wall street
Intel Corp., symbol INTC on Nasdaq, is the world’s leading computer-chip maker. For the first quarter of 2011, the company reported record revenue of $12.9 billion. That’s up 25.0% from $10.3 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Two acquisitions in the 2011 quarter contributed $496 million to revenue. The tech stock’s earnings jumped 33.8%, to $3.3 billion, or $0.59 per share, from $2.5 billion, or $0.43 a share. Intel saw strong demand in all product lines and all markets around the world. Revenue for the tech stock’s PC Client Group (microprocessors and motherboards for notebooks, desktop computers, and wireless connectivity products) rose 17%. The Data Center Group (microprocessors and motherboards for servers, workstations, storage and wired network connectivity products) gained 32%. The Other Intel Architecture Group (components for phones, embedded applications, netbooks and tablets, consumer electronics and handhelds) jumped by 70%....
You may have an old stock certificate or two in your files, issued by an unfamiliar firm. Perhaps you bought the stock yourself, or inherited it. The stock market pick’s certificate may be registered in your name, or in the name of an earlier owner — the friend or relation who left it to you, or a total stranger. One way to determine the value of a certificate like this, if any, is to try to deposit it in an account with a discount broker. If the issuing company’s corporate charter has been cancelled, the discount broker will reject the certificate and return it to you. If the stock has been taken over by another company, the discount broker will try to collect the securities or cash that the buying company paid for it.
Why you never find high-quality stock market picks in the bottom of the junk drawer
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Stanley Black & Decker Inc., New York symbol SWK, makes power and hand tools and security devices. It took its current form on March 12, 2010. That’s when Stanley Works bought the Black & Decker Corp. for $3.5 billion in stock. At the time of the merger, Stanley shareholders owned 50.5% of the combined company, and Black & Decker investors owned the remaining 49.5%. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the company earned $157.8 million, or $0.92 a share, compared to a loss of $108.6 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Excluding charges relating to the merger, the growth stock’s earnings per share would have risen 54.3%, to $1.08 from $0.70. The growth stock’s sales rose 89.0% in the quarter, to $2.4 billion from $1.3 billion. If you assume the purchase occurred at the start of 2010, sales would have risen 4%....
The U.S. consumer sector is highly competitive. As well, retailers are more exposed to swings in the overall economy than companies in some other sectors, such as utilities. However, U.S. consumer stocks also hold the potential for strong gains. To cut your risk and earn higher profits when investing in this volatile sector, it’s especially important to focus on chains that can adapt quickly and prosper in the fast-changing retail landscape.
U.S.A. stock market: Shift to more profitable products pushed up this retailer’s latest results
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If you’re a member of our Inner Circle service or a subscriber to one of our newsletters—or if you’re thinking of becoming a subscriber—you’ll want to make sure you “like” our Facebook page right away. That’s because, every Wednesday afternoon, you learn “what’s on Pat’s mind”. That’s when Pat gives you a special advance preview of what he’s working on for the upcoming issue of his newsletters (The Successful Investor, Stock Pickers Digest, Canadian Wealth Advisor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster). We send a new issue to Inner Circle members and newsletter subscribers every Friday. If you haven’t yet visited the page — www.tsinetwork.ca/facebook — you really should. Nearly 500 investors now follow our Facebook page....
C.R. Bard Inc, symbol BCR on New York, makes medical devices in four main areas: vascular products (28% of sales) such as stents and catheters; oncology products (27%) that detect and treat various types of cancer; urology products (26%) such as drainage and incontinence devices; and surgical tools (16%). Other medical products supply the remaining 3%. We analyze C.R. Bard in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. stock market. In the first quarter of 2011, Bard’s sales rose 7.6%, to $700.3 million from $650.8 million a year earlier. Earnings gained 9.1% to $131.9 million, or $1.49 per share. The stock market pick earned $121.2 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier....
Verizon Communications Inc., symbol VZ on New York, owns 55% of Verizon Wireless, which is the largest wireless provider in the U.S.; U.K.-based Vodafone plc owns the other 45%. This business has 104 million customers in 50 states, and accounts for 63% of Verizon’s revenue. The remaining 37% comes from its wireline division, which sells local and long-distance telephone service to over 25 million customers in 28 states. The high dividend stock’s annual payout rate is $1.95 a share, for a yield of 5.2%. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Verizon earned $0.51 per share, up 218.8% from $0.16 a year earlier. If you exclude costs related to the spinoff of a subsidiary and other unusual items in the year-earlier quarter, earnings per share would have risen 6.3%. Sales rose just 0.3%, to $27.0 billion from $26.9 billion a year earlier....
Today’s fast-changing technology offers huge opportunities in tech stocks. However, fast change also brings danger. Here are 4 risk factors you face when investing in tech stocks (below we look at 4 ways you can minimize these risks—and increase your profits).
- Marketing is as hard as inventing: Even a great new product or computer program may fail to overcome retailer and customer skepticism.
- A tech stock’s acquisitions can bring “time-bomb” risk: Companies sometimes grow quickly by buying other companies. But sellers may simply want out of a losing situation.
- Major tech stocks also make mistakes: Junior tech stocks often trumpet their deals with major firms, such as Apple. Apple has vastly more knowledge and bargaining clout than any individual investor. But it still invests in products that fail.
- High-tech shams are common: It’s easier to set up a company and sell stock to investors than to perfect a technological advance. Be especially wary when junior technology stocks splurge on elaborate web sites and glossy investor brochures.
AT&T, symbol T on New York, was the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Apple iPhone, until Verizon started selling it in February. However, AT&T is rapidly upgrading its wireless networks, which should help it hang on to its current iPhone customers. Despite iPhone competition from Verizon, AT&T still activated nearly 3.6 million iPhones in the first quarter, with 23% of those being new customers for AT&T. In all, it sold 5.5 million smartphones in the quarter. Besides the iPhone, AT&T is benefiting from rising use of other wireless devices, such as the iPad and electronic-book readers. The company added 2 million wireless customers in the quarter, and now has 97.5 million....
Xerox Corp., symbol XRX on New York, makes copiers, laser printers and other publishing equipment. Xerox is one of the large cap stocks we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. In February 2010, Xerox paid $6.5 billion for Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), which sells computer outsourcing services. Xerox now gets 80% of its revenue from long-term service contracts and recurring payments for supplies. That cut its risk....