InternetTech Giants Paint Mixed Picture

With all eyes on the state of the economy, IBM delivered a strong quarter while Google and Microsoft raised slowdown fears.

In an important night for gauging the health of the economy and technology spending, IBM (NYSE: IBM) posted blow-out quarterly results late Thursday, but disappointing earnings reports from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) raised fears that weakness may be spreading. IBM shares were little changed after hours despite posting second-quarter earnings of $1.98 a share on 13 percent sales growth to $26.8 billion, both well ahead of estimates, and the company raised full-year earnings guidance too. Google, meanwhile, saw its shares fall 7 percent after reporting earnings of $4.63 a share, 11 cents below the Thomson Financial consensus forecast. Sales after traffic acquisition costs of $3.9 billion were $30 million ahead of estimates, but investors wanted more from the highflier. Microsoft shares lost 5 percent after the company beat estimates with $15.84 billion sales but came in a penny shy of estimates with 46-cent earnings. The company's September quarter sales guidance was also below $15.06 billion estimates. AMD (NYSE: AMD) also released its quarterly results after the bell, posting a wider than expected loss and lower than expected sales. In addition, the company replaced its CEO. And Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) served as a fresh reminder of the credit crisis that has crippled Wall Street in the last year, announcing a much bigger... [ Read more on www.internetnews.com ]

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