E-Commerce Blog

As Yahoo shareholders and employees await Tuesday’s official release of the company’s third-quarter financial report, neither constituency has much to be cheerful about: There are unsubstantiated reports that Yahoo will be cutting some 1,000 employees from its payroll. Its earnings are also expected to be lackluster, at best, given the economic climate of the last several months. Indeed, the layoff rumors may well be true for precisely that reason: Even if Yahoo’s Q3 earnings are respectable, the company may implement the cuts as a defensive maneuver.

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Pall Hangs Over Yahoo on Eve of Q3 Earnings Report

eBay came through with a profitable third quarter, but don’t expect such good news in the coming months. Its earnings were almost 1 and a half billion dollars better than Q3 of last year, but the total sum of all transactions on the auction site actually went down one percent. That’s a first. It’s also gotten itself into a somewhat standoffish predicament with some of its smaller sellers. It increased their fees and strictly curtailed what they’re allowed to say about the customers they do business with. Then there’s the fact that other sites are offering increasingly noticeable competition.

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Economic Gloom, Presidential Politics Collide With Tech

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia reported a 30 percent decrease in third-quarter earnings and a 5 percent drop in sales on Thursday. However, the company was able to improve gross margins at a time when the global economy is faltering and spending on consumer electronics is decreasing in the United States and in Western Europe, two of Nokia’s biggest markets. Nokia announced 1.09 billion euros in earnings during the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from 1.56 billion euros during the same period a year ago.

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Nokia Q3 Earnings Slide, Market Share Dips

Semiconductor chip giant Intel reported better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter late Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough to buoy its stock or inject any new life into the broader chip market. Net income at Intel rose 12 percent year-over-year to $2.01 billion. However, top-line revenue rose just 1 percent to $10.2 billion. Intel forecast fourth-quarter sales of $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion, which is in line with Wall Street expectations of $10.77 billion. The company also forecast its gross margins would remain relatively flat at 59 percent.

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Despite Strong Q3, Market Tumult Drags Intel Down

Semiconductor industry watcher iSuppli lowered its 2008 revenue forecast Thursday from 4 percent growth to 3.5 percent. The research firm expects revenue in the chip industry to top US$280.1 billion, roughly $10 billion more than the industry earned in 2007. “Four percent had been our forecast for a while now. Revising down our forecast to 3.5 percent we were recognizing some specific issues in the semiconductor industry that caused us to bring it down,” Dale Ford, an iSuppli analyst, told the E-Commerce Times.

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iSuppli Darkens Semi Outlook