(AFP/BELGA/File) - Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday said it is gauging the promise of a tablet computer that runs on Windows 7 software from Microsoft.(AFP/BELGA/File)
Packages of the new Windows operating system, Windows 7 sit on a desk before being installed in Golden, Colorado in this October 22, 2009 file photo.
Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking
By Bill Rigby
NEW YORK |
Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:27am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Signs point to strong results for Microsoft Corp as companies get around to buying computers after a two-year drought, but its stock may find it tough to gain altitude amid worries about where growth will come from in coming years.
Intel Corp smashed Wall Street’s expectations last week, pointing to resurgent demand from corporations for computers and servers. But IBM disappointed on Tuesday with weak technology services signings, in a surprise hint of weakness in IT spending.
Investors appear to have anticipated good news from Microsoft — whose stock has outperformed in July — but are now demanding to see more from a company struggling to make its mark in the pivotal and fast-growth areas of smartphones, tablet computers and search advertising.
Microsoft will announce fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday.
The company is gearing up to launch new phone software to catch Apple Inc and strives to raise consumers’ pulses with a range of Windows-powered tablet devices and its untested Kinect motion gaming platform.
Meanwhile, its Bing Internet search engine is posting solid market share growth but remains miles behind Google Inc.
"Everyone knows that Microsoft is going to have a pretty big quarter, but there’s really not a lot to get excited about beyond that," said Toan Tran, an analyst at Morningstar. "We know PCs are doing well so Windows is going to do well. Beyond Windows 7, what does Microsoft have going?"
Microsoft’s shares are up 10.4 percent this month, surpassing a 7.5 percent rise in the Standard & Poor’s 500 and an 8.3 percent rise in the Nasdaq. But they are sitting around the $25 mark — where they were a year ago — and well below the heights achieved during the tech-stock boom a decade ago.
Apple, which has seen its stock soar over the past several years with a string of highly popular consumer electronics products, made waves in May when it passed Microsoft as the world’s most valuable technology company. Analysts say it may now surpass Microsoft in revenue as well.
StarMine data shows the stock has tepid upside momentum, assigning it a long-term momentum score of 40 out of 100.
TECH SPENDING RETURNS
Data from Thomson Reuters StarMine show that analysts’ estimates for Microsoft’s earnings have been creeping up as more optimistic signals emerge over the past three months.
Analysts expect earnings of 46 cents per share, excluding items, on sales of $15.3 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That is well above 36 cents per share on revenue of $13.1 billion a year ago.
SmartEstimates — which puts more weight on the timeliest estimates from the most accurate analysts — suggest Microsoft will deliver profit about 1.6 percent above average estimates.
When companies buy PCs, they often install new — and more expensive — versions of Microsoft software, which has a direct effect on its margins. Global PC sales surged 22.4 percent in the second quarter, industry tracker IDC said this week, helped by strong demand from businesses.
Microsoft said this week it has already sold more than 150 million copies of its Windows 7 operating system since launching it October. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said he expected sales of 350 million PCs running Windows this year, confirming its status as the fastest-selling operating system ever.
"Corporate PCs are starting to pick up. Intel validated that," said Kim Caughey, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "A lot of companies are thinking, these old PCs are sucking the life out of my IT department, lets get a new generation of these things in here’."
Another potential growth driver is Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console, which competes with Nintendo’s leading Wii and Sony’s PlayStation. Analysts are cautiously upbeat on "Kinect", which is selling in time for the holiday season. Though at $150 deemed costly by some, others say it could take the gesture-gaming concept popularized by the Wii to a new, controller-free level.
(Editing by Edwin Chan, Bernard Orr)
original content on reuters
(AFP/Getty Images/File) - The logo of Microsoft’s Windows operating system is projected at a consumer electronics fair in Las Vegas. Microsoft has publicly defended its system in the face of unconfirmed reports that Google was shunning it in favour of other systems due to security concerns.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)
(AFP/File) - Models display dishes in front of a Windows 7 themed restaurant in Taipei on May 28. US software giant Microsoft has launched a Windows 7 theme restaurant in Taipei to promote its new operating system, an official with the US firm said Monday, on the eve of Asia’s biggest IT trade show.(AFP/File/Sam Yeh)
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan’s AsusTek Computer Inc. unveiled Monday a portable tablet computer that runs on Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system, joining a slew of manufacturers trying to tap demand for the sleek devices following Apple’s launch of the iPad.
AsusTek is among several Taiwanese computer makers to display tablet PCs at the five-day Computex Show in Taipei that opens Tuesday.
Acer Inc., the world’s second largest PC vendor, unveiled last week a 7-inch touchscreen tablet that like many other coming models runs on Android, the operating system that Google is distributing for free for mobile devices.
AsusTek’s touchscreen tablet, with the name of Eee Pad, comes in 10- and 12-inch sizes and is set to go on sale in the first quarter of 2011.
In addition to full Windows support, Company Chairman Jonney Shih said Eee Pad is equipped with a Web camera and runs Flash by Adobe Systems which will allow users to view YouTube and other video programs on the Internet.
The 10-inch Eee Pad will sell for $399 to $449. No price tag was given for the 12-inch model.
By contrast, Apple’s iPads cost $499, $599 or $699 depending on the data storage capacity. But iPads use the HTML5 standard and its lack of Flash support has alienated some users.
AsusTek also unveiled on Monday an e-notepad that serves as both an electronic-reader and note-taking device, with a built-in camera that will let the user grab screenshots of lecture slides.
Shih said the notepad — with a price tag of $199 to $299 — turns pages at a faster speed and does not cause as much eye-fatigue during lengthy reading as other e-readers.
original content on yahoo
