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Motorola files another small profit in fourth quarter
Moto appears to be continuing its long, arduous road toward recovery on news of its financial results for the fourth quarter of '09 -- or, at the very least, it's not losing any ground. Overall, the company posted a meager profit of $142 million for the quarter on revenue of $5.723 billion, $14 million better than a quarter prior and a staggering $3.799 billion better than the same quarter a year ago. Breaking it down by division, Mobile Devices is still in the red, but not by terribly much -- it did $1.8 billion in sales with an operating loss of $132 million, while Home and Networks Mobility (the guys responsible for wireless infrastructure and set-top boxes) made $91 million on sales of $2 billion. Some 12 million handsets were shipped in the quarter alongside 3.4 million set-tops; that marks a downtick of 1.4 million phones from the third quarter, but as the company shifts focus to smartphones, it makes sense that would happen to a certain extent -- provided the company can keep margins high. The company expects to lose somewhere between 1 and 3 cents per share in the first quarter of 2010, so the recovery isn't complete yet -- but stemming the bleeding was an important first step.
Ericsson to cut 1,500 more jobs than expected in wake of nightmarish Q4 '09 earnings call
Just when you thought that infrastructure firms would be banking ridiculous quantities as carriers around the world kick off LTE trials and full-scale network upgrades, it looks like we're actually still stuck in a bearish period on Ericsson's news that its profit fell a whopping 92 percent to $43.4 million from the same period a year prior. Analysts probably thought the same, too, seeing how they'd reached a consensus estimate of 2.5 billion kronor (about $346 million) in profit, generally making this a quarter Ericsson would like to forget as quickly as possible. That'll be difficult, though, because it's currently on the path to cut several thousand jobs, which is where the other shocking half of this news comes into play: they've now bumped the total cuts from 5,000 to about 6,500, perhaps a side effect of the fact that new CEO Hans Vestberg sees the dead-in-the-water market "staying the same" so far against the fourth quarter. So c'mon, carriers of the world -- let's drop a few hundred billion into 4G upgrades right this second, shall we?
Liveblog: Apple's Q1 2010 results conference call
Thanks for joining TUAW for our liveblog of Apple's first quarter 2010 earnings conference call. If you've never joined us for a liveblog before, it's a blast. You can send us your questions or comments as the phone call is progressing. We'll be supplying our "expert commentary," but we invite your inquiries and opinions as well. Just use the CoverItLive tool below to join in. To listen to the phone call, you can tune in at http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/21alert_results.html. After the phone call has been completed, you can revisit our liveblog at this page and listen to the phone call at the same URL. Apple FY10 Q1 Results Conference Call
TUAW Liveblog: Apple FY09 Q4 earnings call
Apple's earnings report came out just a few minutes ago, and the conference call is coming right up! Join us for the liveblog below as we follow along through the conference call. Apple FY09 Q4 Earnings Call
Apple press release: FY 09 Q4 earnings
Apple has just released the fourth quarter earnings report for fiscal year 2009. The report can be read here and will be discussed in detail on the upcoming earnings call with Wall Street analysts. The big news? Apple once again beat the Street with $1.82 EPS against an expectation of $1.65 EPS! More good news will be coming soon. Also big news: "Apple sold 3.05 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a 17 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing an eight percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones in the quarter, representing seven percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. " Be sure to join in on our liveblog of the call, coming up at about 4:50 PM EDT today.
Join TUAW for Apple Q4 earnings call liveblog at 5 PM EDT today
Time flies when you're having fun -- it seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we were enjoying the Q3 earnings report from Apple, Inc. Well, today the wizards of Cupertino are on the phone again with top Wall Street analysts to report how the company did during the fourth quarter (July - September, 2009). Many analysts are expecting Apple to continue its recession-defying high wire act, with an analyst poll by Thomson Reuters Financial showing an earnings forecast of US$1.42 per share. That's 13 percent over the same quarter a year ago, and higher than Apple's own forecast of US$1.18 - US$1.23 per share. As usual, we'll be covering the earnings call via CoverItLive. Drop by TUAW at approximately 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT) and join us. Bring your questions, and we'll supply the news and commentary.
NCsoft aims for Aion to be second only to WoW in US
NCsoft has big plans for their fantasy MMO Aion in the west, and they're hoping to emulate their Asian success in the North American market. Kris Graft reports for Gamasutra that Aion generated 40.6 billion won (USD 32.7 million) in Q2 2008, which he notes is a strong start. In an earnings call, NCsoft CFO Jaeho Lee said, "I believe the performance of Aion in the US and European markets will be very successful. ... We are guessing that Aion will be -- could be -- the second [most] successful MMO in the US market next to World of Warcraft." Bold optimism, to be sure. What really caught our attention, though, was that Graft pointed out a mention of the now dead-and-buried Tabula Rasa during that earnings call, another title NCsoft once had high hopes for in western markets. In answer to a question about how many boxes of Aion will ship as opposed to Tabula Rasa, Gamasutra quotes Lee as having said, "It's very unfortunate to hear the name of Tabula Rasa at this conference call... and we all want to forget and erase that memory from our performance."
Apple on smartphone competition: "if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them."
For those of you who weren't listening in to Apple's earnings call today, you missed a prime moment of defensiveness when Tim Cook fielded a question about how the company plans to stay competitive amidst new entries from the likes of Google and, more recently, Palm. What seemed like an answer due to end with a "we've got some great new stuff on the way" slant, Cook dovetailed into how the company views its new smartphone competition. In his words:Q: "There are other iPhone competitors coming to the market: Android, Palm Pre. How do you think about sustaining leadership in the face of these competitors?"A: "It's difficult to compare to products that are not yet in the market. iPhone has seen terrific rating from customers. Software is the key ingredient, and we believe that we are years ahead of our competitors. Having different screen sizes, different input methods, and different hardware makes things difficult for developers. We view iPhone as primarily a software platform, which is different from our competitors. We don't mind competition, but if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them." And then the follow-up:Q: "The Palm device seems to directly emulate the iPhone's innovative interface. Is that what you're referring to?" A: "We don't want to refer to any specific companies, so that was a general statement. We like competition because it makes us better, but we will not stand for companies infringing on our IP."Now, we've heard Apple sound off on its intellectual property before, but the way a somewhat innocuous question about new challengers in the mobile arena got turned into a not-so vague threat of legal action is a bit stunning. Could it be that the Pre is Apple's first real multitouch, capacitive-screen competition, and the device just happened to be co-developed by Jon Rubinstein... formerly of Apple? We're not taking any flying leaps here, but the preempted initial answer seems to suggest that the folks in Cupertino may not take every new threat so coolly.
Sony Ericsson drags hard on Sony's numbers
It's easy to think of Sony Ericsson as a little drop in parent Sony's gargantuan bucket, but yeah, that's not so much the case. News of the manufacturer's dismal fiscal performance did its fair part in sending Sony's earnings into a free fall, thanks to a cash payout just 3 percent of what it was a year ago -- ¥17.1 billion all the way down to a meager ¥0.6 billion. Talk of Sony's exit from the joint venture is terribly, terribly premature, but you've got to wonder: since the company isn't really a holistic part of the Sony ecosystem, how many consecutive quarters would a crappy balance sheet be tolerated? [Warning: PDF link][Via mocoNews]
Verizon has its own data success story in Q2 earnings
AT&T isn't having all the fun when it comes to subscribers' newfound love for data. Verizon has published the nitty gritty details of its second quarter earnings this week, revealing that data ARPU is up some 31.3 percent year over year -- undoubtedly a reflection on devices like the Glyde and XV6900 that are making email and quick visits to Engadget Mobile during morning meetings not just possible, but usably so. What's more, net adds totaled 1.5 million in the quarter, besting AT&T's 1.3 million -- not to say it needs to, considering the Alltel acquisition will end up giving 'em more than enough ammo to propel back into the number one spot, assuming that it ends up getting approved.[Via mocoNews]
Palm announces Q4 earnings -- it's not as bad as you think
Palm continued to flaunt its almost inexplicable boost in health in an earnings call yesterday. According to reports, honcho Ed Colligan boasted of a 29 percent gain in smartphone sales year-over-year, largely in part to the stellar performance of the company's budget-priced (with contract) Centro. In light of the recent negative outlook from investors, retail store closings, a constantly delayed OS update, and fierce competition, it's a pretty impressive feat to not only stay afloat, but manage some small victories. Now if they can just deliver on those OS and device promises we keep hearing about, they may stay in this game yet.[Via Palm Infocenter]
Virgin Mobile's first quarter earnings: down, but good times supposedly ahead
Virgin Mobile's warnings of a bleak quarter were pretty dead-on, with a mere 17,772 net adds coming on board during the three-month time frame ending March 31 -- not quite the blockbuster 309,721 reported in the same period a year ago. Similarly, revenue and income both took a dive, supposedly in part due to a big marketing push focused on the MVNO's new pricing plans. If there's a silver lining on the dark, rumbling cloud, though, it's that the CEO believes they'll start to see some positive growth again in the third quarter after a weak second (for his sake, we hope he's right). Also notable was a mention that although the company had no strategic partnerships, alliances, or investments to announce, it was definitely open to "non-organic growth" in the form of another MVNO or "capability." Wonder what he may have been talking about there?[Via mocoNews]
Apple says WiFi-equipped iPods are the wave of the future... maybe
During the Apple earnings call today, the company suggested that WiFi-enabled iPods were "one" of the future directions in which Cupertino sees the media player market heading. While sticking to vague characterizations, a spokesperson intimated that wireless communication would play a role in upcoming devices (as demonstrated in the iPod touch), saying, "The iPod market is bigger than just for simple music players, one of the iPod's future direction is to be one of the first WiFi mobile platforms." Of course, Apple wasn't ready to put all its eggs in one basket, nor did it mention emerging wireless technologies such as WiMAX, but they're probably confident that customers will take it where they can get it.
Sprint's earnings call reveals Motorolas; Q included
We're sure Verizon's been having a blast with their American exclusivity on the Motorola Q, but the fun and games are about to come to an end -- and another domestic carrier's Windows Mobile-loving customers have cause to celebrate. COO Len Lauer spilled the beans during Sprint's earnings call Thursday, revealing that the company is planning to pick up the honorary RAZR of smartphones (the Q, that is) sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. Speaking of RAZRs, the Moto love continues with a SLVR and RAZR (the V3m, perhaps?) coming down the pike. Between this and the announcement that their Rev. A deployment is ahead of schedule, the good news nearly outweighs the bad stemming from the "earnings" part of the earnings call -- not surprisingly, some analysts are speculating that profits fell short due to Sprint's failure to offer a RAZR thus far.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
