival video services through satellite and telephone operators. Net profit was $560 million, or 18 cents a share on a 21% revenue growth to $7.781 billion. Analysts had on average been expecting profit of $559.3 million, or 18 cents a share and revenue of $7.751 billion, according to a Reuters Estimates' poll. Comcast shares are down about 1.25% in premarket trading.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) said its third-quarter profit more than doubled on a surge in sales of its blood thinner Plavix, and raised its outlook for adjusted 2007 earnings. Revenue grew 22%. The company earned 38 cents per share excluding one-time items, beating estimates by a penny.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are up 1.6% in premarket trading. Piper Jaffray upped the target price on Apple shares from $222 to $250. Also, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have written good reviews of the upcoming Leopard system.
Are people on Wall Street and Main Street living in the same economy? Sometimes it's tough to tell.
A whopping 65% of Americans now believe that a recession is coming in the next year and 51% believe the economy is doing poorly, according to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times survey. Wall Street executives predicted a 37% chance of a recession, according to a Financial Services Forum survey released last week by the Financial Services Forum.
The differences aren't shocking. When average folks look at the chart of the Dow Jones industrial average, they probably think it looks like an EKG of someone who is having a heart attack. The market moves up and down in triple-digit increments with an alarming regularity. The housing market is horrible. Many people aren't sure if their job will be the next to be shifted overseas to a low-cost country.
Veteran investor Jim Rogers recently told London's Telegraph that the U.S. economy is "undoubtedly in recession. Many parts of industry are actually in a state worse than recession. If it were not for (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke putting huge amounts of money into the market, the stock market would probably be down much more."
Of course, Rogers is correct. The lowered interest rates gave the stock market a needed confidence booster, which may explain the optimism of the Financial Services Forum survey. Retail sales in September rose at a higher-than-expected rate. Consumers, at least some of them anyway, continue to spend. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) reported outstanding results, showing that people are confident enough to shell out big bucks for iPhones and iPods.
So, the question for the Federal Reserve and Chairman Ben Bernanke at next week's meeting is whether the glass is half-full or half-empty.
The entire catalog of 1970s rock band Led Zeppelin became available for pre-order on Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store yesterday, reports Billboard. Fans who want it all will be able to use the $99 "one-click download" for the band's entire 165-song catalog, but that does not become available until November 13, the day when the catalog can be downloaded.
According to Apple and iTunes executives, securing the Zeppelin catalog has been in the works for four years, and is a really "exciting" time, since the band has been one of the most requested. Billboard also comments the addition leaves only The Beatles and Radiohead as the only two major acts not available from the digital store. The "one-click download" or "digital boxed set" is another feature that iTunes is wielding especially for Led Zeppelin, as executive Eddy Cue told Billboard: "We've held this out for the special artists that have a significant fan base. It's probably the best boxed set we've ever done, in any kind of price range."
With the massive, and low-priced iTunes digital boxed set becoming available the same day as the new greatest hits album Mothership, one has to wonder whether it will make any impact on the physical sales of that compilation. Clearly the 2-disc set will be much cheaper than the boxed set, but an offer such as that makes it easy to acquire the band's entire catalog versus a simple 24-track glimpse. It will be interesting to see if this digital boxed set can impact physical sales more than previous entire catalog sets from iTunes as the number of tracks and price are significantly lower than previous "collections" (For comparison, consider the 2006 $199.99 773-track Bob Dylan Collection -- but the track-per-price ratio there is even better.)
Will only hardcore Zep fans want the "boxed" set over the physical CD set? Time will tell. But as a special bonus, fans who pre-order the tunes get entered into a drawing to attend the band's one-off concert in London this November 26. Now that's a whole lotta love.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported its third-quarter results yesterday and they were excellent. The stock is down $15 today so far to $85 as Amazon did not hit the "whisper number" that was circulating about the Street. Analysts were at $0.18 EPS, Amazon reported $0.19, but the "whisper" was at $0.21-$0.22. So, what do we do now? Simple, kill the name!! Then go back and buy Amazon and make it a core holding.
Amazon is a unique and interesting story, not to mention a category killer. No one can touch Amazon, and the proof has been shown with the shares tripling from $32 to $101 over the past 52 weeks. The so-called value guys who do not understand growth investing will pooh-pooh Amazon and give you the old "I told you so," as the shares are down $15 today from the $101 high. Value guys, take your victory lap, then get out of the way so you don't get run over. Oh, by the way, these are the guys that have been negative on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) since it was at $50 (now at $185) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) at $150 (now at $665).
Amazon, Apple and Google should be core portfolio holdings for any individual investor -- heck, it's a core holding in most growth mutual funds. So what do they know that the naysayers and purveyors of doom and gloom don't know? It's called dominance -- category killer. Try and replicate any one of these three companies ... Impossible, OK, almost impossible!!
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that as counterintuitive as it seems, there are many stocks that will rise despite this huge bad news.
We're back in 1990 again. That was when commercial construction threatened to wipe out the U.S. banking system and the S&P 500 went down 13% in a heartbeat between the spring and the fall.
I trotted out this analogy in the summer to explain what a disaster could look like if the Fed, which at that time knew nothing, didn't do anything or, heaven forbid, did what the clueless Bill Poole wanted them to do, and tighten.
The market's been fighting with 1990 ever since. When I read about the losses and the need for the banks and the insurers to shore up capital -- $7.9 billion for Merrill, Dougie? Say it ain't so! -- I think to myself, "Oh my, it is 1990 when funding became a problem for every major bank." (Tremendous credit to my friend Doug Kass for flagging this.)
Yes, I remain deaf, dumb, and blind. I am not impressed with the Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) earnings report. I am sure the amazonian shareholders will confirm my ignorance. What is all the excitement about? So what if it almost quadrupled it's earnings. That is not hard to do when you barely have any. Nineteen cents a share -- oh my gosh!
So now if they can keep it up and earn perhaps $1.00 in the next 12 months Amazon only has a forward P/E of 100. Are you kidding me,100? Are we to believe that a dollar invested in Amazon is worth 3 times what Google is worth? I don't think this makes any sense at all. There must be a few folks out there that are equally unimpressed. After Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported earnings both stocks shot up. Amazon on the other hand is off over 10% in after market trading.
Maybe I'll feel different in the morning after further thought or the enlightened commentary of one of our readers. In the mean time I'm left thinking, is this all there is?
According to the New York Times, Radiohead is set to leave the major record labels out of the loop again with a deal to release their new album In Rainbows on CD with a indie label (the band already self-released the album digitally). The band is apparently set to sign a deal with the British label XL Recordings to distribute the album in international markets and with ATO Records in the United States. The band has had some positive dealings with indies before, especially XL, when front man Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser was released last year.
The newspaper reports "under the proposed deal, Radiohead would license the album for a specified period of time but retain ownership of the recording." That proposal is not surprising, but one has to wonder whether the deal will also add the album to other digital stores, namely Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes Store, or the new Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) MP3 store. With the success and continued availability of Radiohead's own store for the album, that seems unlikely, but the indie labels do seem to have more healthy relationships with the digital stores than their major counterparts.
Although the details and confirmation of the reported deal are unavailable to the New York Times, the prospect that Radiohead will leave the majors behind is quite in keeping with the band's moves thus far. Even before the album's release was announced, it had been speculated that Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG), whose sister publishing firm manages the band's composition rights, would be interested. Another rumor sparked was that Starbucks' (NASDAQ: SBUX) Hear Music would take an interest, after the company's coup with Paul McCartney.
In any case, Radiohead's move away from major labels is no surprise, but could such a "free" deal have been made with a major or are the independent label's distribution networks that formidable. Hopefully when the details are officially announced the answers will be provided.
Sequoia Capital is a pioneer of the venture capital space, having invested in such game-changing companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). No doubt, they've helped create many millionaires -- and some billionaires.
Well, the same thing is now happening in China, although the wealth management business in the country is still in the early stages.
As a result, Sequoia wants to be a player and has invested several million for a 20% stake in Noah Private Wealth Management Centre, which is headquartered in Shanghai. With the cash infusion, the firm can expand into other cities as well as add new consultants and perhaps some tech systems.
It's a very savvy move. And, yet again, it should result in a big payday for Sequoia.
Visit DealProfiles.com if you want to check out other recent venture capital fundings.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares are surging today ahead of this evening's Q3 earnings report. We have recently seen some positive earnings reports from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and AT&T (NYSE: T) that are getting investors excited for Amazon's numbers. Wall Street analysts expect earnings of 18 cents per share tonight from AMZN. The company earned 19 cents per share in the previous quarter, and five cents per share in the year-ago quarter. AMZN has beaten EPS estimates each of the last four quarters. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on AMZN.
Shares have been rising steadily over the past six months, hitting a 52-week high of $96.73 earlier this month. AMZN opened this morning at $95.28. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $94.21 and a high of $95.44. As of 11:45, AMZN is trading at $94.83, up $3.54 (3.88%). The chart for AMZN looks bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $60 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 5.3% return in just 3 months as long as AMZN is above $60 at January expiration. Amazon would have to fall by more than 36% before we would start to lose money.
AMZN hasn't been below $60 since April, and has shown support around $90 recently. This trade could be risky if this evening's earnings disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by recent support between $65 and $75, plus the stock's 200-day moving average, which is currently at $62 and rising. Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. DISCLOSURE: At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in AMZN.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is recently up $11.64 to $186. American Technology Research says, "Strong quarter driven by Macs; Raising estimates and price target." AAPL November option implied volatility of 38 is below a level of 51 from yesterday and its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price risk.
Humana (NYSE: HUM), a health benefits company, is recently up $1.47 to $76.16 on unconfirmed Aetna (NYSE: AET) buyout chatter. HUM is expected to report EPS on 10/29. HUM call option volume of 3,249 contracts compares to put volume of 126 contracts. HUM October option implied volatility of 37 is above its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting traders are positioning themselves for a high share price.
Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.
Though American Express (NYSE: AXP) reported excellent results yesterday, as did Apple, the outlook for the upcoming holiday season remains uncertain. Plus, the housing market remains horrid, which is prompting consumers keep their discretionary spending under control.
For example, Coach (NYSE: COH) Chief Executive Lew Frankfort said the luxury handbag maker is "concerned with recent traffic trends in our North American retail stores reflecting the retail environment and the unusually difficult comparisons with last year." The company's shares plunged on the downbeat commentary and guidance the company gave that was below Wall Street estimates.
Meanwhile, United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) said that fourth-quarter growth would be its slowest in four years because of lackluster U.S. retail sales. Chief Executive Mike Eskew, though, lauded the delivery company's "solid performance in the face of a slower U.S. economy," which beat Wall Street expectations. Shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) are trading higher ahead of the earnings report due at the close of trading today, indicating investors are expecting a good holiday season for the internet retailer.
Investing in Ontario: Research in Motion (RIMM), Nortel Networks (NT), and IMAX (IMAX)
The Fed's job isn't getting any easier
EMC quarterly profit up 77%
When I meet fans of 
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that as counterintuitive as it seems, there are many stocks that will rise despite this huge bad news.
and 
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Last week, it was tough to single out the villain responsible for the stock market's sell-off. Now, it's tough to credit a hero for its rebound.
