Hardware

• With a stronger yen and sluggish sales of copiers and laser printers, Canon's (CAJ) quarterly operating profit might be halved from the previous year despite brisk sales of its recently launched EOS Kiss X3 camera and cost cuts. But reports said that Canon is unlikely to change its annual forecast despite having to grapple with a stronger yen than it first estimated. The company will gain 60 billion yen (US$657 million) in July-September. Canon has forecast a 60 percent fall in annual operating profit to 190 billion yen (US$2.1 billion).

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

October 28, 2009 8:00 am ET

• GMAC needs third lifeline. GMAC Financial Services and the Treasury are reportedly in advanced talks to prop up the auto-lender with its third helping of taxpayer money, making it the first of the stress-tested banks to need additional government capital. Treasury will likely inject another $2.8-5.6B into GMAC in exchange for preferred shares, bringing its total investment in GMAC thus far to $15.3-18.1B, for which it currently owns 35.4% of the firm. Sources say the FDIC has also agreed to backstop another $2.9B of GMAC's debt to facilitate day-to-day lending. The government's willingness to deepen taxpayer exposure to GMAC reflects the troubled lender's importance to the revival of the auto industry.
• Consumer confidence dips. A lower-than-expected consumer confidence reading sent a chill through markets Tuesday. Conference Board's index came in at 47.7, down from 53.4 a month ago, and lower than consensus estimates of 53.2. A plunge in expectations (65.7 vs. 73.3 in Sept.) led the way down. "Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions has grown less favorable, with labor market conditions playing a major role in this grimmer assessment," the group said, noting its Present Situation Index is now at a 26-year low. Analysts struggled to find an obvious explanation for the decline, but noted the drop didn't bode well for recovery hopes.
• Risk appetite withers. State Street's investor confidence index fell 10 points to 108.4, the lowest since April, with the most pronounced decline seen among North American investors (-12.8 to 101.1). European investors were also much more subdued (-9.3 to 101.8), but confidence rose among Asian investors, albeit to a level that still trails the U.S. and Europe (+2.4 to 95.3). "Institutional investors have paused to take stock," index co-developer Ken Froot said. "While the U.S. earnings season has been relatively robust so far, the number of positive surprises that have been observed in employment, retail sales, manufacturing and trade figures has diminished considerably, and this may be influencing investor risk appetite."
• Easing Hilton's towering debt load. Sources say Blackstone (BX) is in talks with lenders to shave about $5B off Hilton Worldwide's $20B debt load. Specifically, Blackstone is considering coughing up another $800M in equity to buy back debt at a discount (on top of its $5.6B original investment), and would like to extend debt maturing in 2013 to 2016. With capital markets reopening over the past six months, private-equity firms are using a variety of schemes (exchange offers, repurchases, tender offers) to refinance and extend the maturities on highly-leveraged debt taken on during the heyday, staving off default.
• Panel backs hedge-fund clampdown. The House Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly passed a bill that would require advisers to hedge funds, private equity and offshore funds to register with regulators, bringing some transparency to the loosely-policed industry. The bill, however, exempts venture capital funds and funds with less than $150M - which SEC chief Mary Schapiro warned "could come back to haunt investors in later years."
• Tackling too-big-to-fail. Rep. Barney Frank unveiled legislation to monitor and dissolve systemically critical financial institutions. Under the proposal, costs for taking over and euthanizing a failed bank would be paid for by shareholders and bondholders, with taxpayers temporarily covering the overflow until an assessment is rendered against the failed bank's surviving peers. A council of regulators - including the FDIC, Treasury, Fed and SEC - would be in charge of monitoring the conglomerates and invoking a wind-down if necessary.
• That's a good czar. While so-called pay czar Kenneth Feinberg's new rules for TARP backed firms cut compensation by about half, they also boosted base salaries by 14% to an average of $438K/year after executives complained, according to an analysis in today's WSJ. The move appears to contradict Feinberg's stated goal of tying pay to long-term performance, and "deepens the confusion and skepticism" surrounding the types of pay systems the government is promoting.
• Ford shows why it's #1. Consumer Reports' much-awaited yearly car reliability survey held few surprises, with foreign automakers dominating its top-10 list, and domestic brands prominently featured on its least-reliable tally. Scion took top spot, followed by Honda (HMC), Toyota (TM) and Infiniti (NSANY). Ford (F), at #10, was the only U.S. carmaker to make the grade. Least reliable brands were Chrysler, Cadillac, Dodge and Jeep. Media reports yesterday claimed Fiat models will drive Chrysler's turnaround efforts, but with new cars not due until 2012, it's unclear whether Chrysler has enough staying power in its balance sheet.
• Ruiz pegged as AMD insider. Sources say former AMD (AMD) CEO Hector Ruiz is the insider government officials have identified as providing nonpublic information to Galleon's insider trading scheme. Prosecutors released fragments of recorded conversations between an unnamed AMD executive and a Galleon employee in which they allegedly discuss the timing of the spinoff of AMD’s plants before the deal was announced in Sept. 2008. Ruiz hasn’t been charged, and prosecutors don’t say he profited from insider trading.
• Gloom on economy spreads. Americans are growing increasingly pessimistic about the economy after a mild upswing in September, according to WSJ/NBC's monthly poll released Wednesday. For the first time during the Obama presidency, a majority of those polled now see the country as being on the wrong track. Fifty-eight percent think the economic slide still has a ways to go, up from 52% in September, while only 29% think we've hit bottom, down from 35%.
• Mortgage apps drop for second straight week. Mortgage applications fell another 12.3% following a 13.7% drop last week, even as the average rate for 30-year mortgages inched down to 5.04% from 5.07% a week ago. Refinancing was 16.2% lower.
• Ford picks Geely. Ford (F) selected a group led by China's Geely as the preferred bidder for its Volvo unit, a senior Geely executive said. Geely and Ford will now enter into exclusive negotiations over Volvo.

Earnings: Wed. Before Open

• ArcelorMittal (MT): Q3 income of $1.59B vs. consensus of $1.78B. Sees Q4 income of $2-2.4B. "We have seen the first signs of recovery in Q3... We should continue to see further gradual improvement through 2010, although the operating environment remains challenging." Shares -0.8% premarket. (PR)
• Ashland (ASH): FQ4 EPS of $0.96 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.11B (-4.6%) in-line. "Demand appears to be showing some signs of growth in many end markets." (PR)
• BorgWarner (BWA): Q3 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.03B (-22%) in-line. "We continue to be cautiously optimistic about Q4." (PR)
• ConocoPhillips (COP): Q3 EPS of $1.00 beats by $0.06. Shares -0.1% premarket. (PR)
• Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD): Q3 EPS of $0.36 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $4.6B (-27%) vs. $4.73B. (PR)
• CenterPoint Energy (CNP): Q3 EPS of $0.31 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.58B (-37.3%) in-line. (PR)
• Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE): Q3 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $5.57B (-3%) vs. $5.71B. (PR)
• General Dynamics (GD): Q3 EPS of $1.48 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $7.72B (+8.1%) in-line. (PR)
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT): Q3 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $4.38B (-15.2%) in-line. Shares +1.8% premarket. (PR)
• Hess (HES): Q3 EPS of $1.05 vs. consensus of $0.55. Revenue of $7.27B vs. $7.75B. Shares +1.8% premarket. (PR)
• Jones Apparel Group (JNY): Q3 EPS of $0.46 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $856M (-11.3%) vs. $867M. "We are cautiously optimistic that the holiday season will generate better financial results across the industry." Shares -13.8% premarket. (PR)
• International Paper (IP): Q3 EPS of $0.37 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $5.92B (-13.1%) in-line. "At the end of Q3, we began to see some modest improvements in demand in some segments of our paper and packaging businesses." Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
• Lazard (LAZ): Q3 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $431M (-1.3%) vs. $400M. Believes corporate defaults will remain at high levels, on a more global scale than during the last cycle, and therefore expects that its restructuring business will continue to be very active. (PR)
• Level 3 Communications (LVLT): Q3 EPS of -$0.10 in-line. Revenue of $916M (-14.4%) vs. $926M. Shares -4.4% premarket. (PR)
• MeadWestvaco (MWV): Q3 EPS of $0.50 beats by $0.23. Revenue of $1.63B (-10.2%) in-line. "Given continued global economic uncertainty, future results are difficult to predict." (PR)
• Newell Rubbermaid (NWL): Q3 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.45B (-17.7%) in-line. (PR)
• New York Community Bancorp (NYB): Q3 EPS of $0.26 in-line. "Although certain economic data suggests that the recession has ended, the Metro New York region we serve continues to be under duress." (PR)
• Nexen (NXY): Q3 EPS of C$0.23 beats by C$0.08. Revenue of C$1.1B (-50.4%) vs. $924M. Shares -0.1% premarket. (PR)
• Nomura (NMR): Q2 net income of ¥27.7B ($303M) vs. consensus of ¥11.5B. Revenue of ¥355B vs. ¥258B last year. Resumes ¥4/share dividend. (Bloomberg)
• Owens Corning (OC): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $1.35B (-17.2%) in-line. On track to surpass $160M in cost savings this year. Shares +1.5% premarket. (PR)
• Praxair (PX): Q3 EPS of $1.02 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $2.29B (-19.8%) in-line. "Business conditions stabilized globally during the quarter... The strongest pick-up was in Asia and South America, where government stimulus programs have increased domestic demand and industrial production." (PR)
• Qwest Communications International (Q): Q3 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.05B (-9.6%) in-line. Shares +3.5% premarket. (PR)
• SAP AG (SAP): Q3 net income of €435M vs. consensus of €454M. Sales of €2.51B vs. €2.63B. "While we are seeing signs of stabilization in the general environment, the market remains difficult. Q3 software and software-related service revenues came in lower than we expected mainly because of a particularly challenging environment in the emerging markets and Japan." Shares -7.6% premarket. (PR)
• Southern Company (SO): Q3 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $4.68B (-13.8%) vs. $5.5B. (PR)
• SPX Corp. (SPW): Q3 EPS of $ beats by $. Revenue of $1.17B (-20.8%) in line. Sees full-year EPS of $3.80-4.00 vs. $3.96 consensus. "The global economic environment remains difficult and continues to impact our performance. Although some macroeconomic trends appear to be pointing toward a recovery, we expect our recovery to lag the broader economy." (PR)
• United Microelectronics (UMC): Q3 EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $853M (+11.1%) vs. $809M. (PR)
• WellPoint (WLP): Q3 EPS of $1.78 beats by $0.40. Revenue of $15.21B (+784%) in-line. Medical enrollment fell 1.5M to 35.3M, primarily due to the recession and a rise in unemployment. Shares -14.3% premarket. (PR)
• Wyndham (WYN): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.02B (-17.1%) in-line. Shares +1% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Tue. After Close

• Ace (ACE): Q3 EPS of $2.07 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $3.39B (-6%) vs. $3.33B. Expects meaningfully stronger revenue growth in Q4. Shares +2.3% AH. (PR)
• Amkor Technology (AMKR): Q3 EPS of $0.12 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $616M (-14%) vs. $604M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.17-0.23 vs. $0.16. Shares -1.5% AH. (PR)
• Apollo Group (APOL): FQ4 EPS of $1.06 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.08B (+30%) vs. $1.03B. Announces an informal SEC inquiry into revenue recognition practices. Shares -19.8% AH. (PR)
• Boston Properties (BXP): Q3 FFO of $1.13 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $359M (+6%) vs. $353M. Sees Q4 FFO of $1.04-1.06 vs. $1.09. (PR)
• Century Aluminum Company (CENX): Q3 EPS of $0.45. Revenue of $229M (-59%) vs. $225M. Results impacted by $55.6M net after-tax benefit related to contract replacement. Shares +3.8% AH. (PR)
• Cephalon (CEPH): Q3 EPS of $1.62 beats by $0.21. Revenue of $549M (+10%) vs. $559M. Sees full-year sales of $2.125B-2.175B vs. $2.22B. Shares +1.4% AH. (PR)
• Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI): Q3 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1B (-38%) vs. $1.1B. Shares +5.4% AH. (PR)
• Dreamworks Animation (DWA): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $135M (-10.6%) vs. $129M. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
• E*TRADE Financial (ETFC): Q3 EPS of -$0.05 beats by $0.01. At-risk delinquencies declined by 10% and provision for loan losses decreased by $57M to $347M. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
• Fiserv (FISV): Q3 EPS of $0.92 in-line. Revenue of $992M (-5%) vs. $1.05B. Shares -2.6% AH. (PR)
• Harris (HRS): FQ1 EPS of $0.83 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.2B (-3%) in-line. Shares +5.4% AH. (PR)
• Illumina (ILMN): Q3 EPS of $0.17 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $158M (+5%) vs. $167M. Shares -14.8% AH. (PR)
• Integrated Device Technology (IDTI): FQ2 EPS of $0.07 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $140M (-30%) vs. $131M. Shares +4.2% AH. (PR)
• Massey Energy Company (MEE): Q3 EPS of $0.19 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $642M (-16%) vs. $677M. Shares -7.4% AH. (PR)
• McKesson (MCK): FQ2 EPS of $1.11 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $27.1B (+1.9%) vs. $26.75B. Sees full-year EPS of $4.45-4.60 vs. consensus of $4.29. Shares +1.9% AH. (PR)
• Molex (MOLX): FQ1 EPS of $0.18 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $674M (-20%) vs. $661M. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.11-0.15 vs. $0.19, including pretax restructuring charge of about $0.07 after tax. Shares -1% AH. (PR)
• Nalco Company (NLC): Q3 EPS of $0.20 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $957M (-14%) vs. $961M. (PR)
• Norfolk Southern (NSC): Q3 EPS of $0.81 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.1B (-29%) in-line. Shares +1.8% AH. (PR)
• Panera Bread Company (PNRA): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $335M (+6%) vs. $334M. Same-store sales increased 3.3%. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.85-0.87 vs. $0.85, and full-year EPS of $3.05-3.15 vs. $3.04. Shares +5.2% AH. (PR)
• Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPDI): Q3 EPS of $0.32 in-line. Revenue of $341M (-13%) vs. $334M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.38-1.40 vs. $1.34, on revenue of $1.29B-1.32B vs. $1.34B. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR)
• RF Micro Devices (RFMD): FQ2 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $255M (-6%) vs. $234M. Shares +7.1% AH. (PR)
• ValueClick (VCLK): Q3 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $130M (-12.1%) vs. $129M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.15-0.16 vs. consensus of $0.17 on revenue of $128-138M vs. $142M. Shares +1.8% AH. (PR)
• Visa (V): FQ4 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.9B (+10%) vs. $1.8B. Sees 2010 revenue growth at lower end of 11-15% range. Sees 2011 growth of more than 20%. Shares +1.9% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets moved lower Wednesday and futures are under pressure.

Wednesday the market sold off in the last hour and major indexes ended the day with losses. Semiconductor indexes were underwater pretty much the entire day and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (IGW) ended down 1.72%.

Two well-known semiconductor companies were able to buck the downtrend and close with gains. Who were they and what were the reasons? Are there clues as to who else might benefit?

With a mix of developing countries such as China, India, Indonesia and developed countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Japan, Asian economies are becoming stronger and as a result investor interest is running high for Asian equities. New Asian companies have been listed on US markets in recent years and still more are being newly listed regularly.

Among the hundreds of Asian ADRs that are traded on a daily basis, the following are the 10 Most Traded Exchange-listed ADRs:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) recently announced that the pay cuts it had initiated in January this year would be reinstated in December. Hourly workers had suffered pay cuts of up to 5%, while executives at higher rungs took bigger cuts of up to 20%.

The company expected the job cuts and rationalization of pay to help it deal with recessionary pressures that were hurting its already unprofitable business.

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the day I started The Information Network, and I can't think of a more appropriate place to discuss the semiconductor equipment space than Seeking Alpha. I started analyzing semiconductor equipment, then spread out to cover semiconductors, storage, LCDs, solar, and nanomaterials, and have written blogs on these topics on Seeking Alpha before.

Several signs are pointing to a recovery, but the most telling are our leading indicators, a compilation of economic data from two dozen countries that we have adjusted over the past 24 years to accurately predict inflection points in the semiconductor equipment market.

• Krafting a Cadbury deal. Cadbury (CBY) rejected a £10.2B ($16.7B) acquisition offer from Kraft (KFT) yesterday, saying the bid 'fundamentally undervalues' the company and paving the way for possible counteroffers, including from rivals Hershey (HSY) and Nestle (NSRGY.PK). The offer was a 31% premium to Cadbury's Friday close, and Kraft said it remains committed to reaching a deal. However, analysts suggested Kraft may have to raise its offer as much as 40% to get Cadbury to accept. KFT -2.3%, CBY +41% premarket (7:00 ET). (Read Kraft's press release (.pdf))
• U.K. mobile phone merger. Earlier this morning, Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) announced plans to join their U.K. operations in a 'merger of equals,' surpassing Telefonica (TEF) as Britain's largest mobile phone operator. The joint venture will have 30M customers, control 38% of the U.K.'s highly competitive mobile market and generate £4B ($5.7B) of savings. Separately, Telefonica reached an agreement to expand its strategic alliance with China Unicom (CHU), giving the Spanish firm a stronger foothold in the world's largest mobile phone market. (Read the Deutsche Telekom press release)
• G-20 keeps banking reform alive. Over the weekend, G-20 finance ministers and regulators announced new, tougher guidelines that would force banks to raise billions more in capital over the coming months. Full details are not yet finalized, but central bank governors and bank supervisors from 27 countries said they would present concrete proposals by the end of this year. (Read the G-20's plans for strengthening the financial system (.pdf))
• AIG continues to shed units. AIG (AIG) may be looking to take its time on the sale of some major assets, but it's open to quick sales of smaller units. Case-in-point: Saturday's agreement to sell an asset-management division to Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's Pacific Century Group for $500M, below the $800M price tag potential bidders were discussing several months ago. In its press release, AIG said the deal 'provides fair value' for the unit. Meanwhile, Chinatrust Financial has reportedly outbid rivals by offering $2.4B for AIG's Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit. AIG had targeted the unit to bring in $2B.
• Pro-Linux group closes in on MSFT patents. The Open Invention Network, a group which supports open-source software and includes such giants as IBM (IBM) and Sony (SNE), is nearing an agreement to acquire 22 of Microsoft's (MSFT) patents in an effort to avoid any legal threats that could discourage the adoption of Linux. Microsoft has suggested in the past that the Linux operating system may violate some of its patents. The patents are currently held by Allied Security Trust, which bought the patents from Microsoft earlier this year.
• Abu Dhabi challenges chip firms. Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Co. [ATIC] agreed to buy Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (CHRT) for $1.8B in cash yesterday. ATIC's second major investment in the industry, the deal will allow its semiconductor joint venture to better compete with Taiwan's leading contract-chip manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and United Microelectronics (UMC). (Read ATIC's press release (.pdf))
• WTO ruling gives Boeing fans ammo. After the WTO's preliminary ruling that Airbus received illegal subsidies from European governments, pro-Boeing (BA) lawmakers in the U.S. are pushing the Pentagon to keep the ruling in mind for its $40B tender to supply tanker planes. However, upside implications of the ruling may be limited, as "we live in a glass house of global subsidies" and future WTO victories may be harder to come by following the U.S. provision of billions of dollars to banks and automakers.
• Google shelves European book plan. Bowing to pressure from European publishers, Google (GOOG) said it will remove all copyright-protected European books from its book scanning program. Google also promised to put two non-U.S. representatives on the governing board of the Books Rights Registry, which will oversee Google's settlement with publishers. Shares +1% premarket (7:00 ET).
• OPEC happy with oil prices. Ahead of tomorrow's OPEC meeting, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the oil market is in 'good shape' and 'everybody likes' the current price. The group is expected to leave output quotas unchanged. Taking advantage of the production cuts is Russia, which is surpassing Saudi Arabia in oil exports for the first time since the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Earnings: Tuesday Before Open

• Smithfield Foods (SFD): FQ1 EPS of -$0.56 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2.7B (-14%) vs. $2.8B. (PR)

Today's Markets

Markets are up across the globe.

By Ucilia Wang

The United Microelectronic Corp. (UMC) plans to set up a company to invest in solar and LED lighting in order to expand beyond the traditional semiconductor industry.

• China.com’s (CHINA)revenue was down 31 percent year-over-year but up 27 percent quarter-over-quarters. Net profit was HK$0.6 million (US$.09 million) in the period and a net profit of HK$14.6 million (US$2.1 million) in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue was HK$42.64 million (US$6.2 million) and loss HK$5.49 million (US$803207) in the first six months.
• ChinaCast Education Corp. (CAST) entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the remaining 20 percent interest in The Foreign Trade and Business College of Chongqing Normal University for US$17.6 million. The Company will pay an additional US$2.3 million for a one-time profit distribution bringing the total purchase price to US$19.9 million. ChinaCast attained the acquisition of 80 percent of Hai Lai Education Technology Limited for US$65.8 million. ChinaCast will pay 50 percent of the consideration within 10 days of signing in return for 20 percent of the remaining interest of the holding company of FTBC. The balance of 50 percent of the consideration will be paid by ChinaCast after the registration of the transfer of ownership with the authorities.
• China saw its online shopping market transaction volume hit 56.36 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) in the second quarter of 2009, increasing 20.7 percent quarter on quarter and surging 91.9 percent year on year. The transaction volume growth was mainly driven by the purchasing peak season and a list of the vendors' promotion strategies. Online shopping has become the hottest industry in the nation's whole Internet market. China's largest online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace Taobao.com still led the platform-model online shopping market with an 82.7 percent marker share in the quarter, and BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. took 28.8 percent of the B2C shopping market.
• Alibaba.com Ltd. booked 260.7 million yuan (US$38.2 million) in net profit attributable to equity holders in the second quarter of 2009, down 16.9 percent year-on-year, while revenues grew 23.6 percent year-on-year and 12.6 percent quarter-on-quarter to 908.3 million yuan (US$133 million). Registered users rose 31.5 percent year-on-year and 6.3 percent quarter-on-quarter to 42.78 million by the end of June, with 33.32 million users in the China marketplace. China storefronts grew by 46.1 percent year-on-year to 4.38 million by the end of the second quarter. Paying members were up 44.4 percent annually and 10.4 percent sequentially to 531,471 by the end of June. Subscribers consisted of 70,453 Gold Supplier users, 19,219 International TrustPass users and 441,799 China TrustPass users.

• The number of people accessing the internet through a mobile phone in China stood at 151.82 million at the end of the second quarter, up by 183.44 percent year-on-year and 9.39 percent from the first quarter. China Mobile (CHL) is the largest provider of mobile internet services with 67.5 percent of user volume, followed by China Unicom (CHU) with 26.7 percent and China Telecom (CHA) with 5.8 percent.
• KongZhong Corp.’s (KONG) net profit for the second quarter of this year increased 41 percent from a quarter earlier to US$355 million, with earnings per share hitting US$0.09. The company recorded US$32.3 million in total revenues in Q2 2009, representing a quarter-on-quarter growth of 9 percent and a year-on-year growth of 37 percent, higher than the firm's previous estimates of between US$30.5 million and US$31.5 million. Total gross margin during the period was 51 percent, compared with 49 percent recorded in the first quarter. KongZhong will conduct a long-term investment to Kong.net. The company aims to build it as a 3G mobile portal combined with social networking services. The firm predicted its total revenues would be between US$34 million and US$35 million in the third quarter of this year.

• Huawei Technologies and Ericsson (ERIC) beat out other telecom equipment manufacturers to win contracts in China Telecom's 50 million yuan (US$7.3 million) project to update the 10 Gbps DWDM backbone network connecting the Yangtze River Delta cities of Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Huawei took about 80 percent of contracts. China Telecom plans to improve network speed from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps. Product delivery is on the third quarter. Commercial operation of the updated network is slated for late 2009.

• The actual sales of China's self-developed online games had reached 11.01 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), increasing 60.1 percent over the previous year, and the sales accounted for 59.9 percent of China's online game publication market. Though the administration encourages foreign companies to jointly develop online games with Chinese companies, it strongly prohibits these companies from online game operations with their own companies or joint ventures. Chinese online game companies gained rapid development in overseas markets.
• The World of Warcraft has resumed services with an open testing program which partly resolved the conflict triggered by the game's operating right transferring from The9 (NCTY) to Shanghai Netease (NTES). The General Office of the Chinese Ministry of Culture requires a reapplication of the approval number for a game when there is a change in ownership of operation rights. The WOW service stopped until July 30. But as the two operators continue to sell the game cards has led to a lot of dissatisfaction and anger among the WOW players in China. China's online game industry’s sales in 2009 are forecast to be 24 billion to 27 billion yuan (US$3.51-3.95 billion), which would bring about 67 billion yuan(US$9.5 billion) in incomes for telecommunications, IT and other related industries.
• NetEase booked net profit of 468.1 million yuan (US$68.5 million) for the second quarter of 2009, improving over 438.2 million yuan (US$64.2 million) in the year-ago period and 416.7 million yuan (US$61.0 million) in the first quarter of 2009. Total revenues grew on annual and quarterly bases to 872.1 million yuan (US$127.7 million) in the second quarter of 2008 and 781.7 million yuan (US$114.4 million) in the first quarter of 2009. Online game revenues were 781.5 million yuan (US$114.4 million), up annually and sequentially from 595.0 million yuan (US$87.1 million) and 724.0 million yuan (US$106.0 million), respectively. The company increased its technical and customer service staff by about 500 to support the Battle.net platform and World of Warcraft.
• Hurray! Holding Co., Ltd. (HRAY) reported the resignation of director Mr. Robert Mao from the Board, effective July 31, 2009. Mr. Niu is the publisher and creator of 'The Founder' magazine and a professional industry commentator.

• LDK Solar (LDK) booked a net loss of US$216.9 million, or US$2.03 per diluted ADS, for the second quarter of 2009 versus net loss of US$22.5 million, or US$0.21 per diluted ADS, for the first quarter of 2009. An inventory write-down, of about US$175.8 million, and a loss on firm purchase commitments of polysilicon materials, approximately US$16.7 million, negatively impacted gross margin and results from operations. Net sales for the second quarter fell to US$228.3 million from US$283.3 million in the previous quarter and US$441.7 million in the year-ago period. LDK shipped 231.7MW of wafers, up 20.9 percent year-on-year, during the three-month reporting period. For the third quarter, LDK is forecasting revenue of US$240 million to US$270 million with 260-300MW of wafer shipments and 10-20MW of module shipments. Demand for solar wafers is beginning to turn more positive.

Taiwan

• Chunghwa Telecom Co. (CHT) said three of its undersea cables across the Luzon Strait that provide international voice calls and Internet connectivity have been damaged by undersea landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot. The company has repaired one of the cables, but damage to two others has limited international voice calls between Taiwan and Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Chunghwa Telecom is discussing alternative connection routes with China Telecom Corp. and other foreign telecommunications companies. Companies whose voice connections have been affected by the cable damage will have 50 percent of their service restored, while those whose Internet connectivity has been affected will have 60 percent of the service restored.

• Compal Electronics Inc. shipped 3 million notebook PCs and scored combined revenue of NT$53.206 billion (US$1.61 billion) in July, with the latter hitting the highest this year and sharply growing 44 percent from last July. Netbook PC still accounted for over 800,000 units, indicating that launch of CULV platform-based laptops hasn’t eroded the segment for netbook PCs. The firm has scored aggregate notebook PC shipment of 17.3 million units very close to the corresponding figure of 17.8 million units posted by its major rival Quanta Computer Inc., the leading notebook PC supplier.

• MediaTek is expected to ship up to 100 million chipsets in the third quarter alone and achieve earnings per share of NT$32 (US$0.969) for entire the year. MediaTek ranked as the No. 2 IC chip designer in the world, only trailing Qualcomm (QCOM) of the U.S. The firm is very likely to see its single-month sales revenue break the NT$10 billion (US$303 million) mark in August. With handset IC chips contributing over 70 percent to its sales revenue. Strong market demand in emerging markets, like China, India and Brazil, will help to strongly boost its sales performance in the remaining months of the third quarter.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) have received more orders for ARM-based processor chips since late July. Qualcomm, Texas Instruments (TXN), Nvidia (NVDA), Freescale Semiconductor and a unit of Via Technologies all placed orders for the chips, which will be used in smartbooks. The increase in orders will raise the capacity utilization rates for TSMC's 65-nanometer and 55-nanometer technology to 100 percent by November, while UMC's rates will reach that level by the end of August.
• Inotera Memories raised NT$10.2 billion (US$310 million) without much difficulty by issuing global depository receipt (GDP). Inotera raised from the GDP issuance 10 percent more capital than expectations, with each share trading at NT$16.02 (US$.487). Inotera is the first Taiwanese DRAM chipmaker to smoothly raise capital from the international market during the economic downturn. Nanya Technology Corp., FPG’s other DRAM subsidiary, received NT$12.2 billion (US$369 million) from the group through a private-equity placement. Industry executives point out that new capital will help facilitate the two companies’ 50-nanometer process development.

• TOM Group has net profit of HK$11.67 million (US$1.5 million) with revenues of HK$1.19 billion (US$153 million). Profit increase 16 percent year-on-year on revenues with 4 percent year-on-year. The company's share of losses in e-commerce platform Eachnet, a joint venture with eBay, narrowed 44 percent. Average revenue per Eachnet buyer increased to 22 percent during the period. Eachnet opened a marketplace for imported Taiwan goods in June. Other revenue segments include publishing, which brought in HK$404.0 million (US$52.1 million) in first half revenue, outdoor media, and TV and entertainment.

Internet

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 29, 2009; 08:00 am ET

By Michael Kanellos

Think of silicon on insulator or SOI as adult diapers for semiconductors.

The Chinese stimulus package announced in November last year has started impacting demand for consumer electronics products. Statistics released by the Chinese government indicate a 15.2% increase in May retail sales, the highest in four months. This, in turn, is pushing up demand for semiconductors used in cell phones, TVs and other electronic gadgets. During the course of the past one month, the top four foundries have turned more optimistic, citing higher Chinese demand and strength in consumer and computing markets.

Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM) (Analyst Report), the largest semiconductor foundry, went back on its decision to cut capex spending in 2009. The company raised its capex estimate from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion, similar to 2008 levels. It also decided to increase R&D headcount by 360 and design technology headcount by another 90. While the company's profitability could look like a positive in comparison to peers, TSMC continues to suffer the impact of a stronger Taiwanese dollar. This impacts profitability and makes it less competitive. Considering the given situation, one does wonder whether the headcount additions were not the result of last month's labor unrest rather than management's immediate plans to make R&D investments.

Mainland China’s cross-straits investment in Taiwan will help the island country survive the global crisis and at the same time help fix its own IC market, according to the report “Mainland China’s Semiconductor and Equipment Markets,” recently published by The Information Network, a New Tripoli, PA-based market research company.

Q1 2009 Earnings Call

April 29, 2009 8:00 am ET

• Six banks fall short on capital. As news of the preliminary stress test results continues to leak out, sources say at least 6 of the nineteen largest U.S. banks will need additional capital. Some may get extra money from the government, but most of the capital will likely come from the conversion of preferred shares to common equity. The Federal Reserve is in the process of hearing appeals from banks (including Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC)) that were told they need a larger capital cushion. Final test results are due to be released next week.
• Citigroup tries to plug capital hole. Citigroup (C) is trying to convince the government that the bank doesn't need more capital beyond recent plans to shore up its balance sheet and cut costs. However, executives have also told regulators that a capital shortfall identified in the stress tests could be filled by selling large businesses (potentially including core business units), further reducing its balance sheet or asking more investors to convert preferred shares into common stock. In short, anything but accepting additional government aid. Separately, Citigroup has reportedly asked the Treasury for permission to pay bonuses to many key employees. Shares +6.6% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Lewis on the line. Bank of America (BAC) holds its annual meeting today, and shareholders will vote on whether CEO Ken Lewis should be re-elected as the company's chairman of the board. Though Lewis is likely to win re-election to the board by a wide margin, a separate shareholder proposal forcing Lewis to give up his position as chairman is still too close to call. The votes come amid news that the company could require up to $70B in extra capital as a result of the government's stress tests. Shares +3.9% premarket (7:00 ET).
• New mortgage mod rules. The White House unveiled new guidelines in its foreclosure-prevention program to address borrowers with home-equity loans and other second mortgages. The original plan didn't address this group of borrowers, despite the fact that roughly half of seriously delinquent borrowers have a second mortgage. Under the revised plan, companies participating in the loan modification program must automatically modify the second mortgage when the first is reworked. The government will share in the cost of reducing the interest rate on second mortgages for five years.
• Chrysler reaches debt deal. Chrysler's largest lenders and the government reached a major breakthrough on debt reduction, agreeing to write down $6.9B in debt to just $2B ahead of Chrysler's bankruptcy deadline tomorrow. Despite the progress, "there is still some way to go in the negotiations," said a White House spokesman, "so I wouldn't rule anything in or out."
• SEC's fraud-fighting team. After a series of high-profile failings, the SEC is creating a team of specialists to focus on fighting fraud and to make the agency "more smart, more swift and more successful." The idea is a major shift for the SEC, which traditionally has relied on enforcement personnel who were generalists. Details of the new plan are not yet finalized.
• AIG tries to lower default risk. Less than a month after resigning, senior AIG (AIG) executive James Shephard has reportedly decided to stay on as the deputy chief of Paris-based Banque AIG. Insiders say Shephard was pressed to stay in order to help stave off the risk of default on $234B of derivatives; his continued presence at the unit will likely deter several European banks that bought derivatives from taking legal action to force AIG to repay them.
• Verizon, MSFT team up on iPhone rival. Verizon (VZ) is said to be holding talks with Microsoft (MSFT) over a touch-screen music-playing mobile phone that could compete with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone. Talks are still in the early stages, but a phone could be introduced next year. Verizon is also reportedly in talks with Apple about selling a version of the iPhone.
• Falling demand, prices hurt ArcelorMittal. ArcelorMittal (MT) posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss (see details below) as demand slumped and falling metals prices forced the company to lower the value of its inventories. Steel consumption is expected to drop another 15% in 2009, and the company is bracing for market conditions to 'remain challenging.' Shares -2.0% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Dendreon shares yo-yo on prostate drug. Dendreon's (DNDN) shares plunged dramatically yesterday, falling 45% before trading was halted. The sudden drop was in advance of a meeting at which the company presented data on prostate cancer drug Provenge. As it turns out, Dendreon executives reported that Provenge extended the median survival of prostate cancer patients by 4.1 months and improved 3-year survival by 38%. The findings raise fresh expectations of FDA approval, and sent the stock soaring in premarket trading (+127% at 7:00 ET).
• IBM boosts dividend. IBM (IBM) raised its dividend by 10%, and authorized another $3B in stock buybacks. Despite losing Sun Microsystems (JAVA) to Oracle (ORCL), IBM executives said the company absolutely still has the flexibility to make a major acquisition.
• Retail sales. Retail chain store sales fell 0.7% from a week ago, ICSC reported, and dropped 1.7% Y/Y. Consumer traffic fell for most segments, including grocery, drug, department stores and discounters. Redbook recorded that chain store sales gained 1.6% in the first three weeks of April, better than the 1.3% rise expected. Strong seasonal sales drove the improvement.
• Home prices fall (.pdf). S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-city home price index fell 18.6% in February from a year ago, slightly better than the 19% drop seen last month. All 20 areas were still lower from a month ago, but 16 of the 20 saw an improvement in their annual returns. It's the first time since Oct. 2007 that the index didn't post a record annual decline.
• Confidence ticks up. Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index improved considerably in April, rising to 39.2 from March's 26.9. Expectations rose to 49.5 from 30.2. "The sharp increase in the Expectations Index suggests that consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom, however, this Index still remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth."
• Mfg contraction slows. The Richmond Fed's Manufacturing Index contracted more slowly in April, rising to -9 from March's -20. Shipments gained twelve points to -3, new orders rose eighteen points to -2, and the jobs index edged up two points to -26.
• Mortgage apps fall. Mortgage applications fell 18.1% from a week ago, MBA reported. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages inched down to 4.62% from 4.73%.

Earnings: Wednesday Before Open

• Aetna (AET): Q1 EPS of $0.96 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $8.6B (+10.5%) vs. $8.5B. Reaffirms FY '09 EPS guidance of $3.85-$3.95. (PR)
• American Tower (AMT): Q1 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $409M (+6.9%) vs. $408M. Issues in-line guidance for FY '09, see revenue of $1.64-$1.77B vs. $1.68B consensus. (PR)
• ArcelorMittal (MT): Q1 EPS of -$0.78 misses by $0.39. Revenue of $15.1B (-49.3%) vs. $15.9B. (PR)
• Baker Hughes (BHI): Q1 EPS of $0.82 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.7B (-0.1%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)
• Burger King (BKC): FQ3 EPS of $0.34 in-line. Revenue of $600M (+1.0%) vs. $607M. Sees FY '09 EPS of $1.39-$1.42. (PR)
• Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP): Q1 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $335M (+15.5%) vs. $338M. (PR)
• FTI Consulting (FCN): Q1 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $348M (+13.3%) vs. $341M. (PR)
• General Dynamics (GD): Q1 EPS of $1.54 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $8.3B (+18%) vs. $7.8B. (PR)
• Hess (HES): Q1 EPS of -$0.18 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $6.9B (-35.8%) vs. $5.6B. (PR)
• IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI): Q1 EPS of -$0.02 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $332M (-10.4%) vs. $330M. (PR)
• Jones Apparel Group (JNY): Q1 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.18. Revenue of $891M (-8.6%) vs. $875M. (PR)
• MeadWestvaco (MWV): Q1 EPS of -$0.46 misses by $0.22. Revenue of $1.35B (-10.8%) vs. $1.44B. (PR)
• MedcoHealth Solutions (MHS): Q1 EPS of $0.63 in-line. Revenue of $14.8B (+14.4%) vs. $13.7B. Sees FY '09 EPS of $2.67-$2.77 vs. $2.73 consensus. (PR)
• MGIC Investment (MTG): Q1 EPS of -$1.49 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $435M (+2.7%) vs. $436M. (PR)
• Moody's (MCO): Q1 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $409M (-5.1%) vs. $393M. Declares a quarterly dividend of $0.10/share. (PR)
• PepsiAmericas (PAS): Q1 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $1.1B (-3.7%) in-line. Issues upside guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $1.83-$1.90 vs. $1.80 consensus. (PR)
• Praxair (PX): Q1 EPS of $0.93 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.1B (-20.3%) vs. $2.4B. Sees FY '09 EPS of $3.85-$4.15, revenue of around $9B. (PR)
• Qwest Communications International (Q): Q1 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $3.2B (-6.6%) in-line. (PR)
• Reynolds American (RAI): Q1 EPS of $1.00 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.92B (-6.6%) vs. $1.97B. Sees FY '09 EPS guidance of $4.15-$4.45. (PR)
• Rockwell Automation (ROK): FQ2 EPS of $0.29 in-line. Revenue of $1.1B (-24.8%) in-line. (PR)
• Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Q1 EPS of $0.54 misses by $0.54. Revenue of $58.2B vs. $55.2B. Q1 dividend +5% to $0.42/share. "Industry conditions remain challenging, and our focus is on capital discipline and costs." (PR)
• SAP AG (SAP): Q1 EPS of $0.22 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $2.4B (-4%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)
• Sealed Air (SEE): Q1 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $988M (-16.3%) vs. $1.03B. (PR)
• Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL): Q1 EPS of $0.01 beats by $0.01. (PR)
• Southern Company (SO): Q1 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.7B (-0.3%) vs. $3.5B. (PR)
• SPX (SPW): Q1 EPS of $0.81 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.2B (-13.9%) in-line. (PR)
• Talisman Energy (TLM): Q1 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $1.8B (-21.5%) vs. $1.7B. (PR)
• Time Warner (TWX): Q1 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $6.9B (-7%) vs. $6.8B. Reaffirms FY '09 guidance of $1.98 EPS. (PR)
• Time Warner Cable (TWC): Q1 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $4.4B (+4.9%) in-line. (PR)
• Tyco Electronics (TEL): FQ2 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $2.5B (-32.9%) vs. $2.4B. Sees FQ3 EPS of $0.01-$0.06, revenue of $2.35B-$2.45B. (PR)
• United Microelectronics (UMC): Q1 EPS of -$0.09 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $319M (-59.6%) vs. $337.5M. (PR)
• ViroPharma (VPHM): Q1 EPS of -$0.77 misses by $0.93. Revenue of $60M (+18.2%) vs. $65M. (PR)
• Waste Management (WMI): Q1 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.8B (-14.1%) vs. $3.0B. (PR)
• Wyeth (WYE): Q1 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $5.4B (-5.8%) vs. $5.5B. Reaffirms FY '09 guidance, sees EPS of $3.33-$3.53 vs. $3.50 consensus. (PR)
• Wyndham Worldwide (WYN): Q1 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $901M (-11%) vs. $839M. Reaffirms FY '09 EPS guidance of $1.61-$1.85, FY '09 revenue of $3.5-$3.9B. (PR)

Earnings: Tuesday After Close

• Ace Ltd. (ACE): Q1 EPS of $1.99 beats by $0.03. Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD): Q1 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $131.6M (+35.3%) vs. $129.1M. Shares -11.1% AH. (PR)
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG): Q1 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $234M (+6.5%) vs. $213M. Shares +4% AH. (PR)
• Carter's (CRI): Q1 EPS of $0.19 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $357M (+33.6%) vs. $335M. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.07-0.10 vs. $0.10. Shares -5.3% AH. (PR)
• Cemex (CX): Q1 operating income of $36M (-29%). Revenue of $3.7B (-32%) vs. $4.03B consensus. (PR)Dreamworks Animation SKG (DWA): Q1 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.23. Revenue of $263.5M (+67.6%) vs. $211.5M. Shares +14.6% AH. (PR)
• Cerner (CERN): Q1 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $392M (+1.9%) vs. $418M. Full-year guidance in-line. Shares -3.5% AH. (PR)
• Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI): Q1 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.3B (-10%) vs. $1.25B. Shares +17.9% AH. (PR)
• CommScope (CTV): Q1 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $742M (-26.1%) vs. $753M. Q2 revenue guidance in-line. Shares +3.8% AH. (PR)
• E*TRADE Financial (ETFC): Q1 EPS of -$0.41 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $497M (+6%) in-line. Allowance for loan losses increased $120M to $1.2B. Says it will need to further boost its capital position, through selling shares and/or a private cash injection. Shares -27.6% AH. (PR)
• Hertz Global (HTZ): Q1 EPS of -$0.25 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.56B (-23.3%) vs. $1.8B. (PR)
• Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL): Q1 EPS of -$0.47 misses by $0.40. Revenue of $494M (-12.4%) vs. $541M. Decreases semi-annual dividend to $0.10 from $0.25. Assets under management fell 11% to $41B. Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Life Technologies (LIFE): Q1 EPS of $0.72 beats by $0.15. Revenue of $785M (+124.1%) vs. $749M. Shares -0.7% AH. (PR)
• Massey Energy Company (MEE): Q1 EPS of $0.51 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $768M (+19.2%) vs. $739M. Says it has taken meaningful action to cut costs, and expects positive cash flow this year. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
• Nalco (NLC): Q1 EPS of $0.17 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $868M (-13.1%) vs. $933M. "We are pushing aggressively on productivity to help offset the impacts of weaker end markets." Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS): Q1 EPS of $0.50 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $450M (+6.3%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $2.24-2.32 vs. $2.21. Shares +8.5% AH. (PR)
• RF Micro Devices (RFMD): FQ4 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $172.3M (-21.9%) vs. $166.1M. Sees FQ1 EPS of flat vs. consensus of -$0.02. Shares -4.15% AH. (PR)
• Stericycle (SRCL): Q1 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $277M (+8.8%) in-line. Shares flat AH. (PR)
• Sun Microsystems (JAVA): FQ3 EPS of -$0.07 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $2.61B (-20%) vs. $2.86B. Shares -0.2% AH (company is being acquired by Oracle (ORCL)). (PR)
• Superior Energy Services (SPN): Q1 EPS of $0.72 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $437M (-1%) vs. $418M. Shares +1.7% AH. (PR)
• Textron (TXT): Q1 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $2.53B (-23.6%) vs. $2.78B. Sees full-year EPS of $0.45-0.75 vs. $0.97 consensus, and revenue of $11B vs. $11.8B. Launches sale of 19M shares, and $300M in convertible senior notes. Shares -5% premarket. (PR I, II)
• Total System Services (TSS): Q1 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $409M (-2.6%) vs. $474M. Sees full-year revenue of $1.63-1.66B vs. $1.95B consensus. Sees net income down 11-13% vs. a previous 0-3%. Cardholder transaction volume was down 4.3%. Shares -8.3% AH. (PR)
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB): Q1 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $289M (-18.7%) vs. $297M. Sees Q2 EOS of $0.32 vs. $0.35 and revenue of $285-315M vs. $320M. Shares -3.6% AH. (PR)
• Trustmark (TRMK): Q1 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.12. (PR)
• V.F. Corp. (VFC): Q1 EPS of $0.91 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.72B in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $4.70-5.00 vs. consensus of $5.31. Shares -8.2% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets were broadly higher Wednesday, fueling gains in overnight futures trading.

While integrated circuit (IC) demand in Mainland China grew 6.9% in 2008, internal IC production dropped 0.4% reaching 24.3% of total IC consumption, according to the report “Mainland China’s Semiconductor and Equipment Markets: A Complete Analysis Of The Technical, Economic, and Political Issues,” recently published by The Information Network.

The chip analysts at UBS turned bullish this morning, raising their ratings on a slew of stocks on the theory that the industry’s historically low utilization rates have likely troughed. UBS thinks year-over-year sales declines will likely hit bottom in the June quarter; the firm notes that “under-shipment of end consumption” should clear excess inventory over the next 1-2 quarters. While UBS sees industry revenues down 35% this year, they expect a rebound of 10% in 2010.

• U.S. chip analyst Uche Orji upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Buy from Neutral, upping his price target to $20, from $15, and asserting that a sum-of-the-parts analysis points to “significant upside.”
• Orji also upgrades Intersil (ISIL) to Neutral from Sell, increasing his target to $10, from $6.75. He writes that “downside risk to fundamentals has subsided with bottoming utilization, stabilizing order trends and potential depletion of channel inventory in one to two quarter timeframe.”
• Semiconductor equipment analyst Stephen Chin upgrades MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) to Buy from Neutral, increasing his price target to $20, from $12.50. He writes that recent checks found that a planned shutdown of its plant in Taisil, Taiwan, will be shorter than expected. He upped his Q1 EPS estimate or 9 cents, from 4 cents.
• Chin also upgraded ATMI (ATMI) to Buy from Neutral, boosting his target to $20, from $13. He says the company’s March wafer starts could increase over February given more copper-related materials sales to its largest foundry customer, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). For 2009, he now sees a loss of 92 cents a share, versus a previous estimated loss of $1.04. For 2010, he sees profits of 80 cents, up from 40 cents.
• European chip analyst Nicholas Gaudois upped his rating on CSR ((LSE:CSR)) to Buy from Neutral, upping his target to 260 pence from 200. He sees the potential for material upside from the company’s proposed acquisition of SiRF (SIRF).
• Gaudois also upped his rating on STMicroelectronics (STM) to Neutral from Sell, boosting his target to 4.40 Euros from 3.70. He says company specific risks remains, but that the downside appears limited with the stock trading at 0.8x enterprise value/trough-of-cycle ‘09 revenues.
• Asian chip analyst Jonah Cheng upped his ratings on United Microelectronics (UMC), Advanced Semiconductor, also known as ASE (2311.TW) and Siliconware Precision (SPIL) to Buy from Neutral.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

February 10, 2009 8:00 am ET