Tag Archives: RIM

HP: What Next After Autonomy?

 

 

A cartoon shows a man in a tattered suit, in a cave, telling his children "Yes the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment we created a lot of value for shareholders."

The adult in the cartoon is not Carly Fiorina, Mark Hurd, Leo Apotheker formerly of HP, or John Lynch, formerly of HP & Autonomy. While the three ex-CEOs were paid a total of $80 Million after being fired (here), they did NOT create shareholder value. Under their guidance, the company lost 77.92% of its peak value; the shareholders lost $81.54 Billion between Dec. 31, 1999 (here) and the close of trading, Nov. 23, 2012.

While Autonomy’s $10 Billion valuation may have been John Lynch’s fraud – the FBI and it’s counterparts in London are investigating (here) –  HP’s acquisition of Autonomy was Leo Apotheker’s error, and has become Meg Whitman’s problem. I’m sure that if Whitman is unsuccessful, or the Board fires her before she can be successful, she will be well taken care of, as were Fiorina, Hurd, and Apotheker. Meanwhile Bill Hewlett & Dave Packard – who created value for the shareholders and other stakeholders – must be turning over in their graves.

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Apple: Worms Eating the Core or Golden?

Apple Logo

Apple stock closed on October 9, 2012 at $635. While up $247, or 64%,  for the year, the stock price has dropped 70 points, 10%, from the peak of $705 reached on Sept. 21, 2012. Where will it go next?  What caused this 10% drop? And what about Amazon, Google, Microsoft, & Research in Motion?

Here’s what I think:

  1. Apple (AAPL) will announce earnings on October 25, 2012. I expect $46.79 to $48.9 per share on an annualized basis, up 10 to 15% from the current $42.54 per share.
  2. Apple’s share price will increase back to $700, and then to $750 by year-end, 2012.
  3. Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) will be stable thru to year-end, 2012.
  4. Research In Motion (RIMM) will be acquired by June 2013.

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