Big Tech Firms’ Sales Grew 19% in Third Quarter

Most big technology companies had strong sales growth in the third quarter, with the search giant Google and the Indian outsourcing firm Wipro leading the way.

On average, sales at big technology companies advanced 19% in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Baseline looked at 17 companies with market capitalizations in excess of $1 billion. The 17 all reported their results from Oct. 16 to 19 (see tables below).

The quarter was particularly successful for companies positioned to take advantage of consumers’ increasing use of the Web. The results at Google sharply exceeded analysts’ expectations. It was much the same at Apple, which sold almost nine million iPods in the September quarter, 35% more than in the previous year.

At more mature companies focused on the enterprise, the results were mixed. SAP grew a relatively modest 11%, but its net income jumped 16% because of improved margins. Sales increased 19% at the information management giant EMC, but a big jump in administrative expenses reduced profit by a third. EMC, which recently completed its acquisition of RSA Security, said it would fire 1,250 workers to cut costs.

Tech firms ranked by sales growth
CompanyRevenue 3 Mo. to Sept. 30Change
Google$2,690,000,00070%
Wipro$765,000,00041%
Apple$4,837,000,00032%
eBay$1,448,637,00031%
Novellus$444,032,00031%
Cypress Semi$290,200,00028%
Citrix$277,851,00022%
EMC$2,815,306,00019%
Yahoo$1,580,322,00019%
Motorola$10,603,000,00017%
Linear Technology$292,116,00014%
SAP$2,830,000,00011%
IBM$22,617,000,0005%
Sybase$209,100,0005%
Check Point Software$142,500,0001%
Intel$8,739,000,000-12%
Advanced Micro$1,327,622,000-13%
Tech firms ranked by profit growth
CompanyNet income 3 Mo. to Sept. 30Change
Novellus$70,020,000199%
Google$733,361,00092%
Advanced Micro$134,455,00077%
Wipro$152,000,00048%
IBM$2,222,000,00047%
Apple$546,000,00027%
SAP$486,000,00016%
Citrix$46,618,00014%
Linear Technology$112,389,00013%
eBay$280,896,00010%
Savvis$18,000,0009%
Check Point Software$71,100,000-10%
EMC$283,664,000-33%
Intel$1,301,000,000-35%
Yahoo$158,529,000-38%
Motorola$968,000,000-45%
Sybase$25,100,000-10
Cypress Semiconductor$10,700,000N/A
N/A – Cypress had a loss in 2005’s September quarter