Written by Naveen Selvaraj
IBM Corp. has announced better than expected results for 2Q08. While Business and Technology Services continue to dominate IBM’s revenue streams, Software revenue has also shown impressive growth. read more…
Gridstone Research Notes
July 21st, 2008
Written by Naveen Selvaraj
Written by Naveen Selvaraj
July 21st, 2008
Written by Pankaj Kumar
Written by Pankaj Kumar
Wells Fargo & Co’s (WFC) better-than-expected 2Q FY08 results show that WFC is better positioned than its peers to withstand the rigors of real-estate asset write downs. WFC soothed worried bank-stock investors by increasing dividend even as peers are cutting dividend.
We looked up some key real estate loans (REL) data of WFC and its peers on the Gridstone platform. Besides WFC, we picked up Washington Mutual (WM) and Wachovia Bank (WB) in the peer set. A quick analysis of past data and SEC filings of this group shows that WFC has been managing its loan portfolio more smartly than its peers. read more…
July 18th, 2008
Written by Naveen Selvaraj
Written by Naveen Selvaraj
Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) reported 4Q08 Operating income growth of 42% Yoy. Excluding the $1.1 billion charge in 4Q07 related to the expansion of Xbox 360 warranty coverage, Operating income has increased only 12% Yoy. Xbox had some part in this poor earnings growth. read more…
July 17th, 2008
Written by Pankaj Kumar
Written by Pankaj Kumar
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) are suddenly in the news for all the wrong reasons, from issuing large doses of fresh capital and the Fed backstopping short term debt issuance to talks about receivership/ nationalization. As the largest credit guarantors in the troubled mortgage markets, these companies are bearing the brunt of falling home prices, widening mortgage credit spreads, and rising defaults. read more…
July 4th, 2008
Written by Sunil Rajak
Written by Sunil Rajak
Sandeep Mukherjee and Abdulqadir Navsariwala also contributed to this note.
Fuel Efficient Vehicles supply Constraint Plays Spoilsport
Jun08 monthly auto sales turned out to be much worse with most of US automakers sales declining in double digit. In addition to negative macroeconomic environment of record high crude oil price, weakened housing industry, and lower consumer sentiment, supply constraint of compact fuel efficient cars at many automakers further precipitated the the sales decline. Secondary aftereffects of higher gas prices is resulting in lower resale value of pre-owned pick-ups and trucks causing restricted trade-ins for more fuel efficient vehicles. Moreover, number of selling days was three days lower in Jun08 than in Jun07, which also contributed to lower sales volume across the industry. read more…