Palm (PALM)

The latest “iPhone killer” was supposed to be the new Pre smartphone, introduced with much fanfare by Palm this past January. So where is the Pre now?

Judging from Palm’s latest anemic sales numbers, the Pre’s going nowhere fast. Even faster than most analysts estimated. So it’s not surprising that investment firms are starting to reverse course on Palm. Morgan Joseph recently downgraded Palm to a Sell rating, stating Palm is failing to meet even the lowest sales numbers for the Pre.

Palm Inc. (PALM) on 18th Sept (Thursday) reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss, as that maker of the Treo smartphone continued to lose ground to the more popular Blackberry models from rival Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM). "Revenues will still be under pressure and profits elusive" over the next few quarters, Chief Executive Officer Ed Colligan, said on a conference call with analysts, Bloomberg News reported.

Handset-maker Palm reported weak Q4/08 results that missed consensus expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The company posted adjusted EPS of $(0.22) on revenues of $296.2 million, versus projections of $(0.18) and $301 million, respectively.

This miss was attributed to a revenue mix that consisted of higher sales of Palm’s low margin Centro smartphone and lower sales of its higher priced Treo devices.

Financial Position Continues to Deteriorate

Misek notes that Palm’s financial position continues to deteriorate, with cash balances having decreased by $86 million in the quarter. Palm’s auction rate securities that were originally declared to be worth $75 million in Q2 are now only worth $30 million

Too little too late, too much competition in the Smart Phone Market! All except RIMM and Palm are diviersified.