First Trust NASDAQ Technology Div ETF

Intel (INTC) announced its Q2 2014 earnings recently. Its revenue of $13.83 billion and earnings per share of 55 cents beat analysts’ estimates.

As the majority of tech companies’ cash is parked outside the United States, they resort to bond issuance to borrow for dividends and buybacks.

According to a survey by IoT Nexus, the two biggest challenges faced by the Internet of Things sector are interoperability and security.

In its 3Q14 results, IBM (IBM) announced the sale of its semiconductor operations to Globalfoundries. IBM will pay Globalfoundries $1.5 billion over next three years.

In July 2014, IBM Corp. (IBM) announced its partnership with Apple Inc. (AAPL). IBM wants to make a space for itself in the enterprise mobility space.

After divesting its manufacturing business, IBM (IBM) appears to be in a better position to focus on high-end servers, super computers, and technology research.

Apple (AAPL) and IBM (IBM) announced a global partnership that’s designed to push increased adoption for mobiles in the enterprise space.

In its 3Q14 results, IBM also announced that it doesn’t have the goal for EPS of $20 or more in 2015. Management acknowledged that the industry is shifting quicker than it expected.

Aruba is fast becoming a major player in this market, which is likely why HP would have been interested in buying the company.

Apple’s PE of 16.9x and dividend yield of 1.6% compares to a sector average PE and a dividend yield of 36.2x and 2.8%, respectively.

Lam Research’s (LRCX) revenue rose 12% and 36% in 2016 and 2017, respectively. It rose 52% in 1Q18.

Corning’s gross margin grew 3% and 9% in 2016 and 9M17, respectively.

International Business Machines (IBM), a leading enterprise solutions provider, has seen its revenue decline consistently for the past 22 quarters.

Apple’s (AAPL) net sales rose 6% in 2017 after an 8% decline in 2016.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) recorded a 4.0% fall in net revenue growth in 2016 compared to 6.0% in 2015.

Microsoft’s (MSFT) 5.0% revenue growth in 2017 has been mainly driven by productivity and business processes and intelligent cloud, offset by more personal computing and other segments.

Telus Corp. (TU) recorded five-year annualized growth of 11%. However, it recorded three-year annualized growth of ~2%.

IBM has attempted to revive its revenue growth through partnerships, acquisitions, and new launches. Still, it failed to register revenue growth in 2015.

Intel’s large semiconductor manufacturing capacity requires that it boost revenues by selling its chips in segments that have a promising future.

Only a few large companies, including Intel, Samsung (SSNLF), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), could afford to run 450 mm manufacturing sites.

The x86 server market grew by a year-over-year rate of 11.6% in 3Q14 to reach $10.7 billion, while the non-x86 server market declined.

In accordance with its mobile strategy in 2010, Intel acquired McAfee for ~ $7.7 billion. Intel acquired McAfee with the intent of integrating its security solutions into Intel-manufactured chips.