International Business Machines Corp

DBaaS makes it easier to build applications in the cloud. This is why DBaaS is expected to become a dominant deployment model for all databases.

Microsoft (MSFT) is behind only Amazon (AMZN) in the overall cloud space.

Earlier in the series, we discussed IBM’s (IBM) geographical revenues and the impact of currency fluctuations, especially the US dollar’s (UUP) impact on the company’s fiscal 4Q17 results.

According to Gartner, server market revenues grew 2.8% to ~$13.9 billion, while shipments grew 2.4% to ~2.8 million units in 2Q17.

In fiscal 1Q18, Oracle’s Cloud ERP business grew 90%, excluding NetSuite’s contribution, and reached an annual run rate of $1.3 billion.

On May 21, 2015, HP (HPQ) officially announced the sale of its 51% share in H3C Technologies to China-based Tsinghua Holdings subsidiary, Unisplendour.

Through the acquisition of Omniture, an analytics platform, in 2009, Adobe (ADBE) forayed into the digital marketing space. Omniture is now called Adobe Analytics.

Everyone’s heard that data is the new oil. But Paradata shows that data is like crude oil—if you don’t refine it into something you can use, it’s useless.

Earlier in the series, we discussed IBM’s improved position in the cloud space due to its prowess in the hybrid cloud space.

Amazon’s AWS is a fast-growing business for the company that saw its revenues rise by 55% YoY (year-over-year) to over $3.2 billion in 3Q16.

IBM’s Strategic Imperatives segment is increasingly focused on IoT (Internet of Things), AI (artificial intelligence), and Blockchain technologies.

International Business Machines (IBM) reported its 2Q17 results on Tuesday, July 18. The company reported falling quarterly profits and sales yet again.

During the conference call to announce Microsoft’s (MSFT) fiscal Q3 2014 earnings, Microsoft mentioned that it recently launched a new version of SQL database

In fiscal 3Q18, Azure grew 93%, and Office 365 grew 42%.

Oracle was trading at a forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of ~8.6x on June 29, 2016.

Microsoft, Amazon, and other vendors are pursuing a $278.3 billion revenue opportunity in the global public cloud market, according to the latest Gartner estimates.

Are markets upbeat on potential tax reforms? The markets (SPY) (IVV) surged last week with the announcement of a phenomenal update on the corporate tax cut. The S&P and Nasdaq Comp gained ~2% in the week ended February 10, 2017. The Trump administration’s proposed tax cut is likely to boost the economy, though analysts have […]

Intel gained a lion’s share in the PC and sever space. However, IBM’s Power Architecture may challenge Intel’s dominance in the server market in the future.

IBM (IBM) recently won a cloud computing contract from Kyocera. The contract was awarded after a competitive bidding process.

In late 2016, Oracle (ORCL) launched the second generation of its IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) offering, Oracle Bare Metal Cloud.

Seasonality is expected to weigh on IBM’s fiscal 3Q17 results. IBM expects a sequential fall of almost $1 billion in its revenue.

For fiscal 3Q17, analysts expect Salesforce (CRM) to post revenue and non-GAAP EPS (earnings per share) of ~$2.12 billion and $0.21, respectively.

Cisco CEO John Chambers believes the Internet of Everything (IoE) might be a $19 trillion opportunity. Cities globally have the potential to claim $1.9 trillion in value from IoE over the next decade, Cisco’s study stated.

As of October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock has returned 3.2% in the past month and 31.4% over the past four quarters.

In 2014, IBM’s (IBM) cloud-related technologies generated revenues of $7 billion, a 60% increase on a year-over-year basis.

Amazon (AMZN) recently partnered with health information services provider WebMD Health (WBMD) to help Alexa users quickly get answers to their medical queries.

Apple continues its bond sale trend in 2017 Earlier in this series, we discussed how IBM had continued its trend of share buybacks, and how the IT (Information Technology) sector continued to be the top spender among industries. In early February 2017, Apple (APPL) raised $10 billion in debt. The Financial Times, citing Dealogic estimates, stated […]

Ericsson (ERIC) is expected to announce its 2Q17 results on July 18, 2017. Analysts expect Ericsson to post revenue of $5.7 billion with a low estimate of $5.6 billion and a high estimate of $5.8 billion for the quarter.

Despite growth in the server market after five quarters, IBM’s Systems segment failed to benefit from it.

On the insistence of its shareholders, Salesforce has backed away from its prior decision to buy Twitter (TWTR).

IBM’s strategic imperatives relate to the company’s investment in cloud, analytics, mobile, social, and security technologies.

Accenture’s European market continues to witness impressive growth buoyed by strong double-digit growth in Germany, Italy, Ireland, France, and Spain.

Social, mobile, analytics, and cloud (or SMAC) is a disruptive technology that’s transforming the current IT environment at a rapid pace. Many technology leaders, who failed to acknowledge its importance or were slow in embracing it, are suffering. HP has been impacted by SMAC.

IBM is not the only company in the IT sector that is keen on the digital agency and marketing space. Accenture (ACN) recently acquired Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications in December 2015.

Apple believes its partnership with IBM will help it penetrate the enterprise market. Building enterprise apps—and using IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities—is one way to provide better service to enterprises.

While Cisco Systems (CSCO) stock has had an impressive rally this year, Goldman Sachs (GS) views this as only the beginning.

In the past ten quarters including fiscal 1Q17, Oracle’s revenues have missed analyst expectations nine times.

FireEye (FEYE) has announced that Kevin Mandia will be its new CEO after the current CEO David DeWalt steps down on June 15, 2016.

Microsoft stock closed at $101.87 on June 20, close to its lower Bollinger Band of $98.

HP’s (HPQ) split into HP Inc. and HP Enterprise will finalize by November of 2015.

Huge demand for security products across the industry has helped Fortinet (FTNT) maintain strong business growth.

Global IT spending is projected to reach nearly $3.5 trillion in 2017.

Of the 32 analysts that cover Western Digital (WDC) stock, 25 recommend a “buy,” and seven recommend a “hold.” There are no “sell” recommendations.

Alliance Data’s (ADS) LoyaltyOne business segment’s revenues fell 9% YoY (year-over-year) from $398 million in 4Q14 to $364 million in 4Q15.

IBM’s recent acquisitions show the company has increased investments in open source. The cloud revolution has acted as a catalyst to the increased adoption of open source technologies.

In the trailing 12-month period, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) stock has risen 24.4%. In the last month, it has risen 4.8%.

IBM, a founding member of Node.js Foundation, aims to strengthen its ties with the open source community through StrongLoop’s acquisition and its integration with the majority of its offerings.

HPE’s revenue is estimated to rise 6% from $28.9 billion in 2017 to $30.62 billion in fiscal 2018.

Let’s look at the key growth drivers of NetApp’s revenue. The company earns ~56% of its revenue by selling data storage hardware and ~44% from services.

IBM was trading at a forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 8.77x on April 8, 2016. This was lower than Microsoft’s and Oracle’s at 10.22x and 9.10x, respectively.

Wall Street analysts’ views on Salesforce stock Earlier in this series, we discussed how growing competition in the cloud space could halt Salesforce (CRM) double-digit revenue growth. We also discussed the company’s initiatives to overcome this. Salesforce is a prominent player in the software space, along with Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM), and SAP (SAP). […]

The peers outperformed Micron based on the current ratio, PE ratio, and PBV ratio. The ETFs outperformed Micron based on the price movement, PE ratio, and PBV ratio.

Apple announced the release of iOS 9, upgrading its operating system for the iPhone and iPad. iOS 9 allows improved multitasking functionality for the iPad.

While there is no denying that China (FXI) needs stimulus measures to kickstart its slowing economy, any propping up needs to be done in a way to avoid another debt-fueled crisis.

Analysts expect Western Digital’s (WDX) operating margin to be 26.2% in fiscal 2018 and to fall to 23.8% in fiscal 2019.

In sync with IBM’s Strategic Imperatives In the previous part of this series, we discussed IBM’s (IBM) acquisition of Agile 3 Solutions. According to IBM, Agile 3 Solutions marks the company’s 20th security-related acquisition aimed at enhancing its expertise in the cybersecurity space. Since 2015, IBM has employed or hired 1,900 security experts. It has also […]

Salesforce is a prominent player in the software space, along with Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM), and SAP (SAP).

Oracle’s Services segment is composed of consulting, customer support, and education services for its products and services.

In this series, we’ll look at analysts’ earnings and revenue estimates for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for the fiscal third quarter.

The continuous inflow of massive data—in various formats like texts and photos—poses the biggest challenge because organizations still aren’t equipped to deal with them.

Oracle’s tepid top- and bottom-line guidance for fiscal Q1 2019 has affected its stock price.

The shift to cloud services has impacted FireEye’s (FEYE) revenue. Its product revenues are billed at the time of shipment, but cloud services revenues are recurring.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) expects revenue to come in between $3.88 billion and $3.92 billion in 1Q18.

Amazon’s cloud-computing segment, Amazon Web Services, is growing at a rapid rate. It continues to maintain a market-leading position in the cloud space.

Fortinet’s (FTNT) strong product pipeline and growing customer portfolio have driven the company’s bottom-line growth in the last five quarters.

The strengthening US dollar (UUP) has been pressuring the entire technology sector, and growth in Oracle’s (ORCL) top line is vulnerable to fluctuations in the dollar.

Although UBS is wary of Oracle’s transition to the cloud, Oracle has managed to achieve high growth rates consistently in this space.

What’s Snap’s economic value? Snap (SNAP) boasts an enterprise value (or EV) of $14.3 billion. Peers FireEye (FEYE), IBM (IBM), Symantec (SYMC), and Oracle (ORCL) have EVs of $2.5 billion, $176.8 billion, $22.1 billion, and $190.6 billion, respectively. Snap’s trailing-12-month EV-to-sales ratio is 20.3x, and its EV-to-projected-sales ratio for the next year is 11.0x. Snap’s price […]

As earnings reports and analyst call transcripts show, many of the companies reporting sales misses cited the strong dollar as a contributing factor.

Recently, the hybrid cloud space has been seeing a lot of activity. Microsoft is not the only company interested in the hybrid cloud space.

If Trump implements his trade policies and initiates a trade war with China, tech players such as Microsoft, IBM (IBM), and Apple (AAPL) will face a significant threat due to their dependence on China.

IBM strengthened its ties with leading financial company Krungsri to help the financial company achieve its digital transition goal.

Analysts expect NetApp’s (NTAP) revenues to rise 2.7% YoY (year-over-year) to $5.7 billion in fiscal 2018 compared with its revenues of $5.5 billion in fiscal 2017.

With the development of 7-nm chips, IBM has surpassed Intel, which is still working on 10-nm chips.

Under pressure to impress consumers, Apple (AAPL) is reportedly working on radical designs for the iPhone 8, which could include a curved display.

Amazon (AMZN) is expanding its cloud footprint in Latin America as it pursues growth overseas.

Following in the footsteps of tech giants IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT), which partnered to expand and strengthen their offerings, FireEye is also entering an industry partnership with Microsoft.

Amid the recent sell-offs in the technology space driven by valuation concerns, Microsoft stock fell from $73 per share to ~$68 per share.

NetApp (NTAP) has reduced its cost base so far in fiscal 2017 in an effort to offset declining revenues.

IBM pointed to the strengthening US dollar for the decline in its revenues, which fell by 13.5% in fiscal 2Q15. On a constant currency basis, revenue only declined by 1%.

IBM stated that along with a $1 billion investment, it has invested five years and collaborated with more than 60 clients to bring the z13 to the market.

The Apple Watch is the biggest threat to Fitbit despite its being released only recently. In April, Apple released the Watch in nine countries.

In DIA, the 20-day moving averages for MMM, BA, and HD are crossing over the 100-day moving averages. This is considered a bullish crossover.

IBM’s Hardware segment was the worst-hit operating segment in fiscal 3Q15, registering a revenue fall of 39% on a year-over-year basis to $1.5 billion.

AMD developed the concept of Moore’s Law Plus to drive future innovation.

On April 5, 2016, the Bank of Ireland (IREBY) stated that in collaboration with Deloitte, the bank has successfully finished a joint proof-of-concept blockchain trial.

Despite providing weak guidance for 2016, VMware’s (VMW) 1Q16 results beat analysts’ estimates, which helped its stock to rise by 10% after its results were released.

Legacy storage vendors like EMC (EMC), IBM (IBM), and NetApp (NTAP) are witnessing a decline in their market share.

Agreeing straight away to Elliott Management’s “suggestion,” Cognizant (CTSH) announced the acquisition of Mirabeau on November 29, 2016.

So far in 2016, Oracle (ORCL) has made nine acquisitions: Dyn, Palerra, LogFire, NetSuite, Opower, Textura, Crosswise, Ravello Systems, and AddThis.

Medtronic (MDT) is consistently working on expanding access to and improving diabetes management via new and enhanced products and services.

Of all the companies in this sector, Apple is estimated to be the largest contributor to the IT sector’s expected fall in earnings.

Of the 27 analyst recommendations on IBM stock, 56% were “hold” as of July 8, 2016. About 26% were “buy” recommendations, and 19% were “sell.”

Verizon (VZ) is significantly increasing its use of Amazon’s (AMZN) cloud, with plans to migrate more applications to Amazon Web Services.

Microsoft reported non-GAAP revenues of $25.7 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $0.78 in fiscal 2Q16, which beat analyst expectations by $440 million and $0.07 per share, respectively.

Growing competition between Amazon and Microsoft is also impacting Rackspace.

As Microsoft gears up to report its earnings, the stock has soared this year. The company’s stock price has risen 34% in 2020.

According to a recent report by Synergy Research, cloud infrastructure service revenues grew 52% on a YoY (year-over-year) basis in 2015.

In its fiscal 2Q15 earnings release, IBM stated that its customers are moving away from big on-premise ERP projects towards smaller projects.

BlackBerry expects its gross margin to reach 70% in fiscal 2018, which would be a rise of 800 basis points over its gross margin of 62% in fiscal 2018.