More Videos
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- Microsoft Plays a Game of Bing Pong
- Klutzy Woz Becomes Auto Body Pitchman
- Google Goes After Microsoft, Kind Of
- Flip Backfires on Cisco's John Chambers
- TeleMedicine Gets An Apple App Store Facelift
- iPhone Gets Big Stamp of Approval
- Jobs Returns, But Who's Running the Show?
- Jackson Juices Yahoo's Traffic
- Jackson, Inc. Becoming An Online Boom
|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell on the Ad Recession
- Unemployed? Bored? Make Money Playing Beer Pong
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- Merrill's McCann Seen as UBS Wealth Frontrunner
- Warren Buffett's Top Three Investment Rules for the Average American
- The View From Newark
- Fast Funds: Hot Ways To Play China
- Preparing for Retirement
- Warren Buffett's Complete Sun Valley CNBC Interview - Transcript and Video
- Eric Schmidt on Government Scrutiny and Economic Recovery
- Market 360: The Week's Best & Worst
- Geek Squad V. Gizmodo
- Brandt: Google Chrome OS in the Post-PC Age
- Other People Are Weirder Than We Are
- Bank Failures: Is The Nightmare Over? (Video)
- California Here I Go? No.
- Roginsky: No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Commercial Conundrum
- Buffett's Top 3 Investment Rules for Average Americans
- Market Insider: Earnings Loom in the Week Ahead
- White House Weighing Assistance for Small Businesses
- How Serious Is White House About Second Stimulus?
- Bulls Get Summertime Blues, But It's Hot Fun for Bears
- As Banks Fail, Strong Institutions Become More Visible
- Merrill's McCann Seen as UBS Wealth Frontrunner
- It's Not the Wealthy Who Are Leaving California: Study
- Atlantic City Takes Hit as Pennsylvania Casino Opens
RSS FEED
Text Size 
Alcoa [AA
Loading...
()
]may have kicked off earnings season last week, but this week, the biggest names in the tech sector take center stage: Intel and IBM tomorrow: eBay Wednesday; Microsoft and Google [GOOG
Loading...
()
]on Thursday. There are others of course, but these four will steal the lion's share of attention.
For Intel[INTC
Loading...
()
] tomorrow, analysts expect a pretty solid second quarter for the world's largest chipmaker. The company is wiping the microprocessor floor with rival Advanced Micro Devices [AMD
Loading...
()
](set to report Thursday, but pre-announcing more staggering charges and what appears to be a deepening financial morass last week). Intel unveiled its latest laptop chips today, code-named Montevina, but essentially Centrino II. Low-power, HDTV on your laptop, WiMax on board. Cool stuff that shows innovation and Moore's Law are both still alive and well in Santa Clara, Calif. Intel will also celebrate its 40th anniversary on Thursday.
Analysts are looking for 25 cents on $9.32 billion. The other key metric: gross margins. The Street expects 56 percent, and fairly lackluster guidance--both already baked into shares.
As we get closer through the week, I'll go deeper into each of these issues, but one thing seems clear; one trend seems to apply to all these specific names, except maybe eBay[EBAY
Loading...
()
]: when this recover in the economy takes hold, these are the names that will likely enjoy the dividends first. We've already seen an uptick in PC growth, good for both Intel and Microsoft. IBM [IBM
Loading...
()
]has been soaring for much of the year because worries about a collapse in enterprise spending might have been overblown.
And that's good for Microsoft [MSFT
Loading...
()
]as well, even though it faces continuing challenges with Vista, already well-documented, as has the company's ongoing takeover saga with Yahoo[YHOO
Loading...
()
]. Color on both is expected Thursday on the conference call, if not before.
As far as eBay is concerned: I'm still concerned over the shifting market place that seems to give Amazon.com [AMZN
Loading...
()
]a leg up; and while recession worries have shoppers continuing to bargain-hunt, Amazon and its pack-and-ship model still seems more compelling than eBay's hodge-podge of auctions. Still, PayPal still seems strong, and if eBay can increase margins and show some growth in Gross Merchandise Volume and listings, that could be a surprising boost to shares. Otherwise, eBay runs the risk of dead money, at least for awhile.
And of course, we'll have complete coverage all week long, here, and on the air. Check back soon!
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes