Here are a few highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) had a lackluster quarter due in part to the acquistion of ATI.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) posted a larger than expected loss due to rising fuel costs.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are hunkered down post-MacWorld but ahead of the Q1 report.
• Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) beat earnings estimates, though its growth is slowing.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) forecasts earnings growth on cost-cutting and overseas sales.
• IBM (NYSE: IBM) had an impressive fourth quarter and expects a good 2008 (see transcript).
• Intel Corp.'s (NASDAQ: INTC) solid results failed to impress investors (see transcript).
• Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) posted a solid first quarter, with growth in all divisions.
• New Oriental Educational & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU) posted disappointing results.
• Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) profits fell on restructuring costs and increased competition for generics.
• Sony Ericsson beat estimates and is gaining market share in the global cell phone market.
• TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) revised its fourth quarter outlook after strong December sales.
• Vignette Corp. (NASDAQ: VIGN) raised its fourth quarter revenue guidance, which buoyed shares.
• Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) lowered its guidance on weak holiday sales.

See additional earnings highlights. Also, Jim Cramer ponders the ennui of the new earnings season. Georges Yared is bullish on tech stocks, and big tech executives are bullish as well. Jonathan Berr looks ahead to upcoming big tech reports.

Other upcoming results to watch for include Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), E*Trade Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFN), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Handset maker Sony Ericsson beat analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter of 2007 and said that the company is gaining market share. In a surprising development, the company said, "The average sales price (ASP) of its mobile phones, a key indicator for profitability, rose to 123 euros from 120 euros in the third quarter," according to Reuters.

The company's share of the global handset market is now close to 10%. Units shipped in the quarter reached 30.8 million, an 18% increase from a year earlier.

The news may be good for Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Even if the economy is slowing, consumers may be willing to spend $200 for a new phone. Increasing business in regions like China and India is not driving down "price per handset." It may be that the emergence of more expensive "smartphones" is helping keep average prices high.

As 3G networks continue to be built out, consumers may find it necessary to upgrade their handsets to take advantage of higher connection speeds.

It is an early indication, but the cellphone industry may be bucking the trend of an economic slowdown.

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

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) was hit with downgrades late in the week. Some analysts think that it sold only 40 million handsets in the fourth quarter. Rival Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) usually moves about 100 million. The Razr's success is now just a memory.

Citi Investment Research lowered its price target on Motorola from $22.50 to $18.50. Most shareholders wish that the stock would hit the lower number. In after-hours trading on Friday, the shares fell to $15.

There has been much talk about breaking the company into pieces. When the company traded at $20, that was less likely. But, the MOT market cap is now only $34 billion.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has come out with its handset sales forecast for 2008. Since it has almost 40% of the global market, its prediction is closely watched. For 2008, it believes that total sales of cell phones will only rise 10%. According to Bloomberg "Nokia said there will be an estimated 4 billion handset users by 2009."

Ten percent growth would be slower than the handset market was in 2007, and while Nokia may prosper because its piece of the business is so big, the news could be very bad for Motorola (NYSE: MOT). With Samsung and Sony-Ericsson getting larger and larger slices of worldwide sales, Motorola either has to claw some of that back, or count on a rapidly rising market to help the entire industry. It now appears that industry growth will not be the answer for the US company.

The other piece of bad news from Nokia is that revenue-per-handset will keep falling as more and more phones are sold in emerging markets. That means that margins will be pressured, another negative for Mototola.

If the Nokia forecasts are right, a turnaround at Motorola just got much harder.

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

Motorola Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT) management is trying to convince Wall Street that the company can be turned around. In meetings Friday, CEO Ed Zander referred to the past success of the RAZR and said that the company could get back there again. "We've done it, we've been there," he said. "We've got to get back on it, and do it not for three years but 30 years." Other managers from the firm predicted that a new handset success would emerge from relying on server models and not just one mega-hit.

But, it is probably too late. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has raised its share of global handset sales to about 36%. Motorola's has fallen to 16% from 22% at it peak a year-and-a-half ago. And sharp improvement in sales at Samsung and Sony Ericsson means that there are at least two other strong competitors.

Motorola also has to worry about what the sharp cut in the price of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone will mean to the market, especially once that product goes on sale in Europe and Asia.

Motorola has two other large divisions -- its enterprise telecommunications equipment operation and its set-top box business. Both of these do fairly well. Whether all three units belong under one roof is an issue that the board should review.

But getting back its market share in the handset business is unlikely to happen. The company cannot even point to a specific plan.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) highlighted the possibility of a merger between XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI).
• XM Satellite Radio has softened its stance about a possible deal with Sirius Satellite Radio, but any deal between the companies would face obstacles from the FCC.
• Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX) rival Dunkin' Donuts plans to open its first store in Taiwan today as part of a regional push into mainland China. Starbucks also has expansion plans for China.
• Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) is under federal investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve, due to the company's transactions with bank insiders.
  
• The Financial Times (subscription required) wrote that handset maker Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE, NASDAQ: ERIC) moved closed to pushing aside Samsung for third place in market share behind Nokia Corp (NYSE: NOK) and Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MOT); last year it overtook LG Electronics.
  

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that the Chief Independent Investigator has found that a top Interior Department official was told nearly three years ago of a "legal blunder" that allowed drilling companies to avoid billions of dollars in payments for oil and gas pumped from publicly owned waters.
• The Toronto Sun reported rumors that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is working to get the Beatles catalog onto its iTunes service.
  
• Investor's Business Daily mentioned Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ: VSEA) positively in the "New America" column.

Motorola seems to be getting all the media attention these days when it comes to the wireless handset biz. The manufacturer's RAZR handset is still going strong almost two years after its introduction to the marketplace. This is an unheard-of feat in the ages of shortening attention spans of wireless customers and accompanying product cycles that make sure wireless consumers get their fixes on the latest and slickest handsets they can.

Although the RAZR is now looking aged in many respects, Motorola has taken the "thin phone" concept to a huge array of models in an attempt to capitalize as much as possible on the fascination of thinness consumers now have after falling head over heels in love with the RAZR. Combine thin with easy-to-recognize names like RAZR, KRZR, PEBL and SLVR and Motorola seems to have an "Apple-esque" control on the consumer unlike many of its competitors. Nokia is even attempting to catch up in many respects, although it still owns the number-one spot for global wireless handset shipments.

Sony Ericsson, born out of a joint venture between Sweden's LM Ericsson and Japan's Sony, was unleashed upon the world in 2002 with the intention of creating a brand that was stronger than either company could establish individually. Years later, Sony Ericsson's use of the "Walkman" and "Cybershot" brands on its handsets have made the joint venture hugely profitable as well as producing phones specifically for mid-tier and high-end markets, leaving the entry-level handset business to Nokia and Motorola -- and Samsung.

The result? Although Motorola has overtaken Nokia as the largest wireless handset manufacturer in the U.S., Sony Ericsson was the fastest-growing wireless handset manufacturer in the latest quarter, even outpacing Motorola and market leader Nokia. Who knows if this will last, and if it is signaling a possible stagnation with Motorola's branding efforts (using names, not model numbers) along with RAZR craziness starting to wear off -- after only two years.