HP, a Silicon Valley Icon, Is Ready for Its Break-Up

HP, a Silicon Valley Icon, Is Ready for Its Break-Up

March 2, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

One of the nation's most storied tech companies will split in two this weekend, another casualty of seismic shifts in the way people use technology – and big-company sluggishness in responding.
Hewlett-Packard was an early pioneer of what became the model for Silicon Valley startups: Founded in 1939 by two Stanford graduates in a Palo Alto, California, garage, HP was long celebrated for its engineering know-how and laid-back corporate culture. It made hefty profits as it grew into a multinational giant that sold a wide range of computer gear and commercial tech services.
But after struggling to keep pace with recent trends like the rise of smartphones and cloud computing. HP's board decided last year to create two smaller companies, each with a narrower focus.
HP Inc. will sell personal computers and printers; Hewlett Packard Enterprise will sell commercial computer systems, software and tech services. Starting Monday, each will trade separately on the New York Stock Exchange..

Apple's Growth Machine Is Finally Starting to Sputter

Apple’s Growth Machine Is Finally Starting to Sputter

March 1, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Apple has been corporate America's most ridiculously unbelievable growth story. And now it's over. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Get used to it.
Yes, the Apple we have come to know was a gravity-defying growth machine. Apple is the most valuable company in the world, yet it increased its revenue in the last 12 months by more than last year's sales at Coca-Cola. Apple rang up enough operating cash in the last year to buy 625,000 Tesla Model X cars – nearly one for each person in San Francisco. (I'll take blue with tan leather interior, please.) The company has given us so many eye-popping numbers that any feat short of Tim Cook colonizing Mars is underwhelming.
With the setup of high expectations, the most crucial numbers are now more low-Earth orbit than deep space. Unit sales of the iPhone for the three months ended Sept. 26 climbed 22 percent from those in the period a year earlier. Just a few months ago, Apple sold 60 percent more iPhones than it did a year before…