Video Analysis From Hoover's Editors
Computer Hardware
Acer
Taiwan-based Acer may vie for #3 in the world of PCs (behind Hewlett-Packard and Dell), but it came in at #1 on the Hoover's Index for September. Behind the surge in interest: Acer's planned $710 million purchase of big US computer maker Gateway, which has been something of an also-ran in the industry over recent years but which stands to make a nice addition to Acer's worldwide footprint. After some up-and-down years at the turn of this century, Acer has racked up steady gains in revenues and profits over the past few years. Possibly the biggest victim of Acer's recent success has been archrival Lenovo, which bought out IBM's PC operations in 2005, but which has struggled to put Acer firmly behind it in the PC game.
Automotive & Transport
Saturn
Like colleagues across the other divisions of General Motors, workers at Saturn walked off the job during the short UAW contract strike in September. Now that Saturn is back up to speed, the unit can get down to the hard business of regaining the magic that its brand represented in the first half of the 1990s. During those early years of production, Saturn emphasized harmony between labor and management while building its still-strong reputation for friendly service. While Saturn still makes cars that are well-rated by consumers and design critics, sales for the brand have been tepid. The best hope for reviving them may come from innovative new models, especially hybrid-engine Vue compact SUVs, including one model, slated to debut as early as 2009, with a plug-in hybrid engine that will recharge off of household current or run on gasoline. It's going to take a jolt of something if GM wants to see Saturn live up to its reputation as a "different kind of car company" in years to come.
Consumer Products Manufacturers
Quiksilver
No doubt Quiksilver would have liked its biggest news from September to be the launch of a new women's clothing line -- but it was not to be. The surfwear maker reported weak quarterly earnings early in the month, which didn't earn it any new friends in the investment community. (Revenues are up so far for the year, but the company is running in the red.) Reports also surfaced that Quiksilver is looking for buyers of its Rossignol ski unit. Like other companies tied to the boardriding lifestyle, Quiksilver branched into winter sports to give its wares more appeal when cold weather shuts down most surfers and skaters. But while Rossignol-branded apparel is fashionable, the ski-equipment maker that comes with the name has hardly been a winner in the two years since Quiksilver paid $500 million for it.
Telecommunications Services
Windstream
If you follow the telecom business, don't blink -- you might miss the creation or the dissolution of a billion-dollar business. Although Windstream was formed only in 2006, it combines the longstanding wireline business of ALLTEL with the operations of VALOR Communications Group. VALOR itself was only six years old when the deal went through, but it, too, had long roots in telecom because it was formed from legacy wireline assets of GTE Southwest, before that company became part of Verizon. (Like I said, don't blink.) Now Windstream has grown again with its $585 million purchase of CT Communications, a smaller regional carrier that extends Windstream's footprint of phone lines into North Carolina. (The deal, which closed late in August, was followed early in September by the announcement of layoffs at CTC.) When the wind whistles through Windstream's wires, it whispers "consolidation."