Quarterly earnings results give investors looking for investment ideas additional information for analysis. In the volatile technology sector, the stocks of companies reporting profits and sales that are better than anticipated will naturally go up.
When Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) reported good results, the stock rose by around 10% from about $13 per share to close recently at $14.23. Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) rose 27%, while AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) gained 23%.
For investors who don’t own these companies, are these stocks still buys, despite the easy money already being made? Should investors generating paper gains be selling?
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) announced it would buyback $2 billion of its own shares. The company originally had a $1.5 billion buyback plan that expired at the end of 2012, so the plan is being renewed. To further increase shareholder returns, the company is increasing its dividend by 11.1% to $0.10 per share per quarter. This would raise the dividend yield to 2.8%.
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) earned $0.
51 per share, easily beating estimates by $0.04. Revenue rose by 15% from last year to $368 million.
The earnings beat also translates to an improvement in key metrics:
| Q1 (Mar ’13) | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit margin | 19.42% | 14.85% |
| Operating margin | 27.49% | 22.89% |
| Return on average assets | 10.93% | 8.25% |
Data Source: Google Finance
The higher operating and net profit margins for the quarter supports a view that the company is not facing any serious competition that would hurt demand or pressure its pricing model.
AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) earned $0.58, exceeding estimates by $0.20. Sales beat estimates by $7.45 million as the company reported revenue of $104.7 million.
A number of key metrics improved for AVG in the quarter:
| Q1 (Mar 2013) | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit margin | 23.34% | 13.01% |
| Operating margin | 30.84% | 22.59% |
| Return on average assets | 29.98% | 14.59% |
Data Source: Google Finance
Net profit margins nearly doubled, as did return on assets. The shifting focus from desktop to mobile software by AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) is clearly having a positive impact on performance.
AVG Technologies earned $0.58, exceeding estimates by $0.20. Sales beat estimates by 7.45 as the company reported revenue of $104.7 million.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) beat earnings estimates as gross margins improved to 43%. Sales were higher for LCD units, up 7%, while life-sciences sales rose by 34% due to acquisitions. Weakness was found in optical-fiber sales, which dropped 7% from last year, and specialty-materials sales, which declined 10%. The latter unit is responsible for selling Gorilla Glass.
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) expects revenue to be higher than the $363.3 million consensus. The company provided a range of $368 million to $378 million in revenue and earnings of $0.44 to $0.46 per share.
AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) expects revenue in 2013 will be in the range of $414 million to $422 million. The higher guidance is being driven by confidence in subscription revenue for the year. Top-line growth will be in the range of 16% to 19%. Net income is expected to be between $1.74 and $1.94 for 2013. Un-levered free cash flow will rise between 16% and 21% over last year.
Investors should expect key metrics such as profit and operating margins to improve in 2013.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) expects telecom sales will rise 20% from the previous quarter, while the unit making Gorilla Glass will see sales rise 20% from the first quarter.
The companies rose at a voracious pace on the day quarterly earnings were reported. Investors missing this rally might want to wait for a few trading sessions for AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). AVG and Corning are already seeing profit-taking on the days following the quarterly announcement. Net-income growth is mostly steady and consistent for Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM), making it the first choice for investors. Volatility declined by around 50% for bearish put options on Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) expiring in May, 2013. This suggests that the selling pressure in the short-term will be minimal.
AVG Net Income Quarterly data by YCharts
Corning and AVG Technologies NV (NYSE:AVG) both experienced a decline in earnings over the last three years, but the strong forecasts suggests that these companies are good bullish investing ideas for investors.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is a stock to own for investors with a time horizon longer than one quarter. The company is facin
g slow growth in display sales, because television demand is on a downward phase. Glass volumes for smartphone devices are strong, rising by the mid-teens each year, but devices simply require less volume than big televisions. Corning still believes the price decline in display is moderating, as stated in its press release.
AVG continues to be relevant in the mobile space. On its press release, the company pointed to the 150 million user base. One quarter of total users are from the mobile channel:
We achieved more than $100 million in revenue in one quarter for the first time, posted over 100 percent growth in operating cash flow from the same period last year, and saw a 32 percent increase in year-over-year users to 150 million, with mobile representing today almost 25 percent of total users”
—
John Little
, CFO of AVG Technologies.
This kind of growth will allay the fear of slower growth in the PC space. AVG is strategically positioned to benefit from the growth in the mobile space. Earlier this month, AVG made its application available on the Windows Phone 8 device. Since users still need a solution for mobile security and privacy, investors should expect the potential for growth in this space to continue as their mobile apps are rolled out.
The article 3 Reasons to Be Bullish on These 3 Tech Companies originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Chris Lau.
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