Tag Archives: Microsoft

by | January 28, 2015 · 12:33 pm

Tech Rally today

Nasdaq had a bad day yesterday and slid -1,89%, but the major index is the only one that is in positive territory for the year. One of the biggest losers on Nasdaq yesterday was Microsoft. Down -9,25%.

Microsoft reported earnings of 72 cents per share on $26,47 billion in revenue for the second fiscal quarter, but the revenue was better than analysts estimations. The negative is the weaker than expected Windows non-Pro revenues which is down -13% YoY, and the commercial license declined 2%.

msft

(Picture: Microsoft down -9,25%)

CEO Satya Nadella said it doesn`t take much longer time to successfully transition from a licensing sales focused firm into a software as a service firm. Microsoft`s cloud business doubled and came in on $5,5 billion i sales. Xbox sales fell to 6,6 million units (from 7,4 million) in sales.

Caterpillar was another big company that slid yesterday. Down -7,18%. The company delivered a shockingly weak outlook for this year and investors got scared. It seems like Caterpillar is in big trouble.

Analysts expected earnings of $1,55 a share but it fell about 20%, landing on $1,23 a share. Its Q4 operating profit slumped 27% YoY. Lower oil prices is negative for their construction business. Caterpillar lowered its 2015 sales expectations for mining and construction equipment, and that was not music in investors ears.

Good news is coming later today. First of all; Alibaba is coming out with the second report as a public company. The Chinese e-commerce giant is expected to post a quarter of tremendous growth. EPS is expected to grow 39% YoY! It`s also expected a massive 48% improvement in YoY revenue!

It is expected to see Tmall and Taobao to deliver strong revenue momentum on the back of higher e-commerce penetration in China. Alibaba has an ongoing international expansion and the stock is up 3,3% in three months.

ATH is 119,15 which is from 10 November last year. The stock was down -1,01% yesterday, and there are some short interest in the stock right now. The opening trade is now $102,94. 52-week low is registered as $82,81. Outstanding shares are 2,465,006,000. The stock is priced richly with Alibaba`s market cap now over $250 billion, but the market is looking for huge surging numbers which could validate the company`S valuation.

Yahoo! Is set for a rally today, trading up about 8% AHT. The company is spinning off Yahoo`s $39 billion stake in Alibaba Group Holding. The anticipated decision announced yesterday will enable Yahoo to avoid paying billions of dollars in future taxes.

A newly formed entity called SpinCo will inherit ownership of the company`s 384 million shares in China`s Alibaba Group Holding when the tax-free spinoff is completed toward the end 2015. Owner of Yahoo shares will receive stocks in SpinCo, which is designed as an investment company.

The old giant is struggling to grow and the firm earned $166 million, or 17 cents per share. Down -52% from the same periode last year. Yahoo`s revenue dipped 1% to $1,25 billion, and investments in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan is the main reason Yahoo`s stock has more than trippled last years.

They have a 36 stake in Yahoo Japan, worth about $7 billion. The Alibaba investment is worth far more than their own online services, and their competitors like Facebook and Google have grabbed a big piece of the digital marketing budget.

Have a closer look at Apple today. The stock is also set for a rally. Up about 7% ATH. Revenue rose to $74,6 billion from $57,6 billion a year earlier. Profit of $18 billion is the biggest ever! Apple reported net profit of $18,02 billion, or $3,06 per diluted share, compared to $13,07 billion, or $2,07 per share a year earlier. Apple faced a clear headwind from a strong dollar.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Leave a comment

Filed under Stocks

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | September 23, 2014 · 2:16 pm

Microsoft & Minecraft

All the kids around me are sitting in front of their computers and playing games, and I don`t know what`s so funny with the game. I asked them yesterday, because you can`t win something and you are not competing with someone. So, why is it so funny?

The kids love the game and they play Minecraft. A free-to-build sandbox game, which is developed by the Swedish independent video game developer Mojang AB. The company is founded in May 2009 by Markus Persson in Stockholm.

Minecraft-logo

Markus Persson founded Mojang alongside his best friend Jakob Persèr, with Carl Manneh later brought in as a CEO. Whithin a year, the company grew to a size of twelve employees. In 2011, the founder of Napster and former Facebook president Sean Parker offered to invest in Mojang, but was declined. A year later, Mojang had accumulated revenues of over $80 million.

On September 15, 2014, Microsoft announced a deal to acquire Mojang for $2,5 billion in a deal to be made official by the end of the year. With the stakes in the company bought out, the three founders will leave the company.

Is that a problem?

Probably, because in my point of view, the «assets» is gone. I`m in doubt about Microsoft’s skills to take Minecraft to the next level. Do they have the right expertise to do that? I hope so, because if Microsoft do the right things, I think Mincraft can be the new virtual kind of the popular Danish plastic-bric-company; LEGO.

The private company LEGO is valued at $14,7 billion and they have great success. You can only imagine how the opportunities are for Microsoft? Really big I think. Minecraft has sold over 54 million copies across all platforms.

Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella has made his first major acquisition since taking over the leadership after Steve Ballmer. Microsoft has been known to make some expensive acquisitions under Steve Ballmer, and many companies were later sold at a loss or absorbed into the company without unlocking new value.

I think Microsoft can boost sales of both Xbox and Minecraft. Microsoft will create new editions of the game and set up a film and merchandising franchise, but I see a little bit trouble in the long run because of the lack of the founder Persson.

Minecraft has been around for over four years now, and longevity and consistency in this business isn`t normally part of the equation. Games tend to be trendy, but Minecraft seems to be one of the few exceptions to this rule, and that`s probably why Microsoft see the potential in this game.

Back to our Danish friends in LEGO. Think about it. LEGO is still hot for the kids, and have been on the market since 1932! Can you belive that? A family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark, which is the world`s largest toy manufacturer, surpassing Mattel, previously holding that position.

The word LEGO is derived from the Danish words «leg godt», meaning «play well». The word «lego» also means «I gather together» in Latin, and «I connect» or «I tie» in Italian. LEGO`s revenue in 2013 was $4,7 billion, while Mojang generated only $326 million the same year. That`s nothing compared to Microsoft’s $23 billion in the last quarter, so it would do little to move Microsoft’s share price, adding about $75 million a quarter to the top line and about $30 million to the bottom line.

But look at the iconic brand; LEGO. They have more than plastic lego bricks. They have grown to include factories throughout the world and have 11,755 employees (2013). In addition, they have built four amusement parks around the world, known as «Legoland».

Each park features large-scale Lego models of famous landmarks and miniature Lego models of famous cities. Legoland was first built in Lego`s home town Billund in Denmark. This was followed by Legoland Windsor in England, Legoland California in Carlsbad, US and Legoland Deutschland in Gunzburg, Gemany.

In addition, they opened Legoland in Winter Haven in Florida, and Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia. Now, they are planning to open a new Lego hotel in Asia. Merlin Entertainment is also planning to open several parks in Legoland Dubailand, Legoland Nagoya, and Legoland Korea. They have also opened four new Legoland Discovery Centres, which take the Legoland concept and scale it down to suit a retail park environment.

You can imagine what opportunities Microsoft have with this game, but do they have the culture to expand the brand?

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Stocks

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | November 12, 2013 · 2:08 pm

FED speakers in focus

The benchmark Nikkei share average rose 2.2 percent to 14,588.68.The highest since Oct 23, and posted the biggest daily percentage gain since early September.

Dow hits record close and this is 35th this year. It was a quit session and bank holiday as the U.S celebrated Veteran`s day. The DOW finished at a new record close of 15,783,10. Up +0,14%.

The Federal Reserve will use its tentative outright treasury purchase schedule will pump nearly six billion dollars into the markets in one day. This can move some markets and look for the bond market.

On friday, Sony lounches its PlayStation 4, while Microsoft releases the Xbox One next week on Nov. 25. Great timing for both of them, but what do you want to buy? Playstation 4 or Xbox One?

Solar stocks are bouncing back again after last thursday’s SolarCity-led sellof. The industry sentiment has been increasingly positive because of the good earnings news, optimism about the demand for 2014 and signs government support remains healthy.

JA Solar (JASO) is up +10,1%. JKS is up 10,5%. CSUN is up +8,8%. STRI is up +7,3%. TSL is up +7,9%. Fed speakers are in focus.

shinybull_for_sitesite-7

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Leave a comment

Filed under Stock market

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | October 17, 2013 · 11:36 am

Bullish Bullish Bullish

It`s optimism in Asia, and all the indices are up. All this of course because of the good news we all got from the Capitol Hill yesterday. They came to an agreement only two hours before the deadline, and now the can rise the limit and borrow more money.

The shutdown is also over and one million people can get back to work again. The agreement is only for a short periode of time. Desember 13 is the next date for a new agreement. That is for an agreement in a long run.

Stocks went up in the US after the good news and gold is up too. VIX is down 21,17%. Many hedgefunds have lost a lot of money yesterday. Right now gold is trading at $1306,10. So, what am I suppose to do now, you said? Well, as I have told you before, in the US, the P/E (price/earnings) is 20, which means Europe is a better bet, because P/E in Europe is 10.

Where do you find the bullish stocks, and when are you getting in, and when are you getting out. Many have asked me about that, and this is the point where many are struggling. Let`s look at the chart for Microsoft and Apple.

Msft and Aapl

If you bought those two stocks in the 80`s, you would have a huge gain today. But who is sitting on their stocks for 30 years? If you bought Microsoft in 2000, you would have lost your money today. If you bought Apple 10 years ago you would have a huge gain today. When to go in and out of a stock is sometimes difficult.

Many investors tend to remember the losing trades much better than the winning trades. It`s all about feelings when it comes to invest money. If you lose money you can get so nervous that it will be impossible to make good decisions again. The mere thought of losing money blocks the opportunity you have in the market.

Controlling emotions is very important when you are investing money in the market, because emotions can play havoc with your investing. That`s why you need to have a plan that makes you prepared no matter what happens in the market.

Emotional investors usually do wrong decisions and there is many of them. If you are one of them, it doesn`t mean you can be a successful investor. It simply means you have to acknowledge your concerns.

First of all you need a plan. Before you buy stocks you need to have a selling plan. You have to decide at what point you want to sell the stock. Stocks goes up and down, and you need to consider how low you think the stock might fall. Professional investors do always set a “stop loss”.

How much money can you affort to lose? 10%? 20? More? You must find your exit strategy. With a plan in your hand you can take away your emotions, and better understand when to avoid holding the stock too long or when to selling the stock to early.

You do not want to lose money. Nobody does that. If you want to buy and hold, and sit on the stock for a long time, you don`t want to exit out prematurely, but you do not want to see a great gain disappear either if a stock begins a sustained downward plunge.

The pros often use trailing stops and stop loss orders. These strategy will help you to protect your investments against losses. These strategies will not give you a guarantee to profit or protect you against an absolute losses, but it will help you to control your emotions to make betters decisions, which means better investments over time, so stick to your plan.

A Price to book ratio (P/B ratio) is used to compare a stock`s market value to its book value. It is calculated by dividing the current slosing price of the stock by the latest quarter`s book value per share, also known as the «price-equity ratio».

A stock is undervalued if the P/B is very low. But it can also be a warning that it is something wrong with the company. This ratio also gives you an idea of whether you`re paying too much for what would be left if the company is bankrupt tomorrow.

If you look at all the companies and shares in S&P 500, you will also find a P/B for that index. A very useful technique that tells you how cheap or expensive the stocks are right now. Take a look at the chart I have added today. This chart will give you a picture of the situation a the moment.

PB value

Current S&P 500 Price to Book Value: 2,53 +0,03 (1,38%)

Wed Oct 16

Mean: 2.75
Median: 2.73
Min: 1.78 (Mar 2009)
Max: 5.06 (Mar 2000)

Current price to book ratio is estimated based on current market price and S&P 500 book value as of June 2013 — the latest reported by S&P.

News for today: Unemployment Claims at 8:30am, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index at 10:00am.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Leave a comment

Filed under Stock market, Stocks

Tagged as , , , ,