The Best And Worst Technology Company Stocks In Q1 2015

Split Decision

The first quarter of 2015 was definitely a case of win some, lose some for the stocks of the publicly traded IT vendors in our index. Of the 40 companies we currently track, 20 saw the value of their shares increase during the quarter, while 20 saw declines.

How does that compare with the stock market overall? That was also split: In the quarter, the Dow Jones Index was down 0.26 percent, while the Nasdaq was up nearly 3.5 percent.

Here's a look at who was up and who was down in the first calendar quarter of 2015, starting with companies with the biggest percentage gains in share price, based on stock closing prices from Dec. 31, 2014 to March 31, 2015.

FireEye

CEO: David DeWalt

Dec. 31, 2014: $31.58

March 31, 2015: $39.25

Change: +24.29%

After going public in September 2013 at $36 a share, FireEye's stock price hit a high of $95.63 per share in March 2014, then spent much of the rest of the year falling. But the security vendor's stock rebounded in this year's first quarter, recording the most growth among all the tech companies on our index.

In February, security technology developer FireEye reported that sales in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 surged 150 percent, to just under $143 million. And for all of fiscal 2014, sales grew 163 percent, to $425.7 million. But the company's net loss for the year also more than doubled, to $443.8 million.

Amazon

CEO: Jeff Bezos

Dec. 31, 2014: $310.35

March 31, 2015: $372.10

Change: +19.90%

Amazon may be best known as the world's online shopping mall. But with its Amazon Web Services operation, the company has become a leading player in the IT cloud computing arena, providing such cloud services as Amazon S3 data storage, Amazon EC2 virtual private server, and Redshift data warehouse.

Amazon doesn't breakout the financials for AWS – although there are reports that could soon change.

In January Amazon said revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was $29.3 billion, up nearly 15 percent year-over-year. Net income for the quarter was $214 million, down more than 10 percent from one year before. For all of 2014 Amazon's revenue reached $88.99 billion, up almost 20 percent from 2013.

Palo Alto Networks

CEO: Mark McLaughlin

Dec. 31, 2014: $122.57

March 31, 2015: $146.08

Change: +19.18%

Cybersecurity technology developer Palo Alto Networks saw the value of its stock surge more than 113 percent in 2014. And while that momentum slowed somewhat in the first quarter, the increase in its share price was still enough to make it No. 2 on our index.

For its second fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, Palo Alto Networks reported that revenue surged more than 54 percent, to $217.7 million. But the company's loss in the quarter grew nearly 8 percent year-over-year, to $43 million.

Apple

CEO: Tim Cook

Dec. 31, 2014: $109.33

March 31, 2015: $124.43

Change: +13.81%

Apple spent the first quarter of 2015 churning out millions of its iPhone 6 devices to meet demand and cranking up its marketing machine to build anticipation for the Apple Watch. Almost lost in the noise was the March debut of a new generation of Macbook notebook computers.

In January, Apple reported that sales in its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 27 grew 30 percent year-over-year, to $74.6 billion. Net income rose 38 percent, to $18 billion.

Salesforce.com

CEO: Marc Benioff

Dec. 31, 2014: $59.31

March 31, 2015: $66.81

Change: +12.65%

Salesforce is another company that's been on a strong growth trajectory. In February, the company reported that sales in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 grew 26 percent, to $1.44 billion, while sales for the entire fiscal year were up 32 percent, to $5.37 billion.

There are also signs that Salesforce is moving closer to profitability. While the cloud software vendor's loss for the entire year grew 13 percent, to $262.7 million, its $65.8 million loss in the fourth quarter was down 44 percent year-over-year.

Panasonic

CEO (North America): Joe Taylor

Dec. 31, 2014: $11.77

March 31, 2015: $13.13

Change: +11.55%

In February, Panasonic reported that sales in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 grew more than 1 percent, to just under 2 trillion Japanese yen ($16.7 billion). The company will announce its full fiscal 2015 results April 28.

Lenovo Group

CEO: Yang Yuanqing

Dec. 31, 2014: $26.22

March 31, 2015: $29.15

Change: +11.17%

In early 2015 Lenovo continued its work of integrating IBM's x86 server business, which the company acquired on Sept. 30 for $2.1 billion, with its own operations. Lenovo is also integrating its acquisition of the Motorola Mobility handset business, which it bought from Google in October for $2.9 billion.

For its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, Lenovo reported in February that sales were up 31 percent year-over-year, to $14.1 billion. But net income for the year was down 5 percent, to $253 million.

QLogic

CEO: Prasad Rampalli

Dec. 31, 2014: $13.32

March 31, 2015: $14.74

Change: +10.66%

Network infrastructure technology manufacturer QLogic reported in January that sales in its fiscal third quarter grew more than 17 percent year-over-year, to $140.2 million. Net income increased nearly 9 percent in the quarter, to $22.4 million.

Red Hat

CEO: James Whitehurst

Dec. 31, 2014: $69.14

March 31, 2015: $75.75

Change: +9.56%

In March, open-source software developer Red Hat reported that sales in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 28 rose nearly 16 percent, to $463.9 million. Net income grew nearly 6 percent, to $47.7 million.

For all of fiscal 2015, Red Hat's sales grew nearly 17 percent, to $1.79 billion, but net income increased only 1 percent, to $180.2 million.

At the same time as the earnings announcements, Red Hat said its board of directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of the company's common stock.

Tableau Software

CEO: Christian Chabot

Dec. 31, 2014: $84.76

March 31, 2015: $92.52

Change: +9.16%

Data visualization software developer Tableau went public in May 2013 at $47 a share and the company has continued to ride the big data technology wave. In February the company reported that sales in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 grew 75 percent to $142.9 million while revenue for all of fiscal 2014 increased 78 percent to $412.9 million.

Tableau's earnings growth in the fourth quarter was even more impressive, increasing 84 percent to $20.7 million. But the bottom line for all of fiscal 2014 was down 17 percent to less than $5.9 million.

CA Technologies

CEO: Michael Gregoire

Dec. 31, 2014: $30.45

March 31, 2015: $32.61

Change: +7.09%

CA Technologies has been in turnaround mode for some time as the company retools to focus on IT and cloud management, security and DevOps products and services.

For the company's fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, CA reported $1.09 billion in revenue, down more than 3 percent from the same period one year earlier. Net income for the quarter declined more than 4 percent, to $222 million.

Check Point Software Technologies

CEO: Gil Shwed

Dec. 31, 2014: $78.57

March 31, 2015: $81.97

Change: +4.33%

In February, Check Point Software Technologies acquired Israel-based security startup Hyperwise in a bid to expand its technology offerings for protecting against advanced threats. It also puts Check Point in closer head-to-head competition with rival Palo Alto networks.

For the company's fiscal first quarter ended March 31, Check Point reported a 9 percent gain in revenue, to $372.6 million. Net income grew 5 percent, to $160.9 million.

In January, the company reported that for all of fiscal 2014 ended Dec. 31, sales increased more than 7 percent, to just shy of $1.5 billion. Net income grew only 1 percent, however, to $659.6 billion.

Google

CEO: Larry Page

Dec. 31, 2014: $526.40

March 31, 2015: $548

Change: +4.10%

In January, Google reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 ended Dec. 31. And while the numbers, including revenue, earnings and paid clicks all missed expectations, the company recovered quickly from a 2 percent drop in its stock price that day.

In the fourth quarter, Google's sales grew more than 15 percent, to $18.1 billion, while net income increased a whopping 41 percent, to $4.8 billion. For all of 2014, Google racked up sales growth of nearly 19 percent, to $66 billion, and nearly 12 percent growth in net income, to $14.4 billion.

SAP

CEO: Bill McDermott

Dec. 31, 2014: $69.65

March 31, 2015: $72.17

Change: +3.62%

SAP has been transforming itself from its core business of selling on-premise applications to providing cloud-based applications and services. While SAP's cloud services revenue has been ramping up (56 percent growth in 2014), the company has been restructuring its workforce as part of the shift and there have been concerns about the impact on the company's profit margins.

In January, SAP reported that revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 grew 7 percent year-over-year, to 5.46 billion euros ($6.45 billion), but operating profit for the period declined 3 percent, to 1.75 billion euros ($2.07 billion). For all of fiscal 2014, revenue grew 4 percent year-over-year, to 17.56 billion euros ($20.77 billion), while operating profit declined 3 percent, to 4.33 billion euros ($5.12 billion).

In February, SAP launched S/4HANA, the next generation of the company's flagship application suite.

Lexmark International

CEO: Paul Rooke

Dec. 31, 2014: $41.27

March 31, 2015: $42.34

Change: +2.59%

Lexmark has been transitioning from a hardware-centric printer manufacturing company to focus more on document management software, print management solutions, and connecting structured and unstructured print and digital information.

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Lexmark reported revenue of $1.02 billion, up 1.6 percent from the same quarter one year earlier. But the bottom line showed a net loss of $25.6 million, compared with net income of $94 million one year earlier.

For all of 2014, Lexmark reported revenue of $3.71 billion, up 1.2 percent. But net income for the year plunged nearly 70 percent year-over-year, to $79.1 million.

Juniper Networks

CEO: Rami Rahim

Dec. 31, 2014: $22.32

March 31, 2015: $22.58

Change: +1.16%

It's been a tough couple of years for Juniper Networks, with restructuring, layoffs and executive departures. In January, in discussing the company's fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 results, new CEO Rami Rahim said that in 2015 the company would launch new technologies and revamp its security business.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 Juniper reported sales of $1.1 billion, down 13.5 percent year-over-year, and a loss of $769.6 million, compared with a net profit of $151.8 million one year earlier. The loss included an $850 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to the company's security reporting unit.

For all of 2014, Juniper reported sales of $4.63 billion, down less than 1 percent from $4.67 billion in 2013. For the year, the company reported a net loss of $334.3 million, compared with earnings of $439.8 million in 2013.

Advanced Micro Devices

CEO: Lisa Su

Dec. 31, 2014: $2.67

March 31, 2015: $2.68

Change: +0.37%

AMD is another company that's been driving a rough road recently. The company named Chief Operating Officer Lisa Su to be its CEO in October after Rory Read unexpectedly stepped down from the chip designer's top job. The same month, AMD announced plans to reduce its workforce by 7 percent.

In January, AMD reported that revenue in the company's fiscal fourth quarter (ended Dec. 27) was $1.24 billion, down 22 percent from $1.59 billion one year earlier. The company reported a net loss of $364 million for the quarter, compared with an $89 million profit one year before.

For all of fiscal 2014, sales grew nearly 4 percent, to $5.51 billion. But the company's loss for the year was $403 million, compared with a net loss of $83 million in 2013.

Brocade Communications Systems

CEO: Lloyd Carney

Dec. 31, 2014: $11.94

March 31, 2015: $11.87

Change: +0.25%

In February, Brocade reported that revenue it is fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31 grew 2 percent to $576.2 million. Net income for the quarter increased nearly 8 percent, to $87.3 million.

In February, Brocade announced plans to acquire Riverbed Technology's SteelApp product line in a deal designed to strengthen Brocade's offerings for its data center and service provider customers.

Citrix Systems

CEO: Mark Templeton

Dec. 31, 2014: $63.80

March 31, 2015: $63.87

Change: +0.11%

Citrix Systems jumped into the converged infrastructure arena in January with the launch of its WorkspacePod servers running the vendor's virtualization software stack. Also in January, Citrix acquired storage technology vendor Sanbolic in what was seen as a bid to strengthen the vendor's competitive stance against rival VMware in the virtual desktop market.

For the company's fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, which Citrix reported in January, sales grew 6 percent year-over-year, to $851.5 million, while net income declined more than 31 percent, to $95.2 million. For all of fiscal 2014, sales increased nearly 8 percent, to $3.14 billion, but net income dropped nearly 26 percent, to $251.7 million.

IBM

CEO: Virginia Rometty

Dec. 31, 2014: $160.44

March 31, 2015: $160.50

Change: +0.04%

IBM's stock eked out a small price gain in the first quarter despite the company's struggles to focus on software and services, which now account for 90 percent of its sales, with an emphasis on hybrid cloud computing. While IBM remains profitable, the company has suffered flat or declining sales for several years.

IBM reported its fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) results in January, including an 11.9 percent decline in sales, to $24.11 billion, and an 11.3 percent drop in net income, to $5.48 billion. For all of 2014, sales were down 5.7 percent, to $92.79 billion, and net income plunged 27.1 percent, to $12.02 billion.

VMware

CEO: Pat Gelsinger

Dec. 31, 2014: $82.52

March 31, 2015: $82.01

Change: -0.62%

VMware is the first company in our index to record a decline in its share price during the first quarter.

VMware was stung in March on the news that the Department of Defense had canceled a five-year, $1.6 billion enterprise licensing contract with the virtualization technology company.

In January, VMware reported that sales in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 grew nearly 15 percent, to $1.70 billion. Net income for the period, however, dropped nearly 3 percent, to $326 million.

Motorola Solutions

CEO: Greg Brown

Dec. 31, 2014: $67.08

March 31, 2015: $66.67

Change: -0.61%

Motorola reported in February that sales in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were up a fraction of 1 percent, to $1.82 billion. Net earnings were down more than 41 percent, to $201 million.

For all of 2014, Motorola reported that sales were down more than 5 percent, to $5.88 billion. Earnings for the year, however, rose 18 percent, to $1.30 billion.

Cisco

CEO: John Chambers

Dec. 31, 2014: $27.82

March 31, 2015: $27.53

Change: -1.04%

Cisco continues to expand beyond its core networking hardware business into new areas such as converged systems, software-defined networking and the Internet of Things. But the transformation has been accompanied by shrinking profit margins and employee cutbacks.

For its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 24, Cisco reported revenue of $11.94 billion, up 7 percent from $11.16 billion in the same period one year earlier. Net income, however, soared nearly 68 percent, to $2.40 billion.

AT&T

CEO: Randall Stephenson

Dec. 31, 2014: $33.59

March 31, 2015: $32.65

Change: -2.80%

In January communications giant AT&T said it added more than 2 million new wireless and wireline high-speed broadband connections in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

For the fourth quarter AT&T said revenue increased 3.8 percent year-over-year to $34.4 billion. But the company recorded a $4.0 billion loss in the quarter, compared to net income of $6.9 billion in the same quarter one year earlier, due to non-cash actuarial losses on benefit plans, non-cash write-offs of network assets, and merger and integration-related expenses.

For all of 2014 AT&T reported revenue of $132.44 billion, up nearly 3 percent from $128.75 billion in 2013. But net income was only $6.52 billion compared to $18.55 billion in 2013.

Oracle

CEOs: Mark Hurd and Safra Catz

Dec. 31, 2014: $44.97

March 31, 2015: $43.15

Change: -4.05%

Oracle is another company that's trying to build up its cloud computing sales while maintaining its core lines of business.

Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, while unveiling a new line of converged systems in January, signaled a significant change in Oracle's strategy by saying the company would compete on price in the hardware space -- not just in system performance and cost performance.

In March, Oracle reported that sales in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28 were essentially flat year-over-year, at $9.33 billion, while net income was down 3 percent, to just under $2.5 billion.

Xerox

CEO: Ursula Burns

Dec. 31, 2014: $13.86

March 31, 2015: $12.85

Change: -7.29%

In December, Xerox announced a deal to sell its IT outsourcing business to Atos, a France-based IT services company, for $1.05 billion.

In January, Xerox reported that revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was $5.03 billion, down 22 percent from the same quarter one year before. Net income for the quarter plunged 48 percent, to $162 million.

For all of 2014, Xerox sales were $19.54 billion, down 2 percent from 2013, while net income for the year was down 16 percent, to $992 million.

Netgear

CEO: Patrick Lo

Dec. 31, 2014: $35.58

March 31, 2015: $32.88

Change: -7.59%

In February, network equipment maker NetGear reported that sales for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 dropped 1 percent, to $353.2 million. On the bottom line, the company reported a net loss of $40.4 million, compared with net income of $20 million in the same period one year before.

For all of 2014, sales increased nearly 2 percent, to $1.39 billion, but net income plunged 84 percent, to $8.8 million.

Symantec

CEO: Michael Brown

Dec. 31, 2014: $25.66

March 31, 2015: $23.37

Change: -8.92%

Symantec is in the midst of executing a plan to split into two companies, one focused on security technology and the other on data management. The two operations were scheduled to begin operating as separate companies by April 1, with the final legal split accomplished by January 2016.

In early April, after the close of the period covered by this stock price wrap-up, reports circulated that Symantec was shopping around its Veritas storage and data backup division to private investors.

In February, Symantec reported that sales in its fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 2 declined 4 percent, to $1.64 billion, while net income dropped 22 percent, to $222 million.

Quantum

CEO: Jon Gacek

Dec. 31, 2014: $1.76

March 31, 2015: $1.60

Change: -9.09%

In 2015, Quantum, a developer of data storage, archiving and protection technology, has continued expanding into cloud-based backup after its August 2014 acquisition of Symform. In February, the company debuted three new ways to tie cloud storage to its data protection appliances and software.

In January, Quantum said sales in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 were down nearly 3 percent year-over-year, to $142.1 million. But the company showed a lot of improvement on the bottom line, reporting net income of $6.9 million, compared with a loss of $2.5 million one year before.

F5 Networks

CEO: John McAdam

Dec. 31, 2014: $130.47

March 31, 2015: $114.94

Change: -11.90%

F5 Networks released the results of its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31 in January, reporting a 14 percent gain in revenue to $462.8 million. Net Income for the quarter surged a healthy 31 percent to $89.1 million.

Microsoft

CEO: Satya Nadella

Dec. 31, 2014: $46.45

March 31, 2015: $40.66

Change: -12.47%

Microsoft continues to transform itself, moving away from a Windows-centric view of the world and toward CEO Satya Nadella's vision of becoming a "productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world."

Perhaps the biggest piece of news to come out of Microsoft in the first quarter was the announcement that Windows 10, the next generation of the company's flagship operating system, would ship this summer.

In January, Microsoft said that revenue in its fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31 grew nearly 8 percent, to $26.5 billion, while net income dropped more than 10 percent, to $5.86 billion.

Intel

CEO: Brian Krzanich

Dec. 31, 2014: $36.29

March 31, 2015: $31.27

Change: -13.83%

In February, Intel announced a deal to acquire Lantiq, a manufacturer of smart home broadband chips, in a move to expand its presence in the nascent Internet of Things market. IoT accounted for $2.1 billion of Intel's 2014 sales.

In January, Intel reported sales growth in its PC and data center businesses in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Dec. 27. But the chipmaker continued to struggle in the smartphone and tablet computer processor markets.

Revenue for both Q4 ($14.72 billion) and all of 2014 ($55.87 billion) was up 6 percent. Net income for the quarter was up 39 percent, to $3.66 billion, while net income for all of 2014 was up 22 percent, to $11.7 billion.

EMC

CEO: Joe Tucci

Dec. 31, 2014: $29.74

March 31, 2015: $25.56

Change: -14.06%

In January, EMC combined its VCE and VSPEX businesses into a single $1 billion-plus converged infrastructure organization. That followed EMC's purchase of a majority of Cisco's equity stake in VCE back in October.

In February, EMC said it would retain its stake in VMware for the time being, resisting calls from some investors to sell its interest in the virtualization technology company.

In January, EMC reported that sales in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 grew more than 5 percent, to $7.05 billion, while earnings increased 12 percent, to $1.15 billion. For all of 2014, EMC's sales grew more than 5 percent, to $24.44 billion, but net income for the year dropped 6 percent, to $2.71 billion.

NetApp

CEO: Tom Georgens

Dec. 31, 2014: $41.45

March 31, 2015: $35.46

Change: -14.45%

In February, NetApp reported that sales in its fiscal third quarter (ended Jan. 23) fell nearly 4 percent, to $1.55 billion. Net income for the quarter dropped 8 percent, to $176.8 million.

Those disappointing results, combined with flat guidance for the fourth quarter, took its toll on the company's stock price. But the company remains bullish on revenue generated by software and services.

NetSuite

CEO: Zach Nelson

Dec. 31, 2014: $109.17

March 31, 2015: $92.76

Change: -15.03%

Cloud application vendor NetSuite has been focusing on growth rather than profitability. That might be reflected in the company's recent stock price, which has been declining for several months after hitting a high of $113.13 per share Dec. 26.

In January, NetSuite said revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 surged 37 percent, to $157.9 million, while its net loss increased 25 percent year-over-year, to $25.3 million.

For all of 2014, the company's revenue grew 34 percent, to $556.3 million, while its net loss increased 42 percent, to $100 million.

CommVault Systems

CEO: N. Robert Hammer

Dec. 31, 2014: $51.69

March 31, 2015: $43.70

Change: -15.46%

In January, data and information management software developer CommVault reported that revenue in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 was essentially flat, at $153 million. But net income for the quarter plummeted 82 percent, to less than $3.1 million.

Western Digital

CEO: Steve Milligan

Dec. 31, 2014: $110.70

March 31, 2015: $91.01

Change: -17.79%

Western Digital has been expanding beyond its hard drive product lines with its cloud storage offerings for both consumer and commercial customers. In March, the company debuted its My Cloud network attached storage systems.

In January, Western Digital reported that sales in its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 2 declined 2 percent, to $3.89 billion, while earnings for the quarter increased 7 percent, to $460.0 million.

BlackBerry

CEO: John Chen

Dec. 31, 2014: $10.98

March 31, 2015: $8.93

Change: -18.67%

BlackBerry's stock rallied at times in 2014 as CEO John Chen made moves to turn around the ailing mobile device maker. But it looks like a touch of reality set in during the first quarter as it became clear the company's recovery has a long way to go.

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, BlackBerry reported $660 million in revenue, down nearly 17 percent from the same period one year earlier. Net income for the quarter was $28 million, compared with a net loss of $423 million one year before.

For all of fiscal 2015, BlackBerry reported revenue of $3.34 billion, down 51 percent from fiscal 2014. While the company reported a loss of $304 million for the year, that's much improved from the $5.87 billion loss the company recorded in fiscal 2014.

Seagate Technology

CEO: Stephen Luczo

Dec. 31, 2014: $66.50

March 31, 2015: $52.03

Change: -21.76%

In January, Seagate reported that revenue in its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 2 grew nearly 5 percent, to just under $3.7 billion. Net income for the quarter more than doubled, to $933 million.

Hewlett-Packard

CEO: Meg Whitman

Dec. 31, 2014: $40.13

March 31, 2015: $52.03

Change: -21.76%

In October, Hewlett-Packard surprised the industry when it disclosed plans to split into two Fortune 50 companies: a $56 billion enterprise computing business known as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and a $56 billion PC and printing business called HP Inc.

In the first quarter of 2015, more details on HP's plans were released, with the split scheduled for completion by Nov. 1. Shareholders might be getting cold feet as the potential risks of the split become clearer.

For its fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31, HP reported that sales declined nearly 5 percent year-over-year, to $26.84 billion. Net income for the quarter dropped 4 percent, to $1.37 billion.