profits

Google's first branded tablet was bound to rouse the interest of analysts across the globe, as well as appeal to consumers. Combine that with a bargain-rate price of $199 and curiosity becomes surprise.

Can Google make a fair profit margin on the device, which was announced last week for preorder? Or is the price tag on the Internet giant's first tablet model, the Nexus 7, based on gaining a customer base rather than profit margin?

This is where hardware specialists come in. Research firm UBM TechInsights recently came up with a preliminary cost estimate of $184 per device, … Read more

Apple's is movin' on up the Fortune 500 list, passing computer heavyweight IBM.

Apple landed at No. 17, up from No. 35, in terms of 2011 revenue, which was a cool $108.2 billion.

To put Apple's meteoric rise into perspective, blue-chip tech stalwart IBM dropped one spot to No. 19, with 2011 revenues of $106.9 billion.

And Hewlett-Packard is also feeling the heat from Apple. Though Apple's Silicon Valley neighbor moved up one spot to No. 10, with revenue of $127.2 billion, HP is not the profit juggernaut that Apple is.

Apple was No.… Read more

Foxconn parent company Hon Hai Precision Industry mustered a sizable profit during the first quarter, but its gains were tempered by rising employment costs.

During the first quarter, Hon Hai generated a profit of NT$14.9 (about $510 million), up slightly from the NT$14.4 billion profit it posted during the first quarter of 2011. According to Dow Jones Newswires, which polled eight analysts who profile Hon Hai, the profit was well below consensus of NT$22.1 billion in earnings.

Hon Hai's profit margin slid from 7.25 percent last year to 4 percent this year. … Read more

Google.org is spreading some end-of-the-year cheer to about four dozen nonprofits with $40 million in grants, including recipients that are fighting to eradicate slavery.

Many of the grant recipients are typical tech world targets, such as groups that encourage students to study math, science, technology and engineering; that help girls in developing countries get education; and that use innovative technology to help people in different ways.

But this time around Google is adding another target group -- modern-day slaves, such as forced laborers in African mines and sex trafficking in the U.S. -- a situation many people don'… Read more

Microsoft's Excel is everywhere in the business world, in part because it's such a versatile platform. Med-e-Forms offers several free Excel workbooks that handle a variety of tasks for small businesses such as physicians in private practice. The company's Free Excel Invoice Template & Profit Calculator is essentially a basic business suite in one Excel workbook.

Some of the free Excel templates we've seen from this publisher have been fairly plain, but this tool's clear, colorful instructions and efficient layout show what Excel is capable of doing. The Instructions sheet provides details for Excel 2007-2010 (… Read more

Will Facebook be more profitable than Amazon this year? TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington thinks so.

Arrington, writing on his new blog, Uncrunched, cited a source who said that Facebook generated $1.6 billion in revenue during the first half of 2011 and an operating income of $800 million. Assuming that same profit margin carries through the year, Arrington says, Facebook could tally an operating income of $2 billion this year.

It gets better, Arrington says. During the first half of the year, Arrington points out that Amazon posted an operating income figure of $523 million, which Facebook easily overshadowed. And … Read more

Companies everywhere get stuck. A lack of resources or passion--as well as any number of dysfunctions that can plague an organization--can all get in the way of building great things online. Today, a close-knit Bay Area design firm called Zurb is trying to help one lucky nonprofit get unstuck.

Today marked the kickoff of this year's ZurbWired design marathon, an annual event during which the Zurb team and a group of volunteers work together to pull off a marketing miracle for a nonprofit in 24 hours. This year, the fourth annual event of its kind, the challenge will benefit … Read more

Hewlett-Packard said today that it is spinning off its PC unit as it tries to escape the financial throes of the increasingly low-margin PC business.

On top of confirming it is in talks to acquire Autonomy and essentially shuttering its WebOS operations, HP said its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for its PC business, the Personal Systems Group (PSG).

"HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction," the company said. HP expects that … Read more

U.S.-based nonprofit organizations can get discounts on advertising and Google Apps subscriptions as part of a new Google for Nonprofits program launched today.

Nonprofits will be able to take advantage of the exclusive offers through a one-stop application process. If approved, they can get up to $10,000 a month in Google AdWords advertising, free or discounted use of Google Apps, and access to premium features on YouTube and Google's mapping technologies, Google said in a blog post.

Google also is launching Google for Nonprofits Marketplace to connect organizations with professional service providers who are offering free … Read more