Wall Street Beat: Salesforce, HP, M&A in the Spotlight
Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service
"...HP, which reported quarterly results Tuesday, continues to be a market darling. A speedbump in printing earnings and the prospects of absorbing services company EDS -- bound to be a complex undertaking -- does not seem to bother investors at all. HP shares jumped $2.47 to close at $46.16 Wednesday and continued to rise Thursday.
Revenue for the July quarter rose 10 percent to $28 billion in the quarter, while net income increased 20 percent to $2.5 billion, or $0.80 per share. Income and sales beat analyst forecasts.
Though revenue growth from its key printing division was slow -- up only 3 percent for the quarter -- and commercial printer sales were down 5 percent, sales for its software unit were up 29 percent. Software has traditionally been a weak spot for HP. A fast-growing software division combined with a strengthened services arm will only serve to reinforce HP's position as the largest tech vendor in the world.
Despite concerns about the U.S. downturn, however, the slowdown does not appear to be affecting the tech sector as badly as other areas of the economy. "The U.S.-led economic downturn shows no sign of causing a recession in IT spending," said Jim Tully, vice president at Gartner, in a forecast issued this week.
"Emerging regions, replacement of obsolete systems and some technology shifts are driving growth," Tully said.
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Interesting, and relevant to what is being observed in the field.
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