The Trefis Top 5 – April 18 Insights

The following is a collection of today’s top insights regarding Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).

Apple Earnings Preview: What We’re Watching

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to release its Q2 fiscal year earnings on April 20th, and investors are eager to hear what management has to say. We believe the most important items to watch out for during the Apple earnings are sales figures and guidance for the iPhone and iPad as well as any indication of gross margin impact from component prices and product mix. Apple competes with Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) in the smartphone market, and it competes with RIM and Motorola Mobility in the tablet market. We currently maintain $420 price estimate for Apple stock, which is about 25% above market price …

Read the full article on Apple here

Should Colgate-Palmolive Focus on Volume?

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) managed to grow sales slightly 1.5% last year to $15.5 billion on a 3% increase in volumes and a negative FX impact of 1.5% Colgate’s Oral Care, Personal and Home Care product segments grew volumes by 4% at flat pricing.While other leading consumer names like Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) withdrew promotional pricing and actually raised prices on certain items due to rising commodity prices, Colgate decided to stand pat on pricing in an effort to drive volumes in 2010, a trend that is likely to continue in the future. Here we explore, how reasonable it is for Colgate-Palmolive to embark on a volume-driven growth strategy …

Read the full article on Colgate-Palmolive here

Nokia Earnings Around the Corner – What Investors Should Watch

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is expected to report its Q1 2011 earnings on April 21st. The key question on our minds as we await the results – can Nokia tackle its short-term issues, while at the same time sufficiently addressing long-term growth plans? From the short-term perspective, Nokia continues to face stiff competition from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) and Samsung in both the high-end and the low-end of the mobile phone market. Regarding the long-term outlook, we’ll be interested in hearing more specific details regarding Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) …

Read the full article on Nokia here

Could Dell’s Cloud Push Complete its Transition to a Service Firm?

In a recent announcement, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) unveiled its plans to invest $1 billion into its cloud computing push with the opening of 10 data centers over the next 24 months. Dell’s move comes after technology giants IBM (NYSE:IBM) and HP (NYSE:HPQ) have placed cloud services at the core of their growth strategy. Dell derives nearly 19% of its stock value from service offerings by our estimates, making this business division the second largest value driver for the company. We have a $22.39 price estimate for Dell’s stock, about 50% ahead of market price …

Read the full article on Dell here

Market Share Upside as P&G Sharpens Focus on OTC Drugs

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) recently announced a joint venture with Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s largest generic drug maker, in a deal that could significantly expand both companies’ consumer health care businesses. The venture combines the over-the-counter drug businesses of both the companies outside North America. PG is the largest consumer goods company in the world, and traditionally competes with companies like Unilever Group (NYSE:UL), Revlon (NYSE:REV) and L’Oreal (PINK:LRLCY) across a wide product spectrum …

Read the full article on Proctor & Gamble here