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Microsoft sees appeals court toss out $358 million lawsuit

It's a boring week if Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) isn't being sued or is in court defending itself. In the ring this time is France's Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), which says Microsoft is infringing on its patents in its ultra-popular Outlook e-mail and messaging software. You know, the one that small businesses to megacorporations use for corporate e-mail and calendaring?

After $358 million in damages was awarded Alcatel-Lucent recently, an appeals court judge stated that the lawsuit wasn't supported by evidence. And, he wants the damages amount recalculated. Microsoft said when the original damages were awarded that the amount was way too high, and on appeals it is now being vindicated. The entire amount was based on the global market value for the Outlook product itself, and that Alcatel-Lucent's claims did not contribute to that whole amount.

Continue reading Microsoft sees appeals court toss out $358 million lawsuit

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Reasonable speculation

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the bizarre rules these days make it worth looking at stocks through a different lens.

How much should we care about low-dollar speculation? How much should we care about the incessant trading in CIT (NYSE: CIT) (Cramer's Take) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) (Cramer's Take), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) (Cramer's Take), or Vonage (NYSE: VG) (Cramer's Take) and Sprint (NYSE: S) (Cramer's Take)? Or even Citigroup (NYSE: C) (Cramer's Take)?

First, I have to tell you that I worry about it less than I used to. Why? Because when we used to have rules and government officials that were willing to speak the truth about stocks, we wouldn't have these single-digit players out there every day. But without it, how in heck can people not believe that Fannie and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) (Cramer's Take) are the biggest and best bets on a turn in housing?

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Reasonable speculation

Earnings highlights: Coach, Corning, Goodyear, Visa, Waste Management ...

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Coach, Corning, Goodyear, Visa, Waste Management ...

Alcatel-Lucent reports a surprise profit

This morning, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported its first-ever quarterly net profit, sparking a flurry of activity in the firm's stock. In the latest quarter, ALU earned $2.8 million, or 0.01 euro per share. The Street expected ALU to lose 0.08 euro per share during the quarter.

This news is all well and good, but adjusted earnings showed a loss of 62 million euros compared to expectations for a loss of 36 million euros. Nevertheless, the stock traded higher in post-market trading and also opened higher this morning.

Continue reading Alcatel-Lucent reports a surprise profit

Ciena lost money, missed expectations in Q2

Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN), a business that sells various networking and software products for fiber-optic and broadband technologies, and whose colleagues include Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), reported late Thursday a difficult second quarter. Revenues declined by 40%. For the bottom line, Ciena said it lost 25 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Last year at this time, Ciena made an adjusted 40 cents per share. And in terms of expectations, the company was only supposed to lose 9 cents per share. Guess there wasn't a chance of that, huh?

Continue reading Ciena lost money, missed expectations in Q2

Cisco beats the analysts -- is this tech stock a recovery play?

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported Q3 stats after the bell on Wednesday. How did the tech company that runs with the likes of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) fare? Very well, thank you.

Well, let me clarify that. Cisco saw a lot of declines in its numbers, but we all know what the most important thing to investors is: beating the Wall Street analysts. In this regard, Cisco's management did just fine. As I observed in my earnings preview piece, the call was for Cisco to do somewhere around 25 cents per share. Well, the company bested that figure by an awesome nickel on an adjusted basis.

Continue reading Cisco beats the analysts -- is this tech stock a recovery play?

Earnings preview: Will Cisco deliver the goods in Q3?

Tech investors will be looking forward to seeing how Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) made out in the third quarter. The networking entity, whose colleagues include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), will be reporting Q3 numbers on Wednesday, May 6, after the market closes. According to analysts, Cisco is not expected to grow the bottom line. The call is for 25 cents per share. If that figure is hit, then it will represent a drop of more than 30% on a year-over-year basis.

Here's the bright side, though. Cisco has beat the analysts at their game in recent times. Quite frankly, I think Cisco should be able to come ahead of estimates this week. I don't necessarily see why the trend will break. It's not like the stock has been telling the market that it will. Shares of Cisco have been doing well.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Cisco deliver the goods in Q3?

Ericsson (ERIC) tapped by Verizon (VZ) for new 4G network

ERIC logoLM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC - option chain) shares are headed higher today after Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) announced that it has picked ERIC and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) as its main suppliers for a new, high-speed wireless data network. The contracts for the new network are potentially worth billions of dollars. If you think that the stock 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 ERIC.

Continue reading Ericsson (ERIC) tapped by Verizon (VZ) for new 4G network

Earnings highlights: Exxon, Motorola, Barclays, Burger King, Comcast, Visa, and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Exxon, Motorola, Barclays, Burger King, Comcast, Visa, and others

Ericsson is rallying, but I'm not joining in

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ADR) (NASDAQ: ERIC), a telecom-related business whose colleagues include Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), reported earnings for the third quarter. And, unless I miss my guess, the market liked what it saw. As I write this, shares are up over 15%, and the trading volume is high. So, what's going on here?

Well, according to this source, revenue and profit for the quarter went beyond the expectations of analysts. The top line soared 13%. Nothing wrong with that. The bottom line, however, went down 28%, even though it exceeded what was expected. And then there was the gross margin improvement. A lot of times that can work wonders for a company's shares. Gross margin went from 35.6% to 37%. Wall Street was impressed.

Now, this is all well and good, but am I a buyer of Ericsson after the report? No. There are a few things to consider here. First, the global economy is a mess. Second, statements made by management in terms of the near future indicate a cautious stance. Third, there's no way I'm buying a stock that just rallied by a double-digit percentage in this market. Especially not a tech stock. There are harder ways to lose money. The 52-week low on the ADR's is about $6 per share, and I can easily see this one revisiting that level as we continue to get news on the economy throughout the quarter. Obviously, many investors out there disagree with me. But this is not the time to play momentum trader, in my opinion. I'm happy to sit on the sidelines in this case, even if I turn out to be wrong.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.

The week in preview: Have consumers turned to comfort food and used cars?

While the earnings crunch for this quarter is all but over, there is still plenty of action in the earnings arena this coming week. For instance, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting America's Car Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) and Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) to be among this week's top earnings gainers.

Bentonville, Ark.-based America's Car Mart is expected to post net income of 38 cents per share (up 52.6% from the same period a year ago) on revenue of $73.8 million (up 25.8%). The used car dealer chain has tended in recent quarters toward positive surprises -- by 21 cents per share, or 73.5%, in the previous quarter. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15%, about the same as the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy CRMT.

Campell is tentatively scheduled to report this week, and the world's biggest soup maker is expected to post net income of 25 cents per share (up 44.0% from a year ago) on revenue of $1.7 billion (up 7.5%). The Camden, N.J.-based company has just missed earnings estimates in the past three quarters. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 7.5%, which is less than the industry average, but about the same as rivals Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and Heinz (NYSE: HNZ). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Campbell.

Other anticipated double-digit earnings gainers scheduled to report this week include brand name apparel maker Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES), mining equipment maker Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG), and chip maker National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM). And Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) is expected to swing to a profit.

Continue reading The week in preview: Have consumers turned to comfort food and used cars?

Alcatel-Lucent's deal from Hell

When Alcatel and Lucent agreed to merge in April 2006, there were the typical phrases in the press release: "new growth opportunities," "cost synergies," "global convergence," "increased scale," "global capabilities" and so on. Oh, and yes, it would "create enhanced value for shareholders."

Yet, there was something that was curious. The CEO of the new entity, Patricia Russo, said she would not learn French, even though Alcatel was based in France. Might this be a sign that there would be some cultural issues?

Alas, the fact remains that the benefits of the deal haven't materialized as Alcatel-Lucent's (NYSE: ALU) stock price has gone from $14.50 to $7.50.

Well, this week, Alcatel-Lucent had its annual meeting. No doubt, it wasn't fun as shareholders provided an earful. After all, the company had to write down $4.55 billion in asset value because of the merger (there were also thousands of layoffs).

Interestingly enough, shareholders passed a resolution that allows Alcatel-Lucent's board to rid its chairman/CEO with a majority vote instead of a two-thirds of a vote.

Unfortunately, I don't see this amounting to much. Keep in mind that -- with consolidation of wireless carriers -- its tough for equipment providers to get any leverage. Plus, the competition is still intense.

By the way, Russo apparently is learning to speak French now. And she even spoke some words at the meeting. However, she will need to learn a more important language: profits.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Earnings highlights: PepsiCo, Toyota, News Corp., ADM, Toll Bros. and others

The earnings crunch continues, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: PepsiCo, Toyota, News Corp., ADM, Toll Bros. and others

The week in 52-week lows

Often taking a look at 52-week low gives a hint as to which sectors are in trouble. But, it also may provide investors a look at shares that could come back under the right circumstances. Bottom fishing sometimes pay dividends.

McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI): The Wall Street Journal did a major story on McClatchy last week. Its shares are down over 70%, but the company CEO insists that when weak parts of the economy in Florida and California make a comeback, newspapers will recover, too. There may be some wisdom to the observation, but probably not for McClatchy. Most of the company's newspapers are in median-sized markets and that makes it harder for the firm to have a major presence in the internet ad business. Companies like The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI) with their large internet operations like USAToday.com have a much better chance of offsetting falling print revenue with online sales.

Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK): This tech company finds itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. At just over $33, its shares are down by almost half this year. The company is one of the world's largest producers of flash memory chips and the prices for the products are crashing. The turnaround at the company may come when prices for these chips become more stable because demand is moving up. Sandisk products are a big part of what goes into cell phones, digital cameras, and multimedia players. A bottom on flash prices should bring shares back.

Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT): Supplying infrastructure to the world's big telecom and cable companies used to look like a sexy business. But, Nortel shares are off to $15.20 from a 52-week high of $31.79. Rival Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is doing no better. The build-out of systems like 3G and WiMax is going slower than planned and mergers of big telecom companies have taken some customers out of the picture. The market may begin to improve, but companies with more advanced tech, like Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), are likely to benefit.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Last updated: November 09, 2009: 01:59 AM

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