Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor
Tech-giant Microsoft announced its Windows 8 tablet, “The Surface.” We don’t expect it to kill the iPad, but we think it’s positive for Microsoft and a negative for Google and computer OEMs.
Dell, once a retail computer giant, is moving to software and enterprise solutions. We think shares of Dell are undervalued.
Shares of video game retailer GameStop have been hit big while sales slump. We think game sales will eventually return, but long-term shifts in video game consumption might permanently impair the company.
iOS 6 and the new Mac Book Pro show that Apple is ready to compete with entrenched foes.
We take a look at how recent changes in content distribution will affect some of the industry’s largest players. We think Apple will be among the biggest winners.
Though we like both companies, we doubt Windows 8 will be able to steal momentum from Apple. We think the two giants can coexist, but Apple might ultimately win more personal computing dollars in the decades ahead.
After increasing more than 30% since September of last year, Best Idea Portfolio holding Intel has fallen 10% during the past month. Despite the pullback, we think the firm’s stock price rise is far from over, with the company registering a 9 on our Valuentum Buying Index.
Hewlett-Packard posted strong second-quarter results that came in better than consensus expectations. We’re optimistic on HP’s restructuring plans as well as the company’s dirt cheap valuation. However, peers like Intel and Microsoft look like much more attractive investments with better growth potential and near-term catalysts. Both companies also provide investors with better, safer yields, as we think both are best-in-class in chips and enterprise software, respectively.
Microsoft () reported fiscal-year 2012 third-quarter results Thursday that support our thesis on the company and the broader economy. Revenue was up 6% compared to the same quarter last year, and operating income grew by 12%. Though 6% revenue growth may not sound impressive, it was not only better than expected, but it was also driven by upside surprises in unexpected segments. The business division saw revenue increase 9% from the same period last year, which isn’t typical for the unit so far into the Microsoft Office release cycle. Additionally, Windows revenue was up 4%, even in the face of the well-documented global hard drive support shortage. Windows 7 enterprise penetration reached 40% globally, which is far more impressive than the adoption of Vista. Servers … Read more
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