Story Stock: Apple Computer (AAPL) #1 [10]

"One more thing...." This is Apple CEO Steve Jobs's famous trademark end to a press conference that is a lead-in to something important. Today, Jobs will utter those words in San Jose at an invitation-only event. The new "thing" must be something compelling in order to reverse the sell-off sparked overnight when Apple reported fourth quarter revenue and iPod sales that fell well short of expectations.

This was the first time in three years Apple has missed sales forecasts. While the company reported record sales of $3.68 bln, up an impressive 56.5% year/year, yet the figure was below the market's consensus estimate of $3.74 bln. Further, as the main driver of the stock's rise from $10 to $50 in two year's time, iPod sales missed the low end of expectations. Apple sold 6.45 mln units, well below the consensus estimate of 7.45 mln, and even the lowest end of the 6.7-8.5 mln range. Read More...

Zacks: British Petroleum (BP) #1 [9]

BP p.l.c. is an oil company with four main businesses:
Exploration and Production, Gas, Power and Renewables, Refining
and Marketing, and Petrochemicals. Exploration and Production
includes oil and natural gas exploration and field development
and production, together with pipeline transportation and
natural gas processing. Since 1997, BP has increased its
reserve base from 8.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent to 18.3
billion.

The company is also the largest oil company involved with
alternative sources of energy. BP is advertising itself as
Beyond Petroleum. The company is pursuing opportunities in the
growing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market, and we find this
diversified strategy attractive in this environment. Read More...

Zacks: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) #1 [?]

Marvell Technology Group designs and develops analog and mixed
signal components as well as digital signal processors for the
storage and networking markets. The company's goal is to
provide for increased bandwidth as communication solutions
evolve. It achieves this with state-of-the-art chip solutions
that enable data transfer in data storage devices and
networking applications. Incorporated in Bermuda with U.S.
headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA, MRVL designs and develops
semiconductor solutions that enable consumers to store and move
digital data at high speeds and low error rates. Read More...