“Palm (PALM) has been at death’s door for some time. It prospects have improved recently and the company has one last chance to become viable when it launches its new ‘Pre’ product,” Douglas A. McIntyre writes for 24/7 Wall Street.
“Recent research shows that almost no one who owns an Apple (AAPL) iPhone or RIM (RIMM) Blackberry will switch to the new smartphone, so Palm will have to essentially expand the market to get share for its new device during a recession. The ‘Pre’ will also be sold exclusively though Sprint (S), the No.3 cellular carrier in the US which has been losing subscribers consistently for more than two years,” McIntyre writes. “The launch of the ‘Pre’ is a disaster in the making.”
McIntyre writes, “Palm’s results for the quarter that ended on February 27th were awful, failing to meet Wall St’s modest expectations. Palm sold only 482,000 handsets for the period, down 42% from the same quarter the year before. Revenue dropped from $312 million to $91 million, and Palm lost $95 million. Palm brought in just over $100 million with the help of its largest shareholder, Elevation Partners, in a recent financing.”
McIntyre writes, “The bottom line is that Palm has no chance of getting an even modest part of the smartphone market in a severe economic downturn since it competes with two of the premier technology companies in the world—Apple and RIM. Palm won’t be in business in a year.”
Full article, with 11 other brands that 24/7 Wall Street believes will not survive until the end of next year, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Palm investors and employee had best be “pre”pared.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Martin” for the heads up.]
