The Best And Worst Technology Company Stocks In The First Quarter Of 2018
Tech Stocks: A Majority Of Companies Record Share Price Gains Despite A Volatile Market In Q1 2018
Stock markets were generally on a roller coaster in the first quarter of 2018, with some trading days seeing swings of hundreds of points. The Dow Jones Index was down 2.49 percent in the quarter (between the Dec. 29, 2017 and March 29, 2018 closings), but the Nasdaq was up 2.32 percent.
How did the tech vendors do? A Wall Street Journal story noted that the five FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, NetFlix and Google) companies collectively lost $324 billion in market cap just between March 16 and April 2. (Some of those losses came after the March 29 close of our review: Amazon stock actually gained value in our Q1 review.)
Overall, 26 of the 44 tech companies on our watch list saw their stock prices increase in the first quarter of 2018 while 18 recorded stock price declines.
Here's a look at who was up and who was down in the quarter, starting with companies with the biggest gains in share price, based on stock closing prices on Dec. 29, 2017 and March 29, 2018.
Seagate Technology
CEO: Dave Mosley
Dec. 29, 2017: $41.84
March 29, 2018: $58.52
Change: +39.87%
On Oct. 1, 2017, president and chief operating officer Dave Mosley became Seagate Technology's new CEO, carrying out a transition plan announced in July. Steve Luczo, previously CEO, became executive chairman with "a focus on longer-term shareholder value creation."
On Jan. 29 Seagate reported that revenue in its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Dec. 29) was $2.91 billion, up 0.7 percent from $2.89 billion in the same period one year before.
Nutanix
CEO: Dheeraj Pandey
Dec. 29, 2017: $35.28
March 29, 2018: $49.11
Change: +39.20%
On March 1, hyper-converged software developer Nutanix struck a deal to acquire Minjar, a developer of software that provides unified cost control and visibility into workloads running on public clouds. Then on March 12 it reached an agreement to buy Netsil, which develops application discovery and operations management tools for cloud environments. The cost of each acquisition was not disclosed.
Also on March 1, Nutanix released its fiscal 2018 second quarter results, including revenue of $286.7 million, up 44 percent from $199.2 million in the same quarter one year earlier. The company's net loss narrowed in the most recent quarter to $62.6 million from $76.4 million one year earlier.
Cloudera
CEO: Tom Reilly
Dec. 29, 2017: $16.52
March 29, 2018: $21.58
Change: +30.63%
For its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter (ended Jan. 31) Cloudera, a developer of big data analytics and machine learning software, reported revenue of $103.5 million, up 42 percent from $72.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. The company also significantly narrowed its quarterly loss to $43.9 million from $61.4 million one year before.
For all of fiscal 2018 Cloudera reported revenue of $367.4 million, up nearly 41 percent from $261.0 million in fiscal 2017. But the company's net loss for the year was $385.8 million compared to the $187.3 million loss reported for fiscal 2017.
Palo Alto Networks
CEO: Mark McLaughlin
Dec. 29, 2017: $144.94
March 29, 2018: $181.52
Change: +25.24%
On March 26 security technology vendor Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of Evident.io, a developer of public cloud services infrastructure protection technology. The agreement to acquire Evident.io was announced earlier in the month.
In February Palo Alto Networks reported that in its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Jan. 31), revenue was $542.4 million, up 28 percent from $422.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a net loss of $34.9 million compared to the $60.6 million loss in the same quarter one year earlier.
Red Hat
CEO: James Whitehurst
Dec. 29, 2017: $120.10
March 29, 2018: $149.51
Change: +24.49%
Red Hat's stock recorded the biggest gain in 2017 among all the companies on our watch list. Can it repeat in 2018?
On Jan. 30 Red Hat announced an agreement to buy CoreOS, a developer of Kubernetes and container technology, for $250 million. The move will expand Red Hat's presence in the rapidly growing market for software for building, running and managing containerized applications in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
On March 26 Red Hat reported that revenue in its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter (ended Feb. 28) was $772.3 million, up nearly 23 percent from $628.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a $12.6 million loss for the quarter, however, compared to net income of $65.8 million one year earlier. The loss was attributed to a one-time tax charge of $123 million related to significant changes to the U.S. corporate income tax system included in the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
For all of fiscal 2018 Red Hat reported revenue of $2.92 billion, up 21 percent from $2.41 billion in fiscal 2017. Net income for the year was $258.8 million, up 2 percent from $253.7 million in fiscal 2017.
Amazon
CEO: Jeff Bezos
Dec. 29, 2017: $1,169.47
March 29, 2018: $1,447.34
Change: +23.76%
Amazon had a difficult first quarter. While its stock price for the quarter was up from December 29, it reached a high of nearly $1,600 a share in March before beginning a slide – due at least in part to criticism from President Donald Trump. A published story on March 28 that described Trump as being "obsessed" with the company put a $53 billion dent in Amazon's market capitalization.
On Feb. 1 Amazon reported that sales in its 2017 fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) were $60.45 billion, up 38 percent from $43.74 in the fourth quarter of 2016. Net income for the quarter was $1.86 billion, up nearly 148 percent from $749 million one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Amazon reported sales of $177.87 billion, up nearly 31 percent from $135.99 billion in 2016. Net income for the year was $3.03 billion, up 30 percent from $2.37 billion in 2016.
Fortinet
CEO: Ken Xie
Dec. 29, 2017: $43.69
March 29, 2018: $53.58
Change: +22.64%
On Feb. 5 security technology vendor Fortinet appointed Keith Jensen to interim Chief Financial Officer effective Feb. 16, replacing Drew Del Matto who had served as CFO since January 2014 and is leaving for another opportunity. Jensen has served as Fortinet's Chief Accounting Officer since May 2014.
Fortinet reported on Feb. 5 that revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017 (ended Dec. 31) was $416.7 million, up nearly 15 percent from $362.8 million. The company reported a $29 million loss for the quarter compared to income of $25.2 million one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Fortinet report revenue of $1.49 billion, up more than 17 percent from $1.28 billion in 2016. Net income in 2017 was $31.4 million, down 2.5 percent from $32.2 million.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
CEO: Antonio Neri
Dec. 29, 2017: $14.36
March 29, 2018: $17.54
Change: +22.14%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise began 2018 looking significantly different from the way it began 2017. Early last year HPE spun off its Enterprise Services business and merged it with CSC to form DXC Technology. And in September it completed a year-long process to spin off its enterprise software operations, including its Autonomy, Mercury Interactive and Vertica Systems products, and merge them with Micro Focus.
And on Feb. 1 of this year president Antonio Neri took over as HPE's CEO, replacing long-time CEO Meg Whitman who announced in late 2017 that she was stepping down.
For its fiscal 2018 first quarter (ended Jan. 31), HPE reported revenue of $7.67 billion, up 11 percent from $6.90 billion in the same quarter one year earlier. Net earnings for the quarter was $1.44 billion, a significant increase over the $267 million in earnings one year earlier.
FireEye
CEO: Kevin Mandia
Dec. 29, 2017: $14.20
March 29, 2018: $16.93
Change: +19.23%
In January FireEye acquired big data platform developer X15 Software to provide monitoring and analysis capabilities for machine-generated security data.
In March CRN reported that FireEye CTO Tony Cole left the company to take the CTO job at Attivo Networks.
For its 2017 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 FireEye reported revenue of $202.3 million, up 9.5 percent from $184.7 million in the same quarter in 2016. The security tech company reported a $77.0 million loss for the quarter compared to a $61.5 million loss one year earlier.
For all of 2017 FireEye reported revenue of $751.1 million, up 5 percent from $714.1 million in 2016. The company's loss for the year narrowed to $303.7 million from $480.1 million in 2016.
Splunk
CEO: Doug Merritt
Dec. 29, 2017: $82.84
March 29, 2018: $98.39
Change: +18.77%
In February machine data analytics software vendor Splunk struck a deal to acquire Phantom Cyber Corp., a developer of security orchestration, automation and response software, for $350 million. (The acquisition was completed April 9.)
For its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter (ended Jan. 31) Spunk reported revenue of $419.7 million, up 37 percent from $306.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a net loss of $25.1 million in the quarter compared to the $74.2 million net loss in the same quarter one year before.
For all of fiscal 2018 Splunk reported revenue of $1.27 billion, up nearly 34 percent from $950.0 million in fiscal 2017. The company reported a $259.1 million net loss for the year compared to a $355.2 million loss one year before.
Tableau Software
CEO: Adam Selipsky
Dec. 29, 2017: $69.20
March 29, 2018: $80.82
Change: +16.79%
On Feb. 1 data visualization software developer Tableau reported results for its fourth quarter and full-year results for 2017, both ended Dec. 31.
For the fourth quarter Tableau reported revenue of $249.4 million, down 1 percent from $250.7 million from the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a net loss of $41.8 million compared to the $21.1 million net loss in the same quarter one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Tableau reported revenue of $877.1 million, up 6 percent from $826.9 million in 2016. The company recorded a net loss of $185.6 million for the year compared to the $144.4 million loss in 2016.
During the fourth quarter Tableau repurchased 284,851 shares of the company's outstanding Class A common stock with a value of $20 million.
Also in February Tableau announced that CFO Tom Walker had decided to permanently step down from the CFO post and take a six-month sabbatical beginning in April. Senior vice president of finance Damon Fletcher was named interim CFO effective Feb. 1.
Western Digital Corp.
CEO: Steve Milligan
Dec. 29, 2017: 79.53
March 29, 2018: $92.27
Change: +16.02%
In December Western Digital Corp. reached a settlement with Toshiba Memory Corp. to resolve a months-long dispute over the latter's plans to sell its $18 billion chip business unit. WDC had maintained that Toshiba needed WDC's permission to sell the business: That stemmed from a joint venture Toshiba had with SanDisk, which WDC acquired in 2016 for $16 billion.
On Jan. 25 WDC said that in its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Dec. 29) revenue was $5.34 billion, up more than 9 percent from $4.89 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a net loss of $823 million for the quarter compared to net income of $235 million one year earlier. The net loss included a provisional net tax charge of $1.6 billion due to the repatriation tax as a result of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Carbonite
CEO: Mohamad Ali
Dec. 29, 2017: $25.10
March 29, 2018: $28.80
Change: +14.74%
On March 19 Carbonite, a developer of cloud-based data backup and recovery services, completed its acquisition of rival Mozy from Dell Technologies for $145.8 million. The acquisition, announced in February, is expected to increase Carbonite's roster of both customers and channel partners.
On February 13 Carbonite announced the financial results for 2017 and its fourth quarter, both ended Dec. 31.
For the quarter Carbonite reported revenue of $61.7 million, up 15 percent from $53.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a $1.6 million net loss for the quarter compared to the $670,000 loss reported one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Carbonite reported revenue of $239.5 million, up nearly 16 percent from $207.0 million in 2016. Net loss for 2017 was just over $4.0 million compared to a net loss of $4.1 million in 2016.
Salesforce.com
CEO: Marc Benioff
Dec. 29, 2017: $102.23
March 29, 2018: $116.3
Change: +13.76%
On March 20 Salesforce signed a $6.5 billion deal to acquire MuleSoft, a developer of technology used to build application networks that connect enterprise applications, data and devices across cloud and on-premises environments. Salesforce plans to use MuleSoft's technology as the foundation for its Salesforce Integration cloud product. The companies expect to complete the acquisition by July 31.
On Feb. 28 Salesforce announced that revenue in its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter (ended Jan. 31) was $2.85 billion, up 24 percent from $2.29 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. Net income for the quarter was $67.6 million compared to a $51.4 million loss one year earlier.
For all of fiscal 2018 revenue was $10.48 billion, up nearly 25 percent from $8.39 billion in fiscal 2017. That exceeded the $10 billion threshold for the first time, fulfilling a goal by CEO Marc Benioff to be the first cloud software company to hit the $10 billion revenue mark. But net income for fiscal 2018 was down 29 percent to $127.5 million from $179.6 million in fiscal 2017.
Salesforce is forecasting that revenue in fiscal 2019 will reach $12.60 to $12.65 billion.
Intel
CEO: Brian Krzanich
Dec. 29, 2017: $46.16
March 29, 2018: $52.08
Change: +12.82%
Chipmaker Intel had a rough start to 2018 with the discovery of the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities across many of its processor product lines. But while the company spent part of the first quarter scrambling to fix the exploits, it's stock ended up on the plus side by the end.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 (ended Dec. 30) Intel reported revenue of $17.05 billion, up 4 percent from $16.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a $687 million loss in the quarter, compared to net income of $3.56 billion one year earlier, because of a $5.4 billion income tax expense taken for the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
For all of 2017 Intel reported revenue of $62.76 billion, up 5.7 percent from $59.39 billion in 2016. Net income for the year was $9.60, down 7 percent from $10.32 billion in 2016.
Cisco Systems
CEO: Chuck Robbins
Dec. 29, 2017: $38.30
March 29, 2018: $42.89
Change: +11.98%
In the first quarter of 2018 Cisco Systems continued its efforts to evolve from a manufacturer of networking hardware to a supplier of data center software and services.
On Feb. 2 Cisco completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of BroadSoft, extending Cisco's software-centric strategy and providing it with a bigger piece of the unified communications market.
For its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Jan. 27) Cisco reported revenue of $11.89 billion, up 2.7 percent from $11.58 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a net loss of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to net income of $2.35 billion one year before, due to a $11.1 billion charge related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
NetApp
CEO: George Kurian
Dec. 29, 2017: $55.32
March 29, 2018: $61.69
Change: +11.51%
NetApp, a supplier of enterprise storage and data management products, was struggling just a few years ago, but has rebounded strongly in the last two years.
For its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Jan. 26) NetApp reported revenue of $1.52 billion, up 8 percent from $1.40 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a loss of $506 million for the quarter, compared to net income of $146 million one year earlier, due to a one-time charge of $856 million on accumulated foreign earnings mandated by the 2017 Tax Reform Reconciliation Act
NetApp said sales of its all-flash array products were running on a $2.0 billion annual run rate, up 50 percent year over year.
F5 Networks
CEO: Francois Locoh-Donou
Dec. 29, 2017: $131.22
March 29, 2018: $144.61
Change: +10.20%
For its fiscal 2018 first quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2017) secure application delivery provider F5 Networks reported revenue of $523.2 million, up 1.4 percent from $516.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Net income for the latest quarter was $88.4 million, down more than 6 percent from $94.2 million one year earlier.
Commvault Systems
CEO: N. Robert Hammer
Dec. 29, 2017: $52.50
March 29, 2018: $57.20
Change: +8.95%
Commvault Systems is a developer of enterprise data protection and information management systems for data backup, archiving and recovery.
The company could be on the verge of a proxy battle after hedge fund and activist investor Elliott Management disclosed that it had acquired a 10.4 percent stake in the company and planned to nominate four directors to the company's board. Elliott Management expressed frustration with Commvault's profit margins and called on the company to conduct an operational review and return more capital to investors. It also called for a review of Commvault's management.
Commvault issued a response saying it had conducted "initial discussions" with Elliott Management and was approaching the talks with "an open mind" and "a goal of enhancing stockholder value."
For its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Dec. 31) Commvault reported revenue of $180.4 million, up 8 percent from $167.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a loss of $58.9 million, due to $59 million in income tax charges due to tax law changes, compared to net income of $2.0 million one year earlier.
Microsoft
CEO: Satya Nadella
Dec. 29, 2017: $85.54
March 29, 2018: $91.27
Change: +6.70%
A report released by investment giant Morgan Stanley in late March said that Microsoft's market valuation could reach $1 trillion within a year, thanks to the company's cloud portfolio -- including its hybrid cloud and AI-infused edge computing capabilities.
For its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2017) Microsoft reported revenue of $28.92 billion, up 12 percent from $25.83 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a $6.30 billion net loss for the quarter, due to a $13.8 billion charge taken for the U.S. Tax Cut and Jobs Act, compared to net income of $6.27 billion one year earlier.
Citrix Systems
CEO: David Henshall
Dec. 29, 2017: $88.00
March 29, 2018: $92.80
Change: +5.45%
Citrix Systems had a somewhat turbulent 2017. On July 10 Citrix announced that Kirill Tatarinov was out as president and CEO, a job he had held since January 2016. No reason for his departure was given other than it was by mutual agreement between Tatarinov and the company's board. CFO and chief operating officer David Henshall was named the company's new president and CEO.
In February Citrix acquired Cedexis, a developer of software that optimizes application performance and content delivery across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
On Feb. 5 Citrix named Andrew Del Matto to be the company's new executive vice president and CFO, succeeding Mark Coyle who had been interim CFO since July. Del Matto came to Citrix from Fortinet where he had been CFO since 2014.
And on Feb. 2 Citrix announced an accelerated share repurchase program under which it will repurchase an aggregate of $750 million of its common stock.
HP Inc.
CEO: Dion Weisler
Dec. 29, 2017: $21.01
March 29, 2018: $21.92
Change: +4.33%
On Nov. 1 HP completed its $1.05 billion acquisition of Samsung's printer business in a move that strengthened the vendor's competitive position in the $55 billion A3 copier replacement market.
In February HP announced the results of its fiscal 2018 first quarter (ended Jan. 31), reporting revenue of $14.52 billion, up 14.5 percent from $12.68 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Net earnings for the quarter were $1.94 billion, up more than 217 percent from $611 million in the same quarter one year earlier.
CA Technologies
CEO: Michael Gregoire
Dec. 29, 2017: $33.28
March 29, 2018: $33.90
Change: +1.86%
CA Technologies has been reinventing itself with a focus on systems and cloud management, security and DevOps software. In 2017 it increased its focus on DevSecOps, connecting security to its DevOps product portfolio.
For its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2017) CA reported revenue of $1.09 billion, up 9 percent from $1.01 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a $93 million net loss for the latest quarter, including a $318 million tax charge relating to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, compared to net income of $208 million one year earlier.
CA will report its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter and full-year results on May 8.
Hortonworks
CEO: Rob Bearden
Dec. 29, 2017: $20.11
March 29, 2018: $20.37
Change: +1.29%
On Feb. 8 big data management software developer Hortonworks reported that for its fourth quarter of 2017 (ended Dec. 31) revenue was $75.0 million, up more than 44 percent from $52.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a net loss of $48.2 million for the quarter compared to the $56.6 million loss reported one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Hortonworks reported revenue of $261.8 million, up 42 percent from $184.5 million in 2016. The company's net loss for 2017 was $204.5 million compared to the $251.7 million loss reported for 2016.
Eaton
CEO: Craig Arnold
Dec. 29, 2017: $79.01
March 29, 2018: $79.91
Change: +1.14%
On Feb. 1 Eaton reported that revenue in its fiscal 2017 fourth quarter (ended Dec. 3, 2017) was $5.21 billion, up more than 7 percent from $4.87 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Net income for the quarter was $634 million, up nearly 25 percent from $508 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.
For all of 2017 Eaton reported revenue of $20.40 billion, up more than 3 percent from $19.75 billion in 2016. Net income for 2016 was just shy of $3.0 billion, up nearly 56 percent from $1.92 billion in 2016.
IBM
CEO: Virginia Rometty
Dec. 29, 2017: $153.42
March 29, 2018: $153.43
Change: +0.01%
In January reports circulated that IBM was considering making substantial workforce reductions in its Global Technology Services division and moving tens of thousands of employees to other parts of the company or eliminating their positions when they leave.
In January IBM, which has reported declining revenue for years, reported that revenue in its fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 (ended Dec. 31) grew 3.5 percent to $22.54 billion from $21.77 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a loss of $1.05 billion for the quarter, due to a $5.5 billion one-time charge associated with the enactment of U.S. tax reform, compared to net income of $4.51 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
For all of 2017 IBM reported revenue of $18.45 billion, up 1.4 percent from $18.19 billion in 2016. The company reported net income of $5.75 billion for 2017, down 51.5 percent from $11.87 billion in 2016.
Apple
CEO: Tim Cook
Dec. 29, 2017: $169.23
March 29, 2018: $167.78
Change: -0.86%
Apple started 2018 in the midst of a controversy over the company's effort to "throttle" some older iPhone models by issuing a performance-reducing update to iOS -- without publicly disclosing the move -- to extend device battery life. The company reportedly faces an investigation by federal agencies over the issue.
In late March Apple introduced a new entry-level iPad aimed at the education market.
For its fiscal 2018 first quarter (ended Dec. 30) Apple reported revenue of $88.29 billion, up nearly 13 percent from $78.35 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Net income for the quarter was $20.07 billion, up 12 percent from $17.89 billion one year earlier.
Xerox
CEO: Jeff Jacobson
Dec. 29, 2017: $29.15
March 29, 2018: $28.78
Change: -1.27%
On January 31 Xerox announced a deal under which Fujifilm, a major document solutions provider in Japan, would acquire a 50.1 percent controlling stake in Xerox, which will be renamed Fuji Xerox and led by current Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson.
But the deal has come under fire from some leading investors and in February shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason filed a lawsuit to halt the acquisition. (A Wall Street Journal story on April 16, after the period covered in this analysis, said Jacobsen pursued the Fuji deal after the Xerox board of directors had told him to halt the discussions.)
Alphabet
CEO: Larry Page
Dec. 29, 2017: $1,046.40
March 29, 2018: $1,031.79
Change: -1.40%
In March Alphabet, the parent company of Google, faced comments from European Union regulators that they would not rule out an effort to break up the company as a remedy to prohibit ecommerce sites and search engines from favoring their own services and search results.
Last year Google paid a fine of nearly $2.74 billion to the European Commission to settle a charge by the EC that Google abused its dominance of the search engine market to favor its own comparison shopping services over the competition. Google has appealed the fine, the largest in the history of the European Commission.
Also in March, Google lost the latest round in a lengthy legal battle with Oracle over Google's use of Java APIs in the Android mobile operating system. The case now goes back to a lower court to determine how much Google must pay Oracle. Oracle has sought as much as $9 billion in damages in the suit it filed in 2010.
CenturyLink
CEO: Glen Post
Dec. 29, 2017: $16.68
March 29, 2018: $16.43
Change: -1.50%
CenturyLink began the year working to integrate its operations with those of Level 3 Communications, the global network services company CenturyLink acquired Nov. 1 for about $34 billion in cash and stock.
On March 6 CenturyLink announced that long-time CEO Glen Post would retire with president and chief operating officer Jeff Storey taking over as CEO as of the date of CenturyLink's annual shareholder meeting in May. The plan had been for Storey, Level 3 Communication's CEO for four years, to take over as CenturyLink CEO as of Jan. 1, 2019.
For its fiscal 2017 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 CenturyLink reported operating revenues of $5.32 billion, up 24 percent from $4.29 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Net income for the quarter was $1.12 billion compared to net income of $42 million in the same quarter one year earlier.
For all of 2017 CenturyLink reported operating revenues of $17.66 billion, up 1 percent from $17.47 billion in 2016. Net income for the year more than doubled to $1.39 billion from $626 million in 2016.
Advanced Micro Devices
CEO: Lisa Su
Dec. 29, 2017: $10.28
March 29, 2018: $10.05
Change: -2.24%
For its fiscal 2017 fourth quarter ended Dec. 30 chipmaker AMD reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up nearly 34 percent from $1.11 billion in the last quarter of 2016. The company reported net income of $61 million in the quarter compared to a net loss of $51 million in the same quarter one year earlier.
For all of fiscal 2017 ended Dec. 30 AMD report revenue of $5.33 billion, up nearly 25 percent from $4.27 billion in 2016. For the year AMD recorded net income of $43 million compared to a $497 million net loss in 2016.
BlackBerry
CEO: John Chen
Dec. 29, 2017: $11.77
March 29, 2018: $11.50
Change: -2.29%
On March 15 BlackBerry announced an agreement to extend CEO John Chen's contract through November 2023. Chen joined the company in November 2013 under a five-year contract that was set to expire this coming November.
The company noted that under Chen's leadership the mobile device maker has shed its hardware manufacturing business, returned to financial stability and made strategic investments in cybersecurity and embedded software – product areas that are the source of most of the company's growth today.
In March BlackBerry reported that revenue in its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter (ended Feb. 28) was $233 million, down 18.5 percent from $286 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a net loss of $10 million in the quarter compared to a $47 million net loss one year ago.
For all of fiscal 2018 BlackBerry reported revenue of $932 million, down nearly 29 percent from $1.31 billion in fiscal 2017. But the company reported net income of $405 million for fiscal 2018 compared to the $1.21 billion net loss it recorded in fiscal 2017.
Netgear
CEO: Patrick Lo
Dec. 29, 2017: $58.75
March 29, 2018: $57.20
Change: -2.64%
On Feb. 6 Netgear announced a plan to spin off its Arlo smart home security technology business through an initial public offering in the second half of 2018 to create Arlo Technologies Inc. Netgear will retain at least 80 percent of the common stock in the IPO, which it intends to distribute to its shareholders.
In February Netgear reported that revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was $397.1 million, up nearly 12 percent from $355.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a net loss of $31.9 million for the most recent quarter, due to a one-time charge of $48.3 million due to U.S. tax reform, compared to net income of $20.8 million one year earlier.
For all of 2017 (ended Dec. 31) Netgear reported revenue of $1.41 billion, up 6 percent from $1.33 billion in 2016. But the company's net income for 2017 was just $19.4 million compared to $75.9 million in 2016, due at least in part to the one-time charge in the fourth quarter.
VMware
CEO: Pat Gelsinger
Dec. 29, 2017: $125.32
March 29, 2018: $121.27
Change: -3.23%
Reports surfaced on Jan. 29 that Dell Technologies, facing debt tax problems from its $67 billion acquisition of EMC in 2016, was considering a reverse merger with VMware, making Dell once again a public company. Dell became a majority owner of VMware through the EMC acquisition.
While a reverse merger might be advantageous for Dell, VMware shareholders were not happy and VMware shares plunged 17 percent on the day the reports surfaced, cutting the company's market capitalization by nearly $10 billion. In March Jericho Capital, one of VMware's biggest independent shareholders, released a strongly worded protest saying a reverse merger would undermine VMware's successful growth strategy.
Dell took no action on a reverse merger in the first quarter and in April was reported to be leaning against pursuing the proposal.
Oracle
CEOs: Mark Hurd and Safra Catz
Dec. 29, 2017: $47.28
March 29, 2018: $45.75
Change: -3.24%
On Feb. 15 Oracle signed a deal to acquire Zenedge, which develops web application firewall and distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation products to help businesses secure critical IT systems deployed in the cloud.
On March 27 Oracle won the latest round in a lengthy legal battle over Google's use of Java APIs in the Android mobile operating system. The case now goes back to a lower court to determine how much Google must pay Oracle. Oracle has sought as much as $9 billion in damages in the suit it filed in 2010.
For its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Feb. 28) Oracle reported revenue of $9.77 billion, up 6 percent from $9.21 billion in revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a $4.02 billion loss in the quarter, due to a one-time $6.9 billion charge related to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, compared to net income of $2.24 billion one year earlier.
Check Point Software Technologies
CEO: Gil Shwed
Dec. 29, 2017: $103.62
March 29, 2018: $99.34
Change: -4.13%
For its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 security technology developer Check Point reported revenue of $506.0 million, up 4 percent from $486.7 million in the last quarter of 2016. Net income for the quarter was $239.3 million, up nearly 8 percent from $222.0 million one year before.
For all of 2017 Check Point reported revenue of $1.85 billion, up 6.5 percent from $1.74 billion in 2016. Net income for the year was $802.9 million, up nearly 11 percent from $724.8 million in 2016.
SAP
CEO: Bill McDermott
Dec. 29, 2017: $112.36
March 29, 2018: $105.16
Change: -6.41%
SAP struck a deal on Jan. 30 to acquire sale performance/quote-to-cash application developer Callidus for $2.4 billion. The acquisition was completed April 5 and SAP plans to offer the Callidus application as part of a new comprehensive suite of cloud front-office applications.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, SAP reported total revenue of 6.81 billion Euros (U.S. $8.45 billion), up 1 percent from 6.72 billion Euros (U.S. $8.35) in the fourth quarter of 2016. After-tax profit for the quarter was 1.87 billion Euros (U.S. $2.32 billion), up 22 percent from 1.53 billion Euros (U.S. $1.89 billion) one year earlier.
For the year ended Dec. 31 SAP reported total revenue of 23.46 billion Euros (U.S. $29.10 billion), up 6 percent from 22.06 billion Euros (U.S. $27.37 billion) in 2016. After-tax profit for the year was 4.06 billion Euros (U.S. $5.03 billion), up 12 percent from 3.63 billion Euros (U.S. $4.17 billion) in 2016.
Symantec
CEO: Greg Clark
Dec. 29, 2017: $28.06
March 29, 2018: $25.85
Change: -7.88%
In January security technology developer Symantec reported that revenue in its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Dec. 29) was $1.21 billion, up 16 percent from $1.04 billion in the same quarter in fiscal 2017. The company reported net income of $1.34 billion, including a $606 million tax benefit.
Symantec will announce its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter and full year results on May 10.
AT&T
CEO: Randall Stephenson
Dec. 29, 2017: $38.88
March 29, 2018: $35.65
Change: -8.31%
AT&T's proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of global entertainment and media powerhouse Time Warner, announced in October 2016, hit a roadblock in late 2017 when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to halt the deal. A trial in the case began in mid-March and continued into April.
For its 2017 fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) AT&T reported operating revenue of $41.68 billion, down 0.4 percent from $41.84 billion in the last quarter of 2016. Net income was $19.14 billion for the quarter, including a $20.42 billion income tax benefit, compared to net income of $2.52 billion in the fourth quarter one year before.
For all of 2017 AT&T reported operating revenue of $160.55 billion, down 2 percent from $163.79 billion in 2016. Net income for 2017 was $29.85 billion compared to $13.33 billion in 2016.
Lenovo Group
CEO: Yang Yuanqing
Dec. 29, 2017: $11.24
March 29, 2018: $10.25
Change: -8.81%
In January Lenovo hired longtime AMD executive Matthew Zielinski as its North America president, effective Feb. 12.
On Feb. 1 Lenovo reported that for its fiscal 2018 third quarter (ended Dec. 31) revenue was $12.94 billion, up 6 percent from $12.17 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The company said it saw "significant revenue gains" in PCs, smart devices and data Center Group revenue in the quarter.
The company reported a net loss of $289 million for the third quarter, including a one-time $400 million charge to cover U.S. deferred tax assets because of the enacted U.S. tax reform legislation, compared to $98 million in net income in the same quarter one year earlier.
Verizon Communications
CEO: Lowell McAdam
Dec. 29, 2017: $52.93
March 29, 2018: $47.82
Change: -9.65%
On Feb. 28 Verizon completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications, following a bidding war with AT&T last year. The acquisition provides Verizon with valuable millimeter wave spectrum licenses that cover the entire U.S., including within the top 40 markets.
For its 2017 fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) Verizon reported operating revenue of $33.96 billion, up 5 percent from $32.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Net income for the quarter was $18.78 billion, including a $15.85 billion tax benefit, compared to net income of $4.60 billion in the same quarter one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Verizon reported operating revenue of $126.03 billion, essentially flat with the $125.98 billion reported in 2016. Net income for 2017 was $30.55 billion compared to the $13.61 billion earned in 2016.
Extreme Networks
CEO: Ed Meyercord
Dec. 29, 2017: $12.52
March 29, 2018: $11.07
Change: -11.58%
Extreme completed its acquisition of Brocade Communications Systems' data center networking business in October, expanding the company's position in the enterprise networking market.
For its fiscal 2018 second quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2017) Extreme Networks reported revenue of $231.1 million, up 48 percent from $156.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company reported a $31.9 million loss for the quarter compared to a loss of $4.2 million one year earlier.
Juniper Networks
CEO: Rami Rahim
Dec. 29, 2017: $28.50
March 29, 2018: $24.33
Change: -14.63%
On Jan. 30 Juniper Networks announced that revenue in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017 was $1.24 billion, down 11 percent from $1.39 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. The company reported a $148.1 million net loss for the quarter compared to net income of $188.9 million in the same quarter one year earlier.
For all of 2017 Juniper reported revenue of $5.03 billion, up 0.7 percent from $4.99 billion in 2016. Net income for 2017 was $306.2 million, down more than 48 percent from $592.7 million in 2016.
Quantum
CEO: Patrick Dennis
Dec. 29, 2017: $5.63
March 29, 2018: $3.64
Change: -35.35%
On Jan. 16 Quantum named Patrick Dennis to be the company's new president and CEO. Prior to joining Quantum Dennis was president and CEO of Guidance Software, and before that held a number of strategy, sales, operations, engineering and services posts at EMC.
Dennis replaced former CEO Jon Gacek who left the company in November after the company reported disappointing fiscal 2018 second quarter results. Board member Adalio Sanchez had been serving as interim CEO.
On Jan. 11 Quantum disclosed that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the company's accounting practices and internal controls relating to revenue recognition for transactions since April 1, 2016. The company's own internal audit committee began its own investigation and on Feb. 8 the company postponed release of its fiscal 2018 third quarter results while that investigation is underway.
Because Quantum's stock price had languished below $1 per share since September 2015, the company executed a 1-for-8 reverse stock split in April 2017, with the number of outstanding shares dropping from approximately 273 million to 34 million.