Investopedia: BlackBerry Finally Looking For A Bidder, But Will A Real Buyer Bite?

It looks like an outbreak of rationality has hit BlackBerry (Nasdaq:BBRY), as the company announced on Monday that it had formed a special committee to “explore strategic alternatives” for the struggling handset company. While the company's announcement mentioned options like joint ventures, partnerships, and alliances, shareholders, analysts, and investors are are zeroing in almost exclusively on the possibility of a sale.

If BlackBerry is serious about a sale, it'll happen. I have no doubt that, at the right price, the company can find a buyer willing to take on the not-inconsiderable task of turning around this struggling high-end handset company. The trick is going to be that “at the right price” part. BlackBerry's enterprise value (that is, market capitalization net of cash and debt on the balance sheet) isn't very large, but any buyer is looking at a likely multi-year restructuring/turnaround program that will require capital, compress margins, and offer only uncertain payoffs.

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Investopedia: What's The Glide Path For Apple's Margins?

Wall Street is a quarter-to-quarter world, and that means analysts are always going to obsess over the unit and ASP numbers for Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPhone and iPad. What I think is more important to consider, though, is the future path of Apple's margins. The inexorable reality for consumer electronics companies is lower ASPs and lower margins, and lower margins are never good for stocks. Even conservative free cash flow growth assumptions suggest Apple shares are much too cheap now, but the realities of holding shares in a company facing persistent margin erosion may mean that it's a long path to reaping that value.

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Investopedia: BlackBerry Still Doesn't Get It

There's maybe no better example of the disconnect between the real world and the stock market than the near-tripling of BlackBerry's (Nasdaq:BBRY) stock price from the September lows of 2012 to the February highs of this year. This is a company that still doesn't appear to know how to handle investor relations, nor actually listen to what customers want and design their devices accordingly. The company's sizable cash balance gives management many additional bites at the cherry, but it's hard for me to see a reason to believe they'll execute on the turnaround opportunities in front of them.

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Investopedia: Marvell Unloved, But Does That Mean Undervalued?

It's hardly news to say that Wall Street plays favorites and in doing so sometimes goes well past the bounds of reality with respect to a company's real underlying value. For every ARM Holdings (Nasdaq:ARMH) or Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI), there seems to be at least one undervalued company. The question for shareholders is whether Marvell (Nasdaq:MRVL) deserves to be included in that latter group. While the valuation seems quite undemanding, this company still has a ways to go to convince investors that it still has the competitiveness and the business model to drive better long-term results.

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Investopedia: The Defenestration Of Apple Continues

As I suggested back in January on this website, I thought Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) could have further to fall as growth investors and fan-boys dove off the bandwagon in the wake of less-than-perfect execution. In that short space of time, the shares dropped about 20%, leading to a huge loss of shareholder wealth (at least on paper).

Apple is a curious stock to me now. I do believe that the stock is too cheap relative to what I see as the probable trajectory of revenue and cash flow. By the same token, I've been at this too long to underestimate the headwinds that a stock can face when a large base of shareholders becomes disenchanted with a story and moves on for greener pastures. I do believe that patient investors will do better than just okay in Apple shares from these levels, but investors buying in today have to accept at least the risk of a further over-correction on the downside before the shares start to perform again.

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Investopedia: Samsung Stores A No-Risk Opportunity For Best Buy

Give credit to Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) – the company is not going down without a fight. While there are still ample concerns about whether there's life in big-box electronics and appliance retailing, Best Buy is trying to find ways to rejuvenate the stores. Even in the absence of a buyout led by founder Richard Schulze, the stock has rallied back to a 52-week high on optimism about these moves.

The latest move is an interesting one for the company – the launch of a “store within a store” concept with Samsung, the other 800-lb gorilla of the smartphone and tablet market. Although these mini-stores are unlikely to significantly improve overall sales for Best Buy, they could be good for margins and could point to a new direction in big-box retailing.

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Is RIMM Losing The War?

Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) would not be the first company to largely invent a market, only to see latecomers take the business away from them. Although it is absolutely fair to debate whether RIMM's Blackberry "invented" the market that Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and Motorola (NYSE:MOT) are profitably exploiting now, the more relevant question is whether RIMM can withstand the battles in the market and remain a top competitor. After all, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) was seen as a leader once, too. 

A Bright Quarter With A Dark Shadow
In many respects RIMM delivered a fine quarter. Revenue rose 40% from last year (and 19% sequentially) to almost $5.5 billion, with handset revenue and shipments increasing by similar degrees. Given that RIMM surpassed the average estimate and was close to the high end of the range, that would normally be good news. On the other hand, U.S. revenue dropped 16% sequentially despite an aggressive promotion of Torch at AT&T (NYSE:T) and channel inventory ticked up - while either of these events on their own may be no problem, the combination is a valid reason for concern.

Nevertheless, profitability at RIMM is still good. Gross margin improved almost a full point from last year (though declined more than that sequentially), and operating margin was modestly better. All in all, operating income rose 42% from last year (and 16% from last quarter), while net profits rose 45%. RIMM also did well from a cash perspective, adding about $450 million in cash to the balance sheet. 


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