The Trefis Top 5 – April 25 Insights
The following is a collection of today’s top insights regarding Nokia (NYSE:NOK), SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWRA), Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB).
Nokia’s Take on the Microsoft Deal
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) recently announced its Q1 2011 earnings and provided some detail on its Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) partnership. The company believes this will bring about product differentiation and large cost savings, which we highlighted was a key item to watch for in our earnings preview (see Nokia Earnings Around the Corner – What Investors Should Watch). In the past, Nokia has struggled to compete with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) and Samsung in the mobile phone market, and in particular with smartphones …
Read the full article on Nokia here
SunPower Among First to Gain from Budget Decision
SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) did not have to wait much to see how the federal government’s decision to continue funding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) loan-guarantee program would help the solar energy sector at large, and itself in particular. The company received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.187 billion from the DOE for its California Valley Solar Ranch. SunPower manufactures and distributes silicon based solar cells and also produces solar power products for installation on residential and commercial units. The company primarily competes with companies like First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), SuntechPower (NYSE:STP), and Yingli Green Energy Holding Com (NYSE:YGE) …
Read the full article on SunPower here
Kraft’s Sticky Situation in India
Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) is looking to penetrate the lucrative Indian market. One of its initiatives is to leverage the brand equity of Cadbury in India to sell its own flagship Oreo cookies, as well as the powdered beverage Tang. The cookie market in India is around $2 billion and growing at an annual growth rate of 20%. Kraft is the world’s second largest food and beverage company after competitor Nestlé (OTC:NSRGY). It also competes with PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Kellogg (NYSE:K) in this market …
Read the full article on Kraft Foods here
GM’s 5-Year Plan to Double Sales in China Adds Upside to Our Bullish Forecast
General Motors (NYSE:GM) was the second largest global vehicle manufacturer in 2010, selling its vehicles globally under four core brands – Cadillac, GMC, Buick and Chevrolet. GM is also one of the best positioned automakers in China, the world’s largest automobile market. The company actually sold more cars in China than in the U.S. for the first time in 2010, and now has plans to double its sales in China in 5 years. GM competes with other prominent auto manufacturers like Toyota (NYSE:TM), Honda (NYSE:HMC), Ford (NYSE:F), Daimler (ETR:DAI), Volkswagen (ETR:VOW) and Hyundai (SEO:005380) …
Read the full article on GM here
Price Hikes Won’t Help Kimberly-Clark’s Stock
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) recently hiked prices for several of its popular global brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend holds No.1 or No.2 market share positions in over 80 of the 150 countries in which it sells its personal care products while touching the lives of nearly a quarter of the world’s population. Kimberly-Clark makes paper and pulp based consumer products and competes with companies such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Unilever (NYSE:UL) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in other consumer products …