In the first quarter of 2009, 42 percent of CIOs decreased their IT budgets with an average cut of 4.7 percent, according to a new survey by Gartner.
CIOs were expecting a minor budget increase of 0.16 percent in the first quarter, but due to the economy were forced to cut costs. More than 90 percent of firms changing their budgets made a reduction in the first quarter, with the average being 7.2 percent. Forty-four percent of respondents reported no change in their IT budgets, with just 4 percent reporting an increase in their IT budget.
Smartphones See Solid First Quarter Growth
Global mobile phone sales totaled 269.1 million units in the first quarter of 2009, a 9.4 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2008, according to Gartner.
Smartphone sales surpassed 36.4 million units, a 12.7 percent increase from the same period last year.
Google Announces Third Quarter Results
Google has released its third quarter results, and things are looking all right so far. The company managed to bring in $5.54 billion in revenue, and this was up from both last quarter and the third quarter of last year. Net income increased in a similar manner, reaching $1.35 billion.Eric Schmidt wasn’t as positive as he’s been at other times, giving Google some wiggle room in terms of short-term performance, but seems to feel that things are solid and the company is heading in the right direction.
Sohu Reports Strong Second Quarter
The best of China will be put on display during the Olympics – the most beautiful landscapes, the cleanest streets, and the happiest citizens. Don’t be surprised if a Sohu banner turns up, too, as the search company’s second-quarter results were quite impressive.
Baidu Reports Positive Second Quarter
While that Microsoft-Yahoo business stole the show for a while, Baidu’s found its way into the spotlight again. The Chinese search engine company had an admirable second quarter, beating analysts’ estimates in some important respects.
Google Economics: Bad Quarter Hid Good News
The usual and customary reaction to missing earnings predictions got under way after Google’s reported 11 cents less than what analysts expected. Google explained why they should relax.
Second Quarter Results Sink eBay’s Stock
eBay’s second-quarter earning report was respectable, all in all, with increases occurring in most measurable categories. Many of those increases didn’t meet investors’ expectations, though, and the company seems to have adopted a cautious outlook for the future.
Nobody Went Public Last Quarter
For the first time in thirty years, Wall Street saw a quarter come and go with no companies going public. The second quarter of 2008 proved to be a disappointing one all around. Adding on to residual distrust from the dotcom bust, venture capitalists and investment firms are reluctant to debut their startups to the public market during such a weak climate. Memories of Vonage’s embarrassing public offering two years ago don’t help the situation; venture capitalists feel going public during the current market’s mood would be anticlimactic.
comScore Succeeds In First Quarter
Even the worst earnings announcements try to spin things in a positive way; it’s necessary to do a little deep-reading to find out what really happened. comScore’s first-quarter earnings just didn’t have any bad components, though, and the company’s stock is up about 20 percent this morning as a result.
TheStreet’s First Quarter Earnings Far From Flawless
TheStreet.com is looking somewhat worse for wear this morning; following its first-quarter earnings report, the company’s stock dropped over 15 percent.