Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has introduced another technology that demonstrates why the company often out-flanks rivals. The new product, which is free, allows mobile PC users to print documents on almost any printer. According toThe New York Times, the system is called "Cloudprint".
The feature uses server-based software run on hardware owned and operated by HP. The Times writes that :"The service requires users to first "print" their documents to H.P. servers connected to the Internet. The system then assigns them a document code, and transmits that code to a cellphone, making it possible to retrieve and print the documents from any location." HP hopes the service will drive printer and ink sales.
HP's printing and imaging group is critical to the company's success. According to the HP 10-Q, the division represents 27% of the company's annual revenue and will do almost $30 billion this year. The operation competes with Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), Canon (NYSE: CAJ), and Kodak (NYSE: EK) for market share in the huge global printer market.
The HP initiative is an example of how the company's innovation prowess is keeping it ahead of its competition, but it is also a sign that server-based applications are growing in importance. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is offering several server-based products including its document and spreadsheet products. The move is seen as a challenge to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) which creates software the works primarily on individual PCs.
HPQ shares are up 80% over the last two years. but the company is not waiting for the competition to catch its breath.
Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will look at Verizon's marketing strategy [particularly for FiOS], infrastructure improvements, and operating expenses. Above-average debt remains a blemish, but Wall Street will overlook that if Verizon registers impressive subscription and market share statistics, and demonstrates that its fiber optic-based FiOS Internet/TV network roll-out timetable for major markets remains on schedule.
Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 10am. Monster is expected to register adequate, albeit decelerating revenue growth in Q2 compared to Q1, hence the grade for the company's performance may hinge on analysts' projection regarding the likely revenue scenario moving forward.
Tuesday July 31
Federal District Court Hearing to decided whether to approve the FTC's application for injunction blocking the proposed merger between Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Wild Oats Markets Inc (NASDAQ: OATS).
FDA 8am Gastrointestinal Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Joint Advisory Committee Hearing on Biogen Inc's (NASDAQ: BIIB) Tysabri for Crohn's Disease.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. After recent sluggish stock performance, some analysts see Starbucks snapping back in the quarters ahead: Starbucks is expected to add a breakfast sandwich at 4,000 stores/coffee houses, which could increase per-store revenue by $70K annually.
Thursday August 2
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11am. Note that the volatility in Kodak is elevated going into its earnings report.
Higher interest rate are making commercial real estate deal makers think twice about deals, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street," sending shares of companies like Archstone-Smith Trust (NYSE: ASN) down from $64 to $60.75 a share.
The Financial Times reported that U.S. senators have proposed new laws that would impose higher taxes on private equity firms that list their shares on stock exchanges, a move that could be a blow to private-equity firm Blackstone Group, which is seeking to list its shares.
The U.S. and U.K. are working on a treaty that would allow Britain to buy American weapons without obtaining export licenses, the Financial Times reported; any deal on the issue could face opposition in the U.S. Congress, although the British believe eliminating the need for the licenses would expedite the arms purchasing process.
OTHER PAPERS:
Turnaround candidate Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) may be ready to shine, BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column reported, and now may be a good time to evaluate a potential EK play, according to investment advisor Gregory MacArthur.
Gateway Inc (NYSE: GTW) is selling products in China for the first time in a pilot program with Digital China Holdings Ltd, the LA Times reported.
According to The Nation, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is planning to ask its board of directors later this year for approval to invest in five petrochemical projects in Thailand.
Cementos Portland Valderribas, a unit of Fomento de Construcciones y Contractas is planning a bid for Texas Industries Inc (NYSE: TXI), the Expansion reports, citing people close to the situation.
Investment ideas were aplenty, following up on our Ira W. Sohn Investment Research Conference blog earlier. Some ideas worth noting are:
Bill Miller, despite being wrong on this investment since 1999, believes Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) will turnaround and is worth $45 per. As we have blogged in the past, the new CEO is very close to getting this business model to work, meaning this company could turn into a free cash flow machine.
Steve Mandel, formerly of Tiger Management and now running a fund at Lone Pine Capital, likes EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), which was up big last week. In addition, he likes other large cap stocks such as General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). He also has has postive comments on Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG).
Wilbur Ross is still pushing his commodities turnaround plays, in particular International Coal Group Inc (NYSE: ICO). Ross's thinking is as follows: Coal pricing should reach healthy levels as excess inventory is burned off. Coal will account for 57% of U.S. electricity generation, up from 50% today, in the next twenty five years. Appalachian coal, in which ICO is rich, has considerable pricing power since East Coast supply is limited and demand is strong.
The ideas were aplenty with some negative views on MBIA Incorporated (NYSE: MBI), betting against subprime mortgage exposure, and The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), the northwestern Florida real estate company, which is running into some difficulty as the housing market slowdown continues.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) opened at $24.99. So far today the stock has hit a low of $24.61 and a high of $25.05. As of 11:00, EK is trading at $24.98, down $0.09 (-0.4%).
After hitting a one year high of 27.57 in November, the stock has crept downward, with several brief rebounds over the past six months. Kodak sent out a press release touting new affordable ink cartridges yesterday, and today we could be seeing a snap back in the stock price after yesterday's gains. Recent technical indicators for EK have been bullish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell rating.
For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bear-call credit spread above the $30 range. EK has not been above $30 since early 2005 and has shown resistance around $26. This trade could be risky if EK manages to transition to the digital age and regain lost market share, but even if this happens, the stock would have to rise by 20.5% before we would be in trouble.
Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the ..
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Crocs, Inc (CROX), Plantronics, Inc (PLT), MasterCard Inc (MA) and American Express Co (AXP) top Wednesday's noteworthy list:
JP Morgan started Crocs Inc (NASDAQ: CROX) with an Overweight rating based on the company's strong growth model.
JMP Securities upgraded Plantronics Inc (NYSE: PLT) with a Market Perform citing price competition and visibility in the speaker market.
MasterCard Inc (NYSE: MA) was started with an Underweight rating at Thomas Weisel citing concerns regarding increased pressure from bank issuing partners regarding fees and reduced cross border pricing benefits. Additionally,
Thomas Weisel started American Express Co (NYSE: AXP) with an Overweight rating, expecting increased card issuance migration and merchant migration due to increased pressure on bank fees and increasing consumer demand for rewards...
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Stifel started Microsemi Corp (NASDAQ: MSCC) with a Buy rating and $28 target.
News Corp (NYSE: NWS) Interactive is close to finishing a deal to buy online photo-sharing site Photobucket for about $300 million. Photobucket is one of the largest properties on the internet with over 14.7 million unique visitors a month, according to NetRatings.
After the purchase of social network MySpace, News Corp went from an also-ran online to one of the largest internet networks. The company also has sites for its news organization and studio. Photobucket makes that footprint much bigger.
Photobucket supplies many of the photos loaded onto MySpace. As a matter of fact, it would appear that the two sites have a large number of unique visitors in common, which could have pushed the value of Photobucket's audience down a bit during the bidding. Duplicate audience is not usually worth as much as visitors who are completely unique. But, Photobucket is also a large video sharing site, so News Corp picks up a competitor to YouTube.
The large questions raised by the purchase is where companies like Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) were? Yahoo! has an online photo business, but with the company's problems it would seem that adding to that strategic part of its business would have made sense. Meanwhile, Kodak is struggling to move to a digital photo market. It has an online photo-sharing site, but picking up one of the largest sites in the industry might have helped the company with its turnaround.
It seems that Mr. Murdoch and the management at Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) are the only buyers with any stones.
Earnings continue going strong, and a host of important shareholder meetings also take place this week.
Monday May 7
SEC to hold Open Commission Meeting at 9am
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Analysts will concentrate on McKesson's pharmaceutical solutions revenue, new distribution clients/new business, new IT solutions introduced, labor/benefits costs, operating expenses, sector position by business line, and margins.
Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Investors will look for comments on how the company is integrating its game line-up onto the three new game systems -- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) will hold a two-day capital markets meeting in Stockholm.
Thursday May 10
Viacom Inc (NYSE: VIA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. In addition to motion picture results, analysts will focus on VIA's broadcast advertising revenue, and the company's efforts to broaden its relatively-tight-demogaphic cable television audience.
Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) to hold a shareholder meeting at 5pm in Mountain View.
Friday May 11
American International Group (NYSE: AIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will concentrate of AIG's overall premium growth for its property/casualty unit, along with improved cost controls company-wide -- a pivotal factor for a superior performance, moving forward.
While you've been busy scouring over this week's earnings reports, back here at rumor central there's been a number of "head ups," but not all that much to write home about, or to send you phoning your broker. But take note of these just for the heck of it.
It's not news that the world's largest rental company has been for sale for a couple of weeks, but once again, as it is for so many speculative situations as this, there's an ongoing undercurrent of chatter. The CEO is retiring in June, and the COO will then hold down the fort. UBS (NYSE: UBS) and Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) are offering advice. The company's in pretty good shape, and should attract some interesting offers. The stock keeps ticking slowly upward. But the rental market has slowed some. Stay tuned. EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY (NYSE: EK)
The stock's been moving on up. Take over? Cash infusion? Fabulous new product release? Not one of us outsiders knows for sure what's up. So, what is up? Well, they sold the health imaging business and should get paid its $2.35B soon. Is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) a potential merger partner? Maybe, maybe not. Last month it was reported that Kodak had eyes for OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI). Maybe after quarterly results are released May 4 there'll be a clearer Kodak moment. Just don't count on them to try and rejoin the Better Business Bureau anytime soon. Now there's a rumor. CUMMINS INC (NYSE: CMI)
Shares hit a record high the other day, at least one brokerage firm upgraded the stock, and reports were that the engine maker was...you guessed it...the target of takeover "expectations." Is that like, expecting? Like expecting to be courted and bought? Fiat (NYSE: FIA) could be expecting cause they are among the "rumored" to want to expand their truck division in good old North America. Cummins, one of the few remaining independents worldwide, meanwhile has been humming along, with three straight years of record earnings. What a machine, eh? Hmmm.
With home printers being such a big segment of the computer peripheral sales industry, it has made me wonder recently just who is printing out all these pictures? There are some customers that are using those high-end digital cameras to turn captured pictures into 4x6 prints for that scrapbook or album. But, from my experience with almost everyone I see and come into contact these days, most are taking more pictures than ever -- but are sharing all those images via email and online picture hosting sites.
So, who is printing all these pictures in record amounts? Somebody is, as HP, Kodak and Lexmark are selling millions of inkjet consumer printers. In fact, Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) has announced that two of its "EasyShare All-in-One" printers are now available at consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY).
These Kodak printers seem to be designed to replace the process of taking pictures with a digital camera and then taking the camera or memory card to a printing kiosk to have hard copies made. In other words, Kodak's lateness to the party regarding the consumer transition from film cameras to digital cameras is being attacked by its ferocity in the digital camera and consumer printer markets. This is a good thing -- and I hope it's enough to bring Kodak back from the brink.
Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) will be hosting its annual meeting with the investment community on Thursday in New York. It would be a good idea to listen to or attend this meeting. It appears the turnaround is very much underway.
Net cash generation of $592 million versus an estimate of $400 million to $600 million, hitting the higher end of the estimate
Digital earnings grew five-fold, albeit only hitting the lower end of guidance
Intellectual property development doing well, as it makes progress with its CMOS business and generates profits from its other IP businesses
The negative side of Eastman Kodak's earnings release was slower digital growth than expected as management decided to focus on profitability versus chasing the lower end of the digital camera market.
Kodak ended the year with $1.5 billion of cash on the balance sheet. And will receive $2.35 billion in cash from the health care business disposition.
Antonio Perez, although focused on his task, has demonstrated some nervousness with the investment community as his turnaround strategy hit bumps in the road. However, it appears the biggest bumps have been hit and smoother roads are ahead. Investors need to revisit Eastman Kodak. It is no longer an asset intensive, slow moving company.
24/7 Wall St. generated a list of 10 public company CEOs in December where investors in the underlying companies would be better served by a new CEO. Three of these have already been axed, and that is in roughly 6 weeks. Some calls aren't actually calling for the CEOs to be fired, but a title change or strategy shift was in order. There were few outright "He's Gotta Go!" and there still are. The FIRED CEO's are first, and the others are alphabetical by company. The names are highlighted so you can see the full comments and suggestions from the original article on each, and the original comments left on Bloggingstocks are here for the 7 of the 10 that are still pending:
Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) Kevin Rollins. STATUS: FIRED! His name will be forgotten by Wall Street most likely and will be referred to as 'That guy that took Dell down.'
Gap Inc.'s (NYSE:GPS) Paul Pressler. STATUS: KIA! He's done and he'll have to go in for that old Japanese executive retraining boot camp before anyone speaks to him again.
The Home Depot's(NYSE:HD) Bob Nardelli. STATUS: FIRED! But beware, he took a huge exit-payout and only has a 1-year non-compete. He'll probably end up in private equity and his name won't quietly disappear.
Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Jeff Bezos. He doesn't need to go away entirely! He just needs to do a partial title change. But will anyone inside the company tell the emperor he is wearing no space suit? STATUS: Earnings are today, but either way the company could use an add-on here. I like Bezos and this will give him the latitude needed.
Citigroup's (NYSE:C) Chuck Prince. The prince calls for Draconian measures, and maybe the prince didn't mean just THIS Prince. STATUS: Everyone has told this prince he isn't wearing clothes and he keeps ruling and ignores this. Sally Krawchek wasn't the problem. The stock is up in hopes that he'll leave and that new management can run the beast better.
Eastman Kodak's (NYSE:EK) Antonio Perez. Maybe he's nice, but for heaven's sake get the restructuring over with and get some mojo. Bring in a digital media leader. STATUS: The earnings have turned, but the long painful restructuring continues and the last medical imaging sale funds might not be used aggressively enough. EK would still be better under a different digital leader.
Qualcomm Inc.'s (NASDAQ:QCOM) Paul Jacobs. He isn't being sent home yet, but his dad's shoes are proving very hard to fill. STATUS: The note here is still in the pending file and he may survive if he can keep the stock from falling and if he can keep the company's patents and contracts alive.
Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) & XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR). It is a dead heat in the race, and if two companies need to merge, it's these two. There can be only one. STATUS: Still pending, still a tie! They should just merge and get it over with. A merger wouldn't be great for consumers and competition, but would be best for investors.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s(NYSE:WMT) Lee Scott. The company is struggling under its own weight, and it needs some good PR. Getting rid of the Darth Vader of Corporate America and bringing in someone fun and likeable would be the best start. STATUS: He's still gotta go. If he is still there at the end of this year it is because he intimidated every internal external challenger. Darth Vader wasn't a hero until the last 10 minutes of the original series after almost 6 hours of being the bad guy. Lee Scott could become a good guy if he would just leave.
Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Terry Semel. Yes, when you see him leave or forced out, Yahoo! holders should be happy. STATUS: Panama may save him, but Wall Street would rather see Semel leave. Sue Decker is better suited for the role.
A lot of these may be controversial, and there are plenty of other companies that might benefit from a new CEO. None of these attacks are personal and these are merely based on observation and analysis. The list could probably be 100 CEO's long.
Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St. LLC; He does not hold securities in the companies he covers. He also not been compensated to represent any of these companies in any light.
Everytime, Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK) has supposedly turned the corner, another one appears as if the company is on a NASCAR track. Is this time different?
The company reported its first quarterly profit in two years -- how sad is that -- as digital products outpaced traditional film for the first time. Still, the earnings weren't great.
Profit was $17 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss from continuing operations of $137 million, or 48 cents. Revenue fell 9 percent to $3.82 billion. Analysts were expecting a profit of 56 cents on sales of $3.94 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
Wall Street seems to be overlooking the miss since gross profit margins rose and debt declined. Shares were up in pre-market trading.
Kodak's had a hard time over the past ten years. With the advent of the digital camera, Kodak's tried and true business model of cheap cameras and expensive film didn't translate too well. With lackluster digital offerings, especially when compared to its European and Japanese competitors, some worried Eastman-Kodak's (NYSE: EK) financial future wasn't exactly a "Kodak Moment." Now, it looks like Eastman-Kodak is kicking off a new digital push. Their new "fully featured" cams feature facial recognition, intelligent color metering, and integrated GPS.
Taking a page from "viral marketing 101," the company produced a pretty funny internal video, then posted it on YouTube.
It's definitely a refreshing video. Nice to see someone else hated the Advantix system... plus a resurgence of the "Kodak Moment" wouldn't be so bad. Although, I'm not sure the schmaltz really goes to 11 just yet; we'll have to see at next week's Consumer Electronics show.
PhotoBucket, the huge online photo sharing site, is not for sale. But of course its CEO decided to have a press interview to make that clear.
In September, PhotoBucket was the 41st most visited site in the US. It had 14.7 million unique visitors, putting it ahead of sites like Overstock and Craigslist. The company is independent and backed by venture capitalists who are probably hungry for the kind of quick return that MySpace and YouTube VCs got.
By talking to the press and signaling that PhotoBucket could be had for the right price, the company is probably starting a bidding war. With photo-sharing and online photo development as two key community and commercial functions on the web, there are several potential suitors.
One would have to be Kodak, which needs one "Hail Mary" pass to get itself back into the game. Its digital businesses have not been able to replace the drop in its photo paper unit, and the company is viewed by many on Wall St. as a failure. The company's EasyShare online store is already a presence in the photo-sharing world, but does not have anywhere near PhotoBucket's reach. With a market cap of $6.5 billion, Kodak would have to offer a lot of the company to be a bidder.
Yahoo!, which is already in the online photo business with Flickr, would use the reach that PhotoBucket offers. It also might signal that Yahoo! management will not simply keep its head in the sand while Google, News Corp, and other companies work the M&A circuit to try to get ahead.
The other logical buyer is AOL. Richard Parsons, the chief of AOL parent Time Warner, has said that he will not overpay for online properties, but the audience at AOL websites is still largely flat and lagging behind the growth of rivals. PhotoBucket might help transform that.
Head over to Las Vegas. The odds are 8-to-1 in favor of PhotoBucket being bought this year.
What Happened When Alex Kenjeev Paid His Student Loan in Cash
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With home printers being such a big segment of the computer peripheral sales industry, it has made me wonder recently just who is printing out all these pictures? There are some customers that are using those high-end digital cameras to turn captured pictures into 4x6 prints for that scrapbook or album. But, from my experience with almost everyone I see and come into contact these days, most are taking more pictures than ever -- but are sharing all those images via email and online picture hosting sites.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
