Technology, Quarterly Earnings | featured news

Microsoft said Thursday that an accounting adjustment to reflect a weak online ad business led to its first quarterly loss in its 26 years as a public company. The software company had warned that it was taking a $6.2 billion charge because its 2007 purchase of online ad service aQuantive hasn't yielded the returns envisioned by management. The non-cash adjustment is something companies do when the value of their assets decline. Microsoft Corp. paid $6.3 billion for aQuantive, only to see rival Google Inc. expand its share of the online ad market.

Yahoo reported its earnings Tuesday, posting a slight revenue decline to $1.22 billion and setting the stage for a new chapter in the company’s history. The company has been busy in the past quarter, settling a patent spat with Facebook, making a deal with Alibaba, launching a new Axis browser in a mobile push, and completely changing the makeup of its board.

posted first quarter sales and earnings that fell short of expectations Tuesday, as stronger sales to small and medium businesses during fiscal first quarter weren't enough to offset slumping sales to consumers, big businesses, and government agencies. shares fell 10.34% in after-hours trading.

Shares of online marketing services provider ValueClick are taking a beating after hours Wednesday following the company's Q1 financial report. ValueClick posted revenue of $152.9 million, up 31% from a year ago, but below the Street consensus at $157.8 million. Guidance had been for $155 million to $160 million.

The evidence continues to mount that the mobile phone business is evolving into a two-horse race. It’s Apple, Samsung, and a host of desperate hangers on. In the first quarter, according to Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt, Apple accounted for about 80% of all profits in the mobile phone business, with Samsung accounting for the rest. The two companies combined, he figures, had 74% of mobile handset industry revenues.

Amazon.com Inc's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street's most bullish expectations as the world's largest Internet retailer brought costs under control and saw early success selling more digital products through its new Kindle Fire tablet, sending its shares up almost 15 percent.

Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network's sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO.

Microsoft Corp beat Wall Street's profit forecast as computer sales held up better than expected, lifting its shares 2.5 percent after hours.

EBay's first-quarter net income grew 20 percent thanks to higher revenue from its PayPal business and brisk sales at its e-commerce websites. The results beat Wall Street's expectations and investors sent the company's stock higher in after-hours trading.

Best Buy Co reported weaker-than-expected sales for the key holiday quarter, prompting the world's largest electronics chain to close 50 U.S. stores and cut 400 jobs in corporate and support areas.