Investopedia: Apple Has Room To Get Worse Before Getting Better

With December quarter earnings in hand, Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) is no longer perfect nor flawlessly reliable. Given the sheer scale of the company and the never-ending deluge of articles, columns and opinions on Apple, there's definitely some risk now from jilted and scorned Apple lovers turning from their favorite stock. Though there's considerable apparent value in the shares at this level, investors should not ignore the risk that there could be a few more knocks to the story before the stock retrenches and investors re-evaluate its long-term potential.

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Investopedia: 5 Biggest Tech Losers For 2013

Question: Who will be the biggest gainers and losers in the tech sector for 2013?

Losers
Even if some of the gains have evaporated in the second half of the year, 2012 has still been a pretty solid year for tech stocks. On Wall Street, though, no good deeds go unpunished for long, and there will certainly be some losers in 2013. While crystal balls are still in short supply, these are some stories that investors might want to approach with some caution in 2013.

WinTel (Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) / Intel (Nasdaq:INTC)
Although I don't necessarily believe that Microsoft and Intel are going to rack up big losses for 2013 (and the stocks have underperformed in 2012), I do believe 2013 may mark the Waterloo for those who believe that the WinTel PC concept still has legs. The ultrabook concept has yet to catch on and Win8 could be setting up for a disappointment. While I think Lenovo (Nasdaq:LNVGY) still has room to grow its PC business (and that neither the desktop or notebook computer are going away), I think 2013 will confirm that whatever future growth Microsoft and Intel may have, it's not in the PC business anymore.

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Investopedia: How Apple's Fortunes Affect Other Stocks

To a certain extent, financial media these days is "all Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), all the time." When you consider the significance and impact of Apple's performance and health on the entire market ecosystem, that level of attention doesn't seem quite so outlandish. For better or worse, the health of Apple shapes the fortunes of a large number of stocks and to some extent, the markets themselves.

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Investopedia: For Jabil, The Price Is Right But The Timing Is Uncertain

I don't know whether Jabil (NYSE:JBL) is really going to succeed in differentiating itself over the long term from the broader electronics manufacturing service (EMS) industry. What I do know, though, is that this is a tough stretch for the global economy and for key end markets like handsets, medical equipment, and communications/networking hardware. Jabil's stock does look undervalued, though, and while I think it may be too soon to make a major commitment here, I can see how this stock could appeal to more aggressive value hounds.

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Seeking Alpha: Can Nokia Pull Out Of Its Death Spiral?

Simply put, Nokia (NOK) is a mess. Where once this was the world's best cell phone maker and the owner of a high-quality balance sheet, now the company is struggling to stay relevant and stem the loss of market share to Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF.PK). Although the company's feature phone business in North America looks as though its in shambles, the company does have enough liquidity and time to make what may be a last stand around its Microsoft (MSFT) Windows-powered Lumia.

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Can Nokia Pull Out Of Its Death Spiral?

Investopedia: Value Is Value When It Comes To Jabil

I've never been fond of Jabil (NYSE:JBL) as a long-term holding but, I did write back in September that I thought the stock might be priced to perform. And the stock was quite obliging in that regard, as it rose more than 50% over the next six months before taking another sharp downward turn. While I still have major reservations about owning these shares over a long stretch of time, the upcoming Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPhone launch could offer some upside.

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Investopedia: Nokia Moves Around The Deck Chairs One More Time

At this point, the agonizing pace of Nokia's (NYSE:NOK) never-ending turnaround is starting to evoke the idea of a band-aid being pulled off incredibly slowly. Once again the company is looking to take charge and fire workers, but nothing in the proposed changes are likely to boost the company's share against Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) or Samsung. Absent a hardware-software duo that can seriously challenge the top players, Nokia's slide toward irrelevance seems likely to continue.

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Investopedia: Clarity Comes Too Late To RIMM

The best thing that can be said about Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) in the wake of its fiscal fourth quarter results, is that at least new management is no longer pretending that the emperor is fully clothed in regal splendor. Unfortunately, those hanging on in the hopes of a turnaround story should wonder whether management really has a firm grasp on the company's best chances for rebuilding the business.

Dismal Results 
It's hard to call RIMM's fourth quarter results anything other than a wreck. Revenue not only missed expectations, but fell 25% from last year and 19% from the preceding quarter. Handset revenue was bad; down 37% on what looked like a double-digit decline in units. Service revenue was up 26%, but makes up only about one-quarter of total revenue (and is ultimately a byproduct of device sales).

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Investopedia: As A Change Of Pace, Apple Does The Expected

Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) enjoys a reputation, perhaps exaggerated but nevertheless valid, for being a company that zigs while everyone else is zagging. With Monday's announcement of a dividend and multi-year buyback plan, though, Apple did more or less what everyone thought it would do with its cash.

While this dividend will now open up new prospective investor groups for the stock, it seems highly unlikely to impact the company's future growth or investment plans. With leading technology in multiple markets, Apple looks as though it will be in position to continue adding to its already-prodigious cash pile in the coming years.

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Investopedia: Nokia Still Has Miles To Go

It says something about a company (and its stock) when the market is apparently willing to hand out plaudits on the basis of "things were less terrible than we thought." It's hard to say that Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is really on the way back, but maybe this fading mobile phone leader has at least found the path to take.

Stepping Over a Low Bar 

Sell-side analysts didn't expect a lot from Nokia, but the company at least delivered that much. Revenue was up 11% sequentially for the fourth quarter, though down 21%. Both the "device" (that is, phones) and networks business saw basically the same 11% sequential growth (networks was a little stronger), but the year-on-year drop for devices was still pretty steep, down almost 30%. (For related reading, see Research In Motion Sliding Toward The Cliff.)

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Investopedia: "Figuring Out" Apple Feels Like A Sisyphean Task

Spare a moment of pity for the Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) bears and shorts, as they have another difficult day ahead of trying to get over their cognitive dissonance. Simply put, this company remains a remarkable force in consumer technology, and seems to have an uncanny ability to create its own markets. The Gordian knot for Apple investors, then, is trying to make their peace with a valuation that suggests Apple may just be worth a truly breathtaking amount of money.

A Great Start to the Year  
Apple certainly had a good Christmas. Revenue in the fiscal first quarter jumped 73% from last year and 64% from the prior quarter, and did some very bad things to the prior analyst guesses. Revenue was largely strong across the board - PC sales were up 22%, iPhone sales were up 133% and iPad sales were up 99%, while iPod sales declined 26% year-on-year.

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Investopedia: Research In Motion - New CEO, Same Problem?

With Research In Motion's (Nasdaq:RIMM) market cap in a neck-and-neck race toward the bottom with its market share, the company had to do something to reverse course and stem the losses. While a change in leadership at the top is in fact a big move, it looks as though RIMM did not go far enough. In fact, investors may well be skeptical that this is simply old wine in a new bottle until proven differently.

Meet the New Boss  
RIMM announced over the weekend that co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie would step aside and that former co-COO Thorston Heins would take the reins as the new CEO. At the same time, Barbara Stymiest, a RIMM board member since 2007 and a former executive with Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) will become the Chair of the board of directors.

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Investopedia: Research In Motion Sliding Toward The Cliff

There's a quote in one of Peter Lynch's books that goes something like "it's always darkest before pitch-black." Personally, I like to harken back to the quote that the light at the end of the tunnel is often an oncoming train. Take whatever snarky, pessimistic quote you prefer; Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) certainly deserves it. An arrogant and mis-run company is now paying the price for its mistakes and shareholders are looking at not only a long road back, but a road that may well lead to nowhere.


Third Quarter as Expected, But ... 
Research In Motion had previously alerted the Street to most of the salient details about this quarter, so the financial performance was not all that surprising, but it was still unpleasant to behold. Revenue fell 6% from last year, on a 1% shipment decline in smartphones. As it stands now, it looks like RIMM's smartphone market share has fallen apart 10%.


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FinancialEdge: Can Research In Motion Be Saved?

The technology sector is a merciless market and there are few "fade into the sunset" stories. Instead, whenever and wherever there is success, a horde of rivals soon follow with the express intention of taking what you do best, doing it a little (or a lot) better and driving you out of business. The rise of Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) was unexpected and remarkable, virtually tethering a whole generation of workers to their jobs in a way never quite achieved before, but the fall has been just as remarkable. (For related reading, see Blackberry Continues Its Downward Motion.)


With the market having moved on from specialized one-function devices to do-everything smartphones, can Research In Motion adapt to and overcome the new competitive realities?

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Investopedia: What Comes After "Worse" For OmniVision Technologies?

When a company goes from bad to worse and then another step further, what do you call that? Whatever word investors in OmniVision Technologies (Nasdaq:OVTI) may choose, and most of them would likely be unprintable, it is clear that this specialty chip company is indeed in trouble. Although much will be made of the company's share losses to Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), this is increasingly looking like a broader sector issue as well.

A Bad Quarter 

OmniVision told investors a little while ago that this fiscal second quarter was going to be bad, and it was. Although revenue actually slightly exceeded the company's most recent guidance range, it still represented around a 9% year-on-year decline and approximately a 21% decline in sales. OmniVision took a one-two punch on the top line, as shipments fell about 11% sequentially and average selling price fell a similar amount. Notably, higher-end products (two megapixels and up) made up a significantly smaller share of total sales in the quarter. (For related reading, see A Primer On Investing In The Tech Industry.)

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Investopedia: The Investment Prospects For Nokia

As technology moves from one generation to the next, the old champions are frequently left behind with only fading memories of former glories. That has certainly proved to be the case with Nokia (NYSE:NOK), as this one-time growth champion has become a lagging dotard in the cellphone market that it still, somehow, leads. With new management and a new operating philosophy in place, including a far-reaching partnership with Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), it is time to reconsider the investment case for Nokia.

The Problems Have Been Many
Although much is made of Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), burying Nokia under the avalanche prompted by the iPhone, the fact is that Nokia was struggling long before that. Consider any recent innovation (going back to the clamshell design), and Nokia was almost always one of the last to be on board and usually not a good representation of the breed. In fact, Nokia couldn't even stay ahead of the likes of Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) or Palm as the cell phone world changed.


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Investopedia: Marvell Starting To Get Interesting

Often one of the tricks to investment success is counter-intuitive investment instincts. In the case of chip company Marvell Technology (Nasdaq:MRVL), it may seem silly to be interested in this name when its storage business is threatened by flooding that has hit its customers, and its wireless business continues to suffer as its major customers wither under competition. All of that may be true, but it ignores the facts that this company is getting more diversified, and still manages to generate attractive amounts of free cash flow.

A Challenging Third Quarter  
Relatively few chip companies are reporting great earnings right now, and that's particularly true for those with high levels of exposure to PCs and Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM). For this quarter, Marvell reported that revenue fell 1% from the year-ago level, but rose 6% on a sequential basis. The company's storage business (chips that control hard disk drives) saw 11% growth from last year and flat sequential performance, while the networking business was up 7% and also flat from the second quarter. Mobile/wireless was more mixed - down 15% from the year-ago period, but up 20% from the second quarter as the company navigates past its RIM issues.

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Investopedia: Smoke Starting To Billow From The OmniVision Story

For some time now, I have thought that the bears had it wrong on OmniVision (NASDAQ:OVTI) and that even if the company was losing some of its technological lead over Sony (NYSE:SNE), Aptina and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), the stock was still too cheap relative to its prospects and cash on the balance sheet. As it turns out, though, those wisps on the horizon weren't just clouds, but actual smoke, and it seems like OmniVision may have a very real problem on its hands. 


The News Is Getting Worse
OmniVision didn't exactly have investors excited with its last earnings report in August. At that point, the company talked about some product delays and revised revenue guidance lower - due supposedly to problems with tablet customers.

As it turns out, the company did not go nearly far enough. OmniVision announced on November 7, 2011 that it was once again revising guidance lower, taking the numbers for the next quarter down another 20% or so to a range of $212 million to $217 million, a steep fall indeed from the $300-million-plus level of not so long ago. Making matters worse, the company was fairly cryptic about the reason - simply referring to "unexpected cutback in orders for certain key projects."


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Investopedia: Boogeymen That Keep CEOs Awake At Night

Tis the season when kids, and more than a few adults, sacrifice sound sleep in the name of thrills and chills from horror movies. But it's not just Halloween flicks that can lead to sleepless nights. In fact, there are several issues that can keep concerned CEOs from getting all of their beauty sleep. 

Did You Remember to Lock the Doors and Windows?   
There is almost no limit to the number of potentially damaging leaks that spring up in any business. Social media can prove an irresistible opportunity for an executive or employee to offend or embarrass, and disgruntled employees and corporate spies are always looking to hand over your crown jewels to a rival. From harassment and discrimination suits to patent infringement and outright theft, a CEO can never rest easy that what is going on in-house is both proper and likely to stay in-house.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Boogeymen-That-Keep-CEOs-Awake-At-Night-KO-BP-JNJ-DNDN-AAPL-MSFT-RIMM1027.aspx

Investopedia: Apple Getting The Benefit Of The Doubt

It's good to be the king. I am willing to bet that if F5 (Nasdaq:FFIV), Google (Nasdaq:GOOG), or EMC (NYSE:EMC) misses its revenue estimate by 5%, the stock is going to get pounded pretty hard. With Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), though, it seems like analysts, investors, and commentators are willing to go out of their way to find excuses and explanations to soften the blow. This is not to say that Apple does not deserve the benefit of the doubt (it does), but it just highlights that this is a situation where there is a huge fan base that wants the company and its stock to succeed.

A Disappointing Close to the Fiscal Year  
It is a testament to the success of Apple that 39% growth to over $28 billion in quarterly sales is a disappointment. But a disappointment it is all the same, as that top line figure came in about 5% below the average estimate and 10% below the target of the most ardent Apple analyst around.

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