Symantec, the security software company, said that it was lowering its expectation for the quarter ending December 29. The estimate for the current quarter was not so hot either. The news took down Symantec’s stock by 7% to $19.
Symantec (SYMC) and McAfee (MFE), it primary rival, have been complaining for some time that Microsoft Vista would make use of its near-monopoly in operating systems to promote its own security software, PatchGuard. Microsoft (MSFT) recently made tools available to both companies so that they can better integrate their software with Vista.
If Symantec’s earnings are hurting its stock, the latest quarters may just be the beginning. With over $7 billion in security software sold each year, MSFT is not going to let SYMC and MFE keep the lion’s share of the market.
For Symantec, not good. And, it will make McAfee’s earnings more dramatic.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts
Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.
It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.
We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.