Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell's Results Not Enough to Prevent Takeover



Summary: Companies arguably see what's coming and they stop buying Novell, leaving the company at Microsoft's mercy and the hands of vulturous hedge funds

THE BIDDING is not public yet, but it is likely to become publicised next week, just like in the previous quarter. Yes, it is highly probable that Novell will be bought soon and Novell customers feel "nervous", as reported the other day. Don't take it from anecdotal evidence; here is Novell's CFO talking about the issues more statistically:



Novell Inc. (NOVL US): Chief Financial Officer Dana Russell said customers are delaying some contract signings until they better understand the long-term prospects for the maker of Linux operating-system software. Novell has said it’s reviewing whether to sell itself.


Here is a transcript of Novell's Earnings Call (sliced into three pages), here is an event announcement, and Novell's press release about its results. UNIX/Linux expert Timothy from The Register has it covered and he goes beyond press releases and fluff sourced from Novell.

Whatever drama is going on at Novell in the boardroom — where the company is apparently soliciting takeover offers from up to 20 different prospective buyers — it has spilled over into the company's financial results.

[...]

In a call with Wall Street analysts, Dana Russell, Novell's chief financial officer, said that fiscal Q2 revenues were in line with expectations and profits came in at the high end of the range. Linux bookings were down 3 per cent and Linux invoicing was down 1 per cent in the quarter, with a tough compare because so many Microsoft shops cashed in their SUSE Linux certificates in the year ago quarter.

Excluding these Microsoft deals, Russell said that the SUSE Linux invoicing in the quarter was up 46 per cent compared to last year. But that seems to indicate how weak SUSE Linux sales were a year ago and how dependent Novell's Linux biz is on what Microsoft customers do. Part of the problem is that Microsoft bought SUSE Linux licenses at 45 per cent of the then-current list price in 2007, and at current prices for SUSE Linux support, these licenses are renewing at something closer to 15 per cent of that original value. This makes the compares for the Linux biz doubly tough. But, Novell is optimistic as always. "We are pleased with the growth in our core business," Russell said.


Novell is too Microsoft dependent. Red Hat sells GNU/Linux without this silly reliance on software patents tax and that is why Novell's future looks neither so promising nor long. There is no reason to buy SLE* anymore.

Some additional references are added below. ____ [1] A Look Ahead to Novell's Earnings Announcement; NOVL, SYMC, MFE, ASIA

[2] Novell (NOVL) Expected TO Report Q1 Earnings Of $0.07 Per Share

[3] Macquarie Maintains Bullish Stance on Novell (NOVL) Into Q2 Results

[4] How to Make Money During Market Corrections: M&A Plays

It’s certainly not reasonable to assume that NOVL’s final buyout price will be affected much by the market dropping on a given day. Therefore, on days like this I tend to buy more NOVL.


[5] Ahead Of Novell's Q2 Report (also here)

[6] Novell, Guess Trade Higher Ahead of Earnings Reports Due After the Bell

[7] Notable Earnings After Thursday's Close: GES, BCSI, JCG, NOVL, OVTI, SXE

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, May 27, 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $204.85 million. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $215.60 million.


[8] Macquarie Research Sets $7.50 Price Target on Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL)

[9] Wall Street Set For Higher Start

After the markets close, Adaptec (ADPT), Diamond Foods (DMND), Guess (GES) and J Crew (JCG), Novell (NOVL) are among the major companies that are due to release their results.


[10] Novell (NOVL) Profits Rise, But Just Match Estimates

Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) posted on Thursday fiscal second-quarter results mostly in-line with the market expectations, while also failing to impress investors with its guidance for the current quarter.


[11] Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) Cautious

[12] Top NASDAQ Stocks to Watch (JCG, NOVL, AIG)

[13] Novell Reports a 28% Gain in Quarterly Profit

[14] Novell reports 28% profit gain

[15] Novell 2Q Profit Up 28% On Lower Expenses; Revenue, Margins Down

[16] Novell Q2 profit beats Street, sees weak Q3 rev

[17] Novell FY Q2 Revs Miss; Q3 View Below Estimates; Shrs Slip

[18] Viacom, Guess, Novell

[19] Novell Q2 Profit Rises; Guides Q3 - Quick Facts 2

[20] Novell, Inc. Reports Q2 2010 Earnings, Net Revenue Down from Last Year (NOVL) (also here)

[21] Novell 2Q Profit, 3Q Revenue View In Line With Expectations

[22] Novell Q2 Profit Rises 25%; Sees Q3 Revenue Below Consensus

[23] Novell (NOVL) Posts $19.9 Million 2nd Quarter Income

[24] After-Hours Movers 5/27: OVTI, ESL, LAVA, DITC, JCG Higher; BCSI, GES, NOVL, UPI Lower

[25] Earnings Recap: J Crew (JCG), Novell (NOVL), Blue Coat Systems (BCSI)

[26] After-Hours Earnings Roundup: GES, NOVL, JCG, BCSI, OVTI

[27] Novell posts higher 2Q profit but revenue slides (also here)

Operating costs fell 7 percent to $142.8 million.


[28] Novell Reports Q2 2010 Income of $20M

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore