Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) reported weak smartphone sales, weak average selling prices and weak gross margins last night. A triple whammy for the struggling device maker. Investors will need to see if new board members from Elevation Partners will have any impact on Palm.

Palm reported Q1 smartphone sell-through up 21% to 689K units; however, sell-through declined 8% versus the previous quarter, with average sales prices (ASPs) declining 7%.

Current guidance is for $370 to $380 million in revenue as the company cuts prices to remain competitive. Revenue estimate was for $414 million. As per the Palm-Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) announcement last week, if Palm wants to hit the mass market, its ASPs are going to have to come down for quite a while. Gross margins came in at 36.3% versus estimates of 37%.

Also, Palm's next generation software will not be ready until the end of 2008.

All told, there is not much for investors to do here except wait. Any catalyst to drive this stock higher will have to come from the actions driven by Elevation Partners. The one positive for Palm is that it can produce some pretty high-quality products for relatively low cost, meaning it has some staying power. But this is one company that is in search of a product and a serious marketing strategy.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU), the optical components maker, reported 16% revenue growth last night and positive EPS for the fourth quarter in a row. Revenue came in at $351 million and EPS of $0.07 versus estimates of $338 million and $0.04, respectively.

The company provided guidance of $345 to $360 million in revenue for the current quarter, which is acceptable and could be a bit conservative.

Acquisitions in the test and measurement business are paying off as this was the business that drove a good portion of growth. However, its optical communications business, JDS's claim to fame, came in weak with operating margins of -8.2% vs -1.0% for the quarter. The weak operating performance was driven by poor factory utilization as it transitions to a new lean manufacturing model along changes with several of its largest customers which led to order slowness, the company claimed.

JDS, under the leadership of Cisco former top exec, Keven Kennedy, continues to push forward, but it appears more acquisitions and new products are needed to keep the momentum going. Despite claiming leadership in the better segments of the optical space, the products do not seem to have the ability to generate the margins investors would find attractive. Plus, the company still has some debt on its balance sheet that it would be nice to see cleaned up.

Goldman has put a $17 price target on the company, for 16% appreciation. With the recent broad- based drop in the stock market, investors might look elsewhere for better returns.

We have been blogging positively about Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) since May. However, with ho-hum results reported last night and recent stock appreciation, it may be time to look elsewhere for profits in the semiconductor space.

Intel reported very solid results but not strong enough to drive the stock much higher from here. As we've been blogging since Q1 earnings release, Intel's revenue and gross margins were about to ramp higher, but from listening to last night's results that growth is going to be muted. The company expects only 6% yoy revenue growth, little improvement in gross margin and free cash flow generation which will be difficult to forecast.

The most disturbing aspect of last night's call was Intel's forecast for flat operating expenditures for 2008. This means Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) is proving a more formidable competitor and not going to disappear as it has in the past when Intel has targeted market share. This could mean little-to-no revenue growth for 2008.

Also, stock repurchased during the quarter was a measly $100 million. Not a good number. The combination of massive slowdown in share repurchase and flat operating expenditure guidance means Intel is becoming concerned about its sources and uses of cash.

I would take the profits and move elsewhere. It looks like National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) currently has the best growth profile in the semi space.

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) yesterday reported 17.2% sequential growth, topping guidance of 5% to 10% growth. EPS was a massive $0.26, for a company that has been flirting with the break-even level for years. Results seem to show a big breakthrough for this long-time tech turnaround story.

What drove the stock higher in after-hours trading is company guidance. Management guided to 10% operating margins, a 290 basis point increase, much stronger than expected. Also gross margins could revisit the mid-40% level.

Ciena also turned operating cash flow positive in the quarter, generating $38 million in cash, up from a $16.6 million cash drain in the previous quarter.

Ciena will be a massive cash flow generator as operating leverage kicks in. Pay up for this stock and hold it for the next 12 to 18 months.

Here is a quick look at this upcoming holiday shortened week.

Monday May 28

• Markets closed for Memorial Day holiday.
• PDUFA date for MedImmune Inc's (NASDAQ: MEDI) sBLA for CAIV-T.

Tuesday May 29

• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) to hold webcast at 4:30pm to discuss newly announced Mobility Solutions.
• Verifone Holdings Inc (NYSE: PAY) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• BMC Software Inc (NYSE: BMC) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Wednesday May 30

• Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) to hold shareholders meeting at 10am.

Thursday May 31

• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) to report Q1 earnings after market close.
• Novellus Systems Inc (NASDAQ: NVLS) to hold mid-quarter update conference call at 4:30pm.

Friday June 1

• Weyerhauser Company (NYSE: WY) to hold analyst meeting at 9am.

Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO), the networking superpower, reported very solid results last night, hitting revenue and margin expectations. However, the news is not likely to drive the stock much higher than the high-tech bellwether NASDAQ index.

Cisco reported 21% revenue growth, up 18% adjusting for the Scientific Atlanta acquisition, which is ahead of its long-term guidance for 10%-15%. However, after management's very enthusiastic outlook for the networking market following the January-ending quarter, solid guidance is unlikely to force investors to jump into this stock

The SMB, emerging market and the US market, excluding the enterprise business, remain very robust. Cisco is still king of the networking and networking is the future. I would use corrections in NASDAQ and Cisco to buy stock.

Monday April 16

• Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10am.
• PDUFA date for Neurochem Inc's (NASDAQ: NRMX) Eprodisate extended from today to 7/16.

Tuesday April 17

• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Hearing on XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: XMSR) / Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI); Webcast at 10am.
• J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) 2-day Analyst Meeting.
• Technology giants International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) to report after the market close.

Wednesday April 18

• United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Thursday April 19

• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:30pm.

Friday April 20

• Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) to hold Analyst Meeting.

Monday April 9

• Lawson Software Inc (NASDAQ: LWSN) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 4:30.
• PDUFA Date for Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: MLNM) Velcade, which is a new type of cancer drug called a proteasome inhibitor.
• Bank of Japan to hold two-day monetary policy meeting.

Tuesday April 10

• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to hold annual shareholder meeting at 9am.
• Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report Q1 earnings, signaling the official start of the Spring earnings period; conference call at 5pm.

Wednesday April 11

• Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• Genentech Inc (NYSE: DNA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:15pm.

Thursday April 12

• Tektronix Inc (NYSE: TEK) to hold Investor Conference at 9am.
• Krispy Kreme Donuts Inc (NYSE: KKD) to report Q earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

Friday April 13

• General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.

Monday March 19

• Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will be focused on Nortel's Mobility enterprise solutions revenue, as well as new business opportunities and clients.

Tuesday March 20

• Two well known technology companies to report -- Adobe Systems Inc's (NASDAQ: ADBE) Q1 conference call is at 5pm, Oracle Corporation's (NASDAQ: ORCL) Q3 conference call is at 5pm.

• PDUFA Date for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: ALXN) Solaris, a treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disorder.

Wednesday March 21

• The International Trade Commission will hold a public hearing on the Patent Infringement case between Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) at 9:30am.

• Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will hold a shareholder meeting at 1pm in Seattle. Ferris Baker Watts believes the meeting will alleviate some concerns over a previously leaked internal memo written by CEO Howard Schultz that had a cautious tone.

Thursday March 22

• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Along with performance by region [North America, Europe, Asia], and evaluation of pricing pressures, analysts will review Nike's revised Air Force One product performance –- deemed a catalyst for growth moving forward .

Friday March 23

• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Virginia District Court to hold injunction hearing between Vonage Holdings Corp (NYSE: VG) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ).

Monday February 26

• XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: XMSR) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10am. Analysts will review XM's overall subscribers, new subscribers, retention rates, average monthly fees, pricing plans, new broadcast content agreements, marketing strategy, operating costs, sector position, and margins. Equally significant, Wall Street will also pay very close attention to management's operational posture moving forward, in light of its proposed merger agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI).

Tuesday February 27

• Sirius Satellite Radio to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8am. The concerns for Sirius mirror the previously mentioned concerns for XM.

Wednesday February 28

• PDUFA Date for Novartis AG ADS's (NYSE: NVS) Galvus, an innovative oral therapy for people with type 2 diabetes.

Thursday March 1

• Echostar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 12pm. Analysts will focus on Echostar's success at adding value to its offerings, amid intensifying competition from digital cable and communications companies offering TV services.
• PDUFA date for New River Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: NRPH) and Shire plc ADS's (NASDAQ: SHPGY) Vyvanse, for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD].
• PDUFA date for Merck Serono SA ADS's (NYSE: SRA) Serostim, a treatment for AIDs wasting.

Friday March 2

• THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI) to hold analyst meeting in San Fransisco, CA.

Monday February 19

• U.S. markets closed for President's Day holiday

Tuesday February 20

• Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 7:30am. Analysts will review Wal-Mart's same store sales, overall traffic, new products displayed, overall product mix, employee retention rates, sector position, and margins, along with Wal-Mart's overall global new store opening timetable, including store square footage expansion targets.
• Hewlett Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Analysts will be focusing on HP's overall revenue, the performance of their various divisions, and any comnent's HP makes about the effect of the launch of Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Vista on sales.
• Caremark Rx (NYSE: CMX) had scheduled a special shareholder meeting regarding the CVS Corporation (NYSE: CVS) merger today. It was postponed until at least March 9 by the Delaware Chancery Court to allow more time for dissemination of information.

Wednesday February 21

• Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) to hold press conference, according to PhoneNews.com, which speculated that the conference could be the end of patent disputes between Nokia and Qualcomm, meaning Nokia may announce a return to CDMA handset distribution, with EV-DO chipsets.

Thursday February 22

• BEA Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BEAS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Note that BEA Systems just concluded a stock options review that did not result in a breakup in management, which Pacific Crest Securities believes removes an overhang on the company.

Friday February 23

• CVS Corp had scheduled a shareholder meeting today, but it has been postponed in light of the Delaware Chancery Court's decision to enjoin the February 20, 2007 shareholder meeting of Caremark Rx.

Numbers are Actual vs. Estimate

Excellent Reports

• Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) 78c vs. 67c
• Goodrich profits increased on a jump in sales of aircraft equipment to Boeing and Airbus. The company said margin expansion associated with sales growth and improved operating efficiencies are primary reasons for a continued positive outlook.
  

• International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) 47c vs. 35c
• The company's profits rose on a gain from the sale of its U.S. forestlands and a strong operating profit from its industrial packaging unit. IP is transforming operations to focus on its global uncoated papers and packaging business.
  

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) 92c vs. 73c
• Higher room rates helped to contribute to a strong quarter for the parent of hotel chains including St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton. The company has been enjoying strong travel demand and limited growth in supply. It has also been selling hotels and retaining management contracts to free up cash.
• Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) 63c vs. 57c
• The video game publisher had a 38% drop in quarterly profit but beat Wall Street targets, overcoming investor anxiety that holiday shortages of new video game consoles would hurt sales. Shares rose 6% on the news. Company CFO Warren Jenson said EA was entering a growth period.

This morning's Wall Street Journal reports on its reporter, Pui-Wing Tam's, report on how Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) spied on her.

There are many levels of irony in this story. Reporters do all sorts of investigations on their subjects. I don't know how they cultivate their anonymous sources to dig up the details that they report. But my hunch is that while they're often snoops -- peering into places where their targets would prefer they did not -- reporters don't resort to the kind of tactics (pre-trash inspections or monitoring phone calls and IM sessions) to which Tam was subjected.

But I can't help but think that Tam's subjects share some of the same fears of being investigated that she must have felt when she began to realize that HP was placing her under surveillance. Her article's cool, almost tongue-in-cheek tone does not reveal these fears explicitly, instead leaving them to the reader's imagination.

But I imagine that former HP Chair Patricia Dunn must have felt a similar fear when she realized that someone on HP's board was leaking to the media. I'm not defending what HP did; I think it's a 1984-like invasion of privacy for which HP will suffer significant consequences.

With deference to Prussian General Von Clausewitz -- who famously said war is "a continuation of politics by other means" -- I see HP's tactics as investigative reporting by other means.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, and a Professor of Management at Babson College. He has no financial interest in HP.

After yesterdays news on Yahoo's earnings came in, revenues up, profits down, shares of Yahoo still traded up. So the sentiment seems to be that investors are looking beyond the released EPS number and whether that number meets or beats analyst estimates.

In this vein of thought, what investors/analysts may be looking for with Apple's earnings release today may not just be the bottom line EPS number but moreover how the iPod and Mac lines specifically are performing with respect to sales growth vs. estimates (guidance), whether product profits/revenues are stable/growing, inventory levels, orders on book, etc. Nicholas Colas over at Forbes has a long but detailed piece on technicals beyond earnings for those who are interested.

Most of the iPod and Mac speculation centers around the impact of Boot Camp on Mac sales and a possible new video iPod. So the general feel surrounding apple is mixed. Some bullish, some neutral, some bearish. Mixed though it maybe, the level of interest, is as always, very high.

The FY 06 Second Quarter Results Conference Call is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, 2006 2:00pm PDT (5:00pm EDT).