By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gains from Apple Inc., EMC Corp.
and Electronic Arts Inc. stood out Wednesday as reaction to those
companies' upbeat earnings results helped spur broad gains across
the tech sector.
But big losses from Broadcom Corp. and Polycom Inc. also made
their presence felt as reaction to the latest round of quarterly
reports continued to dominate investors attention.
Apple (AAPL) rose 4%, to $436 a share, after the company
reported fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday that included
iPhone sales of 31.2 million units. Those sales topped the range of
estimates by Wall Street analysts that follow Apple.
The iPhone sales helped counter a decline in profit, as Apple
said its earnings for the quarter ended June 29 fell to $6.9
billion, or $7.47 a share, from $8.8 billion, or $9.32 a share, in
the year-ago period.
Dell Inc. (DELL) shares remained near their break-even point of
$12.88. Before the market opened, Dell Chief Executive Michael Dell
raised his bid to take the computer company private to $13.75 a
share from $13.65. Dell is being assisted by private-equity firm
Silver Lake, and a shareholder vote on the offer was postponed from
Wednesday to Aug. 2.
EMC (EMC) was also having a good day of it, as the data-storage
technology company's stock climbed 6.5% to $26.98.
Before the market opened, EMC reported earnings, excluding
one-time items, of 42 cents a share, and revenue of $5.61 billion,
which met analysts' consensus forecasts. EMC said its results were
helped by growth at VMware Inc. (VMW), which is majority owned by
EMC.
For its part, VMware shares climbed 15% to $81.80 after the
company reported upbeat second-quarter results late Tuesday.
Videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) shares rose more
than 8% to $25.86 following its late-Tuesday earnings report. EA
said lower expenses and more mobile and digital revenue helped its
fiscal first-quarter earnings rise 10% from a year ago.
Facebook Inc. (FB) shares rose 26 cents, to $26.39, ahead of the
social-networking company's second-quarter results, due after the
close of trading.
With broad gains across the tech sector, the Nasdaq Composite
Index (RIXF) rose 13 points to 3,592. However, the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index (SOX) was in the red.
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) proved to be a big drag on the chip
sector, as its shares fell 14% to $27.37. On Tuesday, Broadcom
reported a second-quarter loss and said it took a charge of $501
million and wrote down the value of its 2012 purchase of NetLogic
Microsystems.
Analysts at B. Riley & Co. and RBC Capital Markets also cut
their ratings on Broadcom.
Polycom (PLCM) shares shed more than 10%, to fall to $10, after
Chief Executive Andrew Miller resigned from the videoconferencing
technology company due to "irregularities" that Polycom's board
found in Miller's expense reports. Polycom said late Tuesday that
Miller had resigned last Friday. Kevin Parker, Polycom's board
chairman, was named interim CEO.
Miller's resignation was announced the same day Polycom reported
a decline in its second-quarter earnings and sales.
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